Leaders Order Flags Half‑Staff After Jesse Jackson’s Death
Gov. Pritzker and Mayor Johnson ordered flags at half‑staff as tributes pour in for the civil rights leader who died at 84.
Overview
Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson ordered public buildings to fly flags at half-staff to honor the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who died at 84, officials said.
Jackson rose from a Chicago organizer to a national civil rights leader, founded Operation PUSH and the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, and ran for the Democratic nomination in 1984 and 1988.
Eulogies poured in from figures including Kamala Harris, President Joe Biden, Al Sharpton, former mayors Lori Lightfoot and Rahm Emanuel, and former President Donald Trump, according to statements on social media.
Jackson stepped down as president of Rainbow/PUSH in 2023 after revealing he was battling Parkinson’s disease, and he had been hospitalized for about two weeks last November, his family said.
His family said public commemorations will take place in Chicago and officials urged people to honor his legacy through continued activism.
Analysis
Center-leaning sources frame Jackson as an emblematic civil-rights hero, using laudatory language ("warrior for justice," "living history") and personal anecdote to establish moral authority. They acknowledge faults but downplay them by quickly returning to legacy and a prescriptive call-to-action, linking his life to current political urgency and institutional reform.
Sources (50)
FAQ
Jesse Jackson founded Operation PUSH in 1971 and the National Rainbow Coalition in the mid-1980s, which later merged into the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition.
Jesse Jackson ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988.
Jesse Jackson was battling Parkinson’s disease, revealed before stepping down as president of Rainbow/PUSH in 2023, and was hospitalized for about two weeks in November prior to his death.
Tributes came from Kamala Harris, President Joe Biden, Al Sharpton, former Chicago mayors Lori Lightfoot and Rahm Emanuel, and former President Donald Trump.
Public commemorations will take place in Chicago, and officials urged people to honor his legacy through continued activism.
History
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