Celebration of life for Jesse Jackson to draw former presidents and Grammy-winning artists

CHICAGO– Three former U.S. presidents, Grammy-winning artists, clergy and elected officials are expected to attend a celebration of the life of the late Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. in Chicago on Friday.

The event honoring the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s protégé and two-time presidential candidate follows memorial services that drew large crowds in Chicago and South Carolina, where the civil rights leader was born.

The Chicago celebration — at an influential black church with a 10,000-seat arena — is expected to be the largest. Former Democratic U.S. Presidents Barack Obama, Joe Biden and Bill Clinton, as well as former Vice President Kamala Harris, plan to attend, according to the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, the organization founded by Jackson. The musical lineup includes gospel singer BeBe Winans.

“These homecoming services are welcome to everyone. Democrat, Republican, liberal, conservative, right, left because his life is broad enough to cover the whole spectrum of what it means to be an American,” the civil rights leader’s son, Jesse Jackson Jr., said last month. “Dad would have wanted us to have a nice meeting to discuss our differences, to find ways to move forward and move forward together.

The elder Jackson died last month at the age of 84 from a rare neurological disorder that affected his mobility and ability to speak. Family members say he continued to come to the office until last year and communicated through hand signals. His last public appearances included the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

Jackson’s activities were countless, taking him to all corners of the world: advocating for the poor and underrepresented on issues such as voting rights, health care, job opportunities, and education. He won diplomatic victories with world leaders, and through the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, he channeled cries for black pride and self-determination into corporate boardrooms, pressuring leaders to make America a more open and equitable society.

Jackson’s services in Chicago and South Carolina attracted civic leaders, school groups and ordinary people who said they were touched by Jackson’s work, from scholarship programs to inmate advocacy. Several states lowered their flags to half-mast in his honor.

The services in Washington, D.C., were filed after a request to let Jackson lie in honor in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol was rejected by House Speaker Mike Johnson, who said precedent typically reserved the space for certain officials, including former presidents. Details about a future event have not been made public.

During his final months, Jackson received many visitors to Chicago, including the Clintons and the Rev. Al Sharpton, who also attended his memorial services in Chicago last week.

“He was the central mentor in my life,” Sharpton said. “The challenge for us is to make sure that everything he lived for was not in vain.”