The leader of civil rights and resident in Chicago, Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., along with his wife, Jacqueline, have been hospitalized after hiring COVID-19, according to the organization of prominent political activist, the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.
In a statement, the organization said the Reverend, who is 79, and Jacqueline Jackson, 77, were admitted to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. His conditions have not been disclosed.
Anyone who has been around anyone in the last five or six days is advised to quarantine in accordance with the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to Rainbow PUSH.
Protected by the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jackson was key in guiding the modern civil rights movement on numerous issues, including voting rights. Jackson has remained active and recently advocated for COVID-19 vaccines for black people, who lag behind white people in the U.S. vaccination process.
Jackson received his first dose of vaccine in January during an advertising event at a South Side hospital. He urged others to get vaccinated as soon as possible.
In January, the civil rights leader was admitted to Northwestern for “abdominal discomfort” and underwent gallbladder surgery. Jackson spent three weeks at the rehab center during a “short period of exercise and therapy” due to his Parkinson’s disease, according to Rainbow PUSH.
Jackson has been seeking outpatient care for Parkinson’s for more than five years, a chronic neurological disorder that causes movement difficulties.