REV. JESSE JACKSON SR. AND WIFE REMAIN HOSPITALIZED FOR COVID-19

REV. JESSE JACKSON SR. AND WIFE REMAIN HOSPITALIZED FOR COVID-19

Rev. Jesse Jackson and his wife Jacqueline remain in Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago after testing positive for COVID-19.

Jesse Jackson, a Chicago civil rights leader, is vaccinated against the virus and received his first dose during an event earlier this year. Everyone applauded as he urged others to get vaccinated as well.

The vaccination status of his wife, who is also an activist, is unclear. Family members said she has an unspecified underlying health condition that triggered concerns in recent days. The couple has been married for nearly 60 years.

Let us all pray for Rev. and Mrs Jesse Jackson. They need our sincere and intense prayers. Prayer changes things!!!

— Reverend Al Sharpton (@TheRevAl) August 22, 2021

“The status of my parents has not changed,” Jonathan Jackson said in a follow-up statement Monday. “We are ever mindful that COVID-19 is a serious disease and we ask that you continue in prayer for my parents, as we remain prayerful for yours.”

Jesse Jackson, who founded the civil rights organization Rainbow Push Coalition in 1971 and ran for presdent twice in the 1980s, announced in 2017 that he has Parkinson’s disease.

Jesse Jackson has remained active in calling for voting rights and other issues in recent years. During the pandemic, he has consistently encouraged the Black community to get COVID-19 vaccines. Vaccination rates among Blacks have lagged significantly behind whites due to lack of resources and doubts about the vaccine.