Coronavirus: Rev. Jesse Jackson, wife test positive

CHICAGO — The Rev. Jesse Jackson and his wife tested positive for COVID-19 and have been hospitalized, according to a statement from Rainbow PUSH Coalition.

>> Read more trending news

Jackson, 79, and his wife, Jacqueline Jackson, 77, were hospitalized at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, WGN-TV reported Saturday, citing a statement from the coalition. Jesse Jackson is the founder and president of the organization.

According to the statement, doctors are monitoring their condition, adding there were no further updates or information available, WGN reported.

The couple’s son, Jonathan Jackson, also authorized the statement, WLS reported.

Jackson received his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in January 2021, WMAQ reported.

Jackson, who was born in October 1941 in Greenville, South Carolina, was hospitalized for abdominal discomfort in February, the Greenville News reported.

Jackson underwent surgery after a routine medical observation, the newspaper reported. In 2017 he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, CNN reported.

A protege of Martin Luther King Jr., Jackson has been a civil rights activist for more than a half-century. In 1996 he merged his National Rainbow Coalition and Operation PUSH organizations into Rainbow PUSH Coalition.

Jackson was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988.

In 1965, Jackson went to Selma, Alabama, to march with King and became a worker in the civil rights leader’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference, according to Brittanica.com.

Jackson was in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968, when King was assassinated at the Lorraine Motel.

More coronavirus pandemic coverage:

>> Coronavirus: How long between exposure to the virus and the start of symptoms?

>> What are your chances of coming into contact with someone who has COVID-19? This tool will tell you

>> How to not let coronavirus pandemic fatigue set in, battle back if it does

©2021 Cox Media Group