The core of the Black community felt the heaviness in the air when news broke about Rev. Jesse Jackson and his wife, Jacqueline, who was hospitalized after contracting COVID-19. Many civic leaders sent strength and healing energy towards the couple.
On Friday, January 8, Associated Press recorded the day Rev. Jackson received the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine at the Roseland Community Hospital in Chicago. As of August 21, 2021, Jackson and his wife have been administered to a hospital after they both tested positive for coronavirus, according to a statement made Saturday.
The Jacksons are being treated at the Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, both Rev. Jackson and Mrs. Jackson are in the age bracket where they are most susceptible to the outcome of the virus being more severe. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “the risk increases for people in their 50s and increases in 60s, 70s, and 80s.” Any preexisting conditions can also make one more likely to get “severely ill with COVID-19,” Jackson and his wife both have underlying medical condition
This is not Jackson’s first health battle; he was diagnosed with Parkison’s disease back in 2017. According to National Public Radio (NPR), Jackson was 76-years-old when he announced the diagnosis. Yet the longtime civil and social activist never stopped moving, he added in his statement that “Parkinson’s was not a stop sign.”
Recent reports state that doctors are currently monitoring both of their conditions. Their current status has been described as “fairly well.” The Jacksons have been stationed in separate rooms since the weekend.
Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr. and his wife Jacqueline Lavinia Brown in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2013. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
Family members have been vocal with their health updates, “The health status of both my parents is unchanged,” one of their sons, Jonathan Jackson, said in a Tuesday statement. “They continue to rest comfortably and to receive treatment.”
Jackson has served as a beacon of hope in the Black community. Physical evidence of his battle for justice includes the Rainbow PUSH Coalition (RPC), an organization he founded to home in on social change.
The RPC is a “multi-racial, multi-issue, progressive, international membership organization fighting for social change.” When describing the organization, Jackson stated, “Our mission is to protect, defend, and gain civil rights by leveling the economic and educational playing fields, and to promote peace and justice around the world.”
Jackson’s mission has always been clear, unity among humanity. As an advocate for civil rights and social change, Rev. Jackson earned over 40 honorary doctorate degrees. His words hold value at major colleges and universities, such as Howard, Yale, Princeton, Morehouse, Harvard, Columbia, and Stanford.
Jackson continued, “Stop the filibuster,” Rev Jackson said. “The filibuster is a tool the right-wing uses to suppress voter registration. We want our votes to count. We must vote. Our votes must count.” Jackson never stopped moving and putting forth change.
Jesse Jackson and his wife Jacqueline Brown Jackson. (Photo by Earl Gibson III)
Celebrities and multiple organizations have sent uplifting thoughts and healing energy towards the recovering family, sending their warmest regards.
Representative Hakeem Jeffries, who represents the eighth Congressional District of New York, including large parts of Brooklyn and a section of Queens, posted on Twitter, “Praying for the health and strength of Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. and his wife Jacqueline.”
Martin Luther King III is the “oldest son and oldest living child of civil rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr.” He stated, “Sending strength, love, and prayers to Rev. Jesse Jackson and Jacqueline Jackson. Please keep them in your prayers so that they may have a quick recovery.”
Texas Congressman Joaquin Castro who shares the passion for equality among the human race also took to Twitter and stated, “Sending strength and prayers to Rev. Jesse Jackson and his wife Jacqueline.”
Fellow activist Rev. Al Sharpton posted the following message on Twitter, “Let us all pray for Rev. and Mrs. Jesse Jackson. They need our sincere and intense prayers. Prayer changes things!!!”
Rev. Jackson is a fighter, he has seen many frontiers with unique issues that seemed impossible to come out of, but he went in anyway. To the collective community, Rev. Jackson is synonymous with strength and perseverance. Jackson has proven with his decades of dedication, that his mission will continue to live through his actions. Jackson is known to beat all odds.
The L.A. Sentinel would like to also send positive thoughts towards the expedited recovery of the Jackson family.
Friday, Jan. 8, 2021 file photo, Rev. Jesse Jackson receives the Pfizer’s BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine from Dr. Kiran Chekka, Covid Administration Physician at the Roseland Community Hospital in Chicago. The Rev. Jesse Jackson and his wife, Jacqueline, have been hospitalized after testing positive for COVID-19 according to a statement Saturday, Aug. 21, 2021. He is vaccinated against the virus and publicly received his first dose in January. According to a statement released Saturday evening, the Jacksons are being treated at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. He is 79 years old. Jacqueline Jackson is 77. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)
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