Civil rights advocate Jesse Jackson to step down from leading Rainbow PUSH Coalition

Rev. Jesse Jackson, second from left, and PRESIDENT JOSEPH BIDEN, center, speak during the 58th Bridge Crossing Jubilee in Selma, Alabama on March 5, 2023. The event commemorates the 1965 Selma to Montgomery march known as Bloody Sunday.

Civil rights advocate the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. will be retiring from his position as head of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.

Jackson, 81, founded the Rainbow PUSH Coalition and has played a key role in the civil rights movement with many important trips to Selma, including at the Jubilee in March, sitting on the stage with President Joe Biden during his speech at the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge.

Jackson was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2017 and has had health struggles including hospitalization due to COVID. Jackson's son told the Chicago Sun-Times that health concerns have led to the decision. A successor was expected to be announced this weekend at the coalition's annual national convention in Chicago.

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