Former presidents Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and Joe Biden, as well as former Vice President Kamala Harris, are speaking at the Rev. Jesse Jackson’s celebration of life in Chicago today. Follow the latest updates here.
• The Rev. Jesse Jackson’s celebration of life will unfold in Chicago today and Saturday. Today’s ceremony, the final public tribute to Jackson, is being billed as “The People’s Celebration.” Saturday’s services will be private.
• Several prominent people will speak at today’s ceremony, including former presidents Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and Joe Biden, as well as former Vice President Kamala Harris.Pallbearers carry the casket of the Rev. Jesse Jackson as they make their way into the Rainbow PUSH Coalition building in Chicago on February 26.Today’s funeral, billed as “The People’s Celebration,” is the culmination of a series of public events honoring the Rev. Jesse Jackson.a bold alliance of Blacks, Whites, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans and LGBTQ people, helped pave the way for a more progressive Democratic Party.People pay their respects to Jackson as he lies in state at the South Carolina Statehouse in Columbia on March 2.Jackson’s body has now returned to Chicago for “The People’s Celebration” and Saturday’s private services. “We shared him with the world, and in return, the world became part of our extended family,” the Jackson family said in a. “His unwavering belief in justice, equality, and love uplifted millions, and we ask you to honor his memory by continuing the fight for the values he lived by.”The Rev. Jesse Jackson speaks with reporters alongside Cuban leader Fidel Castro at Jose Marti Airport in Havana, Cuba, in June 1984.The Rev. Jesse Jackson’s activism extended far beyond the United States. He made several high-profile international mediation efforts as an unofficial envoy for humanitarian causes, using personal diplomacy to free hostages and prisoners of war. In 1984, Jackson traveled to Syria and helped secure the release of US Navy Lieutenant Robert Goodman, whose plane was shot down over Lebanon before he was taken as prisoner of war by Syrian troops. The same year, Jackson also helped get dozens of American and Cuban political prisoners released by then-Cuban leader Fidel Castro, traveling to Havana to bring them to the US. He was vocal in his criticism of US foreign policy on Cuba, stressing the need for dialogue between the two countries. In 1990, Jackson met with Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to secure the release of hundreds of people being held captive as “human shields” following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Following the talks, Iraq released several detained Americans who left with Jackson. Jackson’s negotiation and diplomacy efforts also helped free an American who was held captive by guerillas in Colombia and Americans serving prison sentences in Gambia. Jackson was also outspoken on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, lending support for a two-state solution and arguing that peace requires mutual recognition of both Israeli and Palestinian rights. In recognition of his decades-long civil rights activism and international humanitarian diplomacy, Jackson received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2000, the highest honor given to civilians in the US.The civil rights leader became the first major Black candidate for US president in 1984 and ran again in 1988. The Rev. Jesse Jackson’s groundbreaking bids expanded the Democratic electorate, built the Rainbow PUSH Coalition and laid political groundwork for future candidates, including Barack Obama.The civil rights leader, who died at 84, became the first major Black candidate for US president in 1984 and 1988. His groundbreaking bids laid the political groundwork for future candidates.NAACP President Derrick Johnson said Friday on “CNN News Central” that the Rev. Jesse Jackson was “much more dynamic and diverse” than many realized and used his voice to fight for the nation’s ideals. See the moment. There were long lines outside Chicago’s House of Hope, hours before doors opened for “The People’s Celebration.”Several former presidents and faith leaders will attend the Rev. Jesse Jackson’s funeral in Chicago today, according to a statement about the event. Former presidents Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and Joe Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris are expected to speak during the service. Former First Lady Jill Biden and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will also attend. The service today will be held at House of Hope. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker are also scheduled to give remarks; several gospel artists will perform, as well.Jackson, who died last month, first rose to national prominence in the 1960s as a close aide to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. He became a civil rights icon and a groundbreaking politician who mounted two electrifying runs for the American presidency in the 1980s.The Rev. Jesse Louis Jackson, the towering civil rights leader whose moral vision and fiery oratory reshaped the Democratic Party and America,.” He was born to an unwed teenage mom in Greenville, South Carolina, during the Jim Crow era but rose to become a civil rights icon and a groundbreaking politician who mounted two electrifying runs for the presidency in the 1980s. Jackson’s dual bids for the Democratic presidential nomination inspired Black America and stunned political observers who marveled at his“His unwavering commitment to justice, equality, and human rights helped shape a global movement for freedom and dignity,” read a statement from his nonprofit social justice organization, the Rainbow PUSH Coalition. “A tireless change agent, he elevated the voices of the voiceless – from his Presidential campaigns in the 1980s to mobilizing millions to register to vote – leaving an indelible mark on history.”
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