HEALTH SCARE

Civil Rights Leader Jesse Jackson, 84, Hospitalized

He has been managing a rare neurological disorder for more than a decade.

Civil rights icon Rev. Jesse Jackson has been taken to the hospital, according to the activist nonprofit he founded. The Rainbow PUSH Coalition said in a statement that the 84-year-old was admitted on Wednesday, Nov. 12, “under observation” with progressive supranuclear palsy. “He has been managing this neurodegenerative condition for more than a decade,” the statement said. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, progressive supranuclear palsy “is a rare neurological disorder that affects body movements, walking and balance, and eye movements. PSP is caused by damage to nerve cells in areas of the brain that control thinking and body movements.” The coalition’s statement added, “The family appreciates all prayers at this time.” Jackson’s diagnosis was confirmed in April last year. A veteran activist, he worked for more than 50 years in a career that spanned organizing with Martin Luther King Jr. to campaigning for the presidency. He served as the shadow delegate and senator for the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1997. He retired from the coalition in 2023.