Hundreds Honor Rev. Jesse Jackson as Civil Rights Leader Lies in Repose at Rainbow PUSH Coalition

Hundreds of mourners lined Drexel Avenue in Kenwood on Thursday morning as Rev. Jesse Jackson’s lying-in-repose services began at the Rainbow PUSH Coalition headquarters, according to attendees at the scene.

The civil rights leader, who died at 84 on Feb. 17, arrived at his historic nonprofit’s building after 8 a.m. in a procession that included his family, according to witnesses. Color guard members paid respects as Jackson’s casket was carried from a Leak & Sons hearse into the sanctuary.

Inside the building, community members gathered in quiet reverence around Jackson’s casket, which was surrounded by white flowers, a black and white portrait of the reverend, and U.S., Chicago and Pan-African flags near the pulpit, according to those present.

Jackson’s children, Mayor Brandon Johnson, and Rev. Al Sharpton greeted attendees throughout the day. Former members of The Soul Stirrers gospel group performed “A Change is Gonna Come” during the services, according to attendees.

Outside the building, recordings of Jackson’s speeches played from speakers as mourners chanted his signature rallying cries “I am somebody” and “keep hope alive,” according to witnesses at the scene.

Rev. Al Sharpton, who attended the services, described his personal connection to Jackson during remarks outside the Rainbow PUSH headquarters.

“We spent a lifetime together,” Sharpton said. “I’ve seen him stand up against adversity.”

Sharpton explained that he met Jackson when he was only 12 years old and credited the reverend as his mentor who inspired his own civil rights activism.

“He raised a generation of us,” Sharpton added. “And he never gave up, even when he was sick.”

Jackson had been in declining health for a decade before his death, according to previous public statements. In 2017, he announced he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease two years earlier, but last April revealed that it was actually misdiagnosed progressive supranuclear palsy.

Jesse Jackson Jr., the reverend’s eldest son, described Thursday’s services as “hard” for his family during remarks to attendees.

Jackson Jr. said it was the first day their family, including his mother Jacqueline Jackson, had seen the late reverend since he died last Tuesday.

“She has amazing strength,” he said of his mother while fighting off tears. “She believes that you are all beginning to see the Jesse that she fell in love with.”

Despite the grief, Jackson Jr. said his family was “overwhelmed and overjoyed” by the support from people across the country, according to his remarks.

Among the mourners were classmates Gwen Holland and Julius Owens, both 68, who remembered Jackson’s visits to their high school in 1977. The reverend launched the Push for Excellence program in several Chicago high schools in the late 1970s to improve student performance, according to the program’s history.

Holland and Owens, who were both seniors at Chicago Vocational High School during Jackson’s visits, recalled his encouragement for students to “push for excellence.”

“He was funny. He had a very humorous side, but it was easy to talk with him,” said Holland.

Holland remembered Jackson urging parents to “teach your children how to think” during those school visits, a lesson she said she carried into motherhood and passed down to her children and grandchildren.

“I will never forget that,” said Holland. “He also used to say ‘I am somebody’ and I know that I’ll remember that I am somebody.”

Owens described Jackson as a symbol of peace and said he admired “his leadership and what he tried to do for all people.”

Marjorie Johnson of Roseland, 39, attended the services to honor Jackson’s legacy and said she plans to teach her children about his efforts for justice and equality.

“Rev. Jackson was not only a part of my community, but he was a big part of my generation’s civil rights,” Johnson said.