Rev. Jesse Jackson, an icon of the civil rights movement, a top aide to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and a two-time U.S. presidential candidate, has died following a misunderstood illness. He was 84. His death was disclosed on Feb. 17.

Rev. Jackson was suffering from a brain disorder, according to an article published in Blackmansstreet.Today.

Rev. Jesse Jackson, founder of Rainbow PUSH Coalition, and a disciple of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., was hospitalized with a brain disorder that doctors originally believed was Parkinson’s disease. Although the disorders manifest in similar ways, physicians now acknowledge that their diagnosis was mistaken.

Rev. Jackson was diagnosed early this year with a neurodegenerative disorder at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago.

“He has been managing this neurodegenerative condition for more than a decade. He was originally diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease; however, last April, his Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) was confirmed.

Progressive supranuclear palsy is a rare and chronic neurodegenerative disorder that damages certain areas of the brain. It affects walking, thinking, swallowing, and eye movement. It may also cause other symptoms. PSP is also known as Steele-Richardson-Olszewski syndrome.

“Progressive” means that the symptoms get worse over time from the underlying neurodegenerative condition. “Supranuclear” and “palsy” together mean the inability to move your eyes, as “supranuclear” means that the damage is located above the eye-moving centers (nuclei) in your brain. “Palsy” refers to weakness or difficulty using muscles.

PSP may closely resemble Parkinson’s disease. Healthcare providers often misdiagnose PSP as Parkinson’s disease, especially in the early stages of the condition. But PSP progresses faster than Parkinson’s disease.

Neurodegenerative disorders are chronic conditions that damage and destroy parts of the nervous system over time, especially the brain. 

These conditions are permanent and incurable, but many are now treatable thanks to medical advances. Currently, the primary medical approach is to treat the symptoms and slow the progression of these conditions when possible.

According to Johns Hopkins, PSP is easily mistaken for Parkinson’s disease, which is more common. And unlike with Parkinson’s, people with PSP are more likely to lean or fall backward rather than forward; and speech disturbance and trouble swallowing are affected more with PSP than with Parkinson’s.

Rev. Jackson, once a vigorous man, was confined to a wheelchair. He was unable to speak, struggled to eat, and was fed by an assistant during his final months.

Jackson was hospitalized on Nov. 12 as his condition had worsened.

Jackson’s death comes amidst a rising tide of White nationalism and voting-rights access issues sparked by President Donald Trump. 

“It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Civil Rights leader and founder of the Rainbow PUSH/Coalition, the Honorable Reverend Jesse Louis Jackson, Sr.,” said a statement from the organization. “He died peacefully on Tuesday morning, surrounded by his family.”

Jackson was a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, a Democratic presidential candidate, and one of the world’s best-known Black activists.

Despite the illness that softened his voice and weakened his steps, Jackson had continued to advocate for civil rights. He was arrested twice in 2021 over his objection to the Senate filibuster rule. That same year, he and his wife, Jacqueline, were both hospitalized with COVID-19 complications at a Chicago hospital.

Rev. Jackson was born in Greenville, South Carolina. Jackson’s rise to prominence began after he and seven other men were arrested in 1960 ‒- he was 18 at the time– for protesting segregation at their town’s public library. He then joined Dr. King’s burgeoning civil rights movement and was just feet away when King was assassinated in Memphis in 1968.

Jackson founded what would ultimately become the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, and ran for president as a Democrat in 1984 and 1988, energizing and registering millions of Black voters.

“As we continue in the struggle for human rights, remember that God will see us through, even in our midnight moments,” Jackson said in 2017 as he announced his neuromuscular disease diagnosis.

Jackson visited Minneapolis in 2021 to support protesters awaiting the verdict in the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former police officer who was convicted days later of killing George Floyd in an incident that set off national protests and violence. While there, he also attended services for Daunte Wright, a Black man who was shot and killed by a police officer during a protest against police violence in a nearby suburb. Speaking in a subdued voice, Jackson reminded the young activists leading a protest march that their cause was just.

·Born in the fall of 1941 to a teen mother and her married neighbor, Jackson was adopted by the man his mother later married, and he considered both men to be his fathers. He attended a segregated high school and played football in college, dropping out a few credits short of his master’s degree in divinity in 1966 to join the civil rights movement full-time.

By 1965, he’d marched with King and others from Selma to Montgomery to push for Black voting rights, and by 1967, he was running operations for King’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference in Chicago, the city that would become his home.

Under Jackson, the SCLC’s Operation Breadbasket used boycotts and public attention to pressure companies to hire more Black workers. Jackson ultimately earned his divinity degree after being ordained a minister in 1968.

In 1983, shortly before announcing his run for president, Jackson traveled to Syria to negotiate the release of an American pilot shot down over Lebanon, and the next summer, he negotiated the release of 22 Americans and 26 political prisoners from Cuba after meeting with former dictator Fidel Castro.

His successes bolstered his presidential campaign, although he lost the 1984 Democratic primary to Walter Mondale, who went on to lose the election to President Ronald Reagan. Jackson ran again for president in 1988, putting on a strong showing but ultimately falling to Mike Dukakis, who lost to Republican George H.W. Bush.

After that second loss, Jackson shelved his own political aspirations but continued his efforts for civil rights and justice. 

In 1990, Jackson opposed the pending invasion of Iraq and negotiated the release of hundreds of people whom Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein had threatened to use as human shields, and then in 1999 won the release of three U.S. POWs during the Kosovo War.

In 2000, Clinton awarded Jackson the Presidential Medal of Freedom, citing his decades of work to make the world a better place.

Rev.Jackson is survived by his wife, Jacqueline. They were married for 64 years, and had five children. 

The eldest, Santita Jackson, born in 1963, became a singer, political commentator, and radio host, known for her work on social issues. 

Following her is Jesse Jackson Jr., born in 1965, who served as a U.S. Congressman for Illinois from 1995 to 2012 before facing legal troubles that led to a prison sentence for campaign finance violations. He and his ex-wife, Sandi Jackson, have two children, adding to the family’s grandchildren.

Next, Jonathan Luther Jackson, born in 1966, followed in his brother’s footsteps by winning a congressional seat in Illinois in 2022, focusing on economic justice and civil rights. Yusef DuBois Jackson, born in 1970, pursued a career in law and business, often staying out of the spotlight while supporting family endeavors. 

The youngest of the five, Jacqueline Lavinia Jackson Jr., born in 1975, has been involved in activism and community work, maintaining a lower public profile.