Rev. Jesse Jackson funeral services, celebration of life continues Friday at Rainbow PUSH headquarters
By Lauren Victory, Adam Harrington, Elyssa Kaufman
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CHICAGO (WBBM) — The celebration of life for Reverend Jesse Jackson continues with another visitation on Friday morning.
Mourners lined up early Friday morning to pay their respects for a second day at Rainbow PUSH Headquarters. Supporters will have 12 hours to say their goodbyes.
A suburban woman brought her three grandchildren to experience this historic moment as they go through school.
“I thought it was very important that they come to experience this,” Lazane Tyker said. “When I’m long gone, they will always remember this, that they were here and participated.”
Jackson’s family shook thousands of hands inside Rainbow Push headquarters on Thursday as a line of supporters stretched down the block.
Reverend Jackson’s casket is heading back to his East Coast roots after today’s visitation for services in South Carolina and Washington D.C.
His remains will then return to Chicago for “The People’s Celebration” next Friday. A private service is scheduled for March 7th.
Resting in power at Rainbow PUSH
Founded in the early 1970s as Operation PUSH, the Rainbow PUSH Coalition grew from a local organizing effort into a national platform for civil rights, economic justice, and political mobilization. From the very building where Jackson will lie in repose, he led voter registration drives, advocated for corporate accountability, and pushed for greater access to education and employment opportunities.
It was also from Rainbow PUSH that Jackson helped expand the idea of a rainbow coalition — uniting people across race, class, and political lines around shared economic interests.
Jackson’s political campaigns in 1984 and 1988 were organized through the PUSH network, proving that a civil rights organization could also become a national political force.
For many in Chicago, weekly gatherings at Rainbow PUSH became a forum where local concerns met national attention.
“For generations, children and adults will hear the words, ‘Keep hope alive,’ hear the words, ‘I am somebody,'” said the Rev. Michael Pfleger of Chicago’s St. Sabina Church. “He took the phrase keep hope alive and made it tangible.”
For decades, Rainbow PUSH Headquarters amplified Rev. Jackson’svoice. It now becomes a place for reflection for a movement that stretched far beyond the walls of the physical building.
Honors for Rev. Jackson planned for South Carolina and Washington, D.C.
The Jackson family said they shared him with the world and in return, the world became a part of their extended family. This is evident too in what will unfold over the next week.
After a couple of days here in Chicago, there will be services held for Jackson in South Carolina and Washington, D.C. before his funeral will take place back in Chicago at the end of next week.
The Jackson family wanted to make sure their patriarch, a native of Greenville, South Carolina, returned to his roots on the East Coast.
Jackson played football at Sterling High School in Greenville, and famously protested library segregation with a group known as the Greenville Eight.
Jackson’s loved ones made a formal request to South Carolina lawmakers that he lie in repose at the state capitol in Columbia. That request was granted Monday, March 2, with a private, then public service — including a wreath-laying — planned at the statehouse rotunda.
A church service is scheduled for that evening in West Columbia, South Carolina.
Details have not yet been released on how Rev. Jackson will be honored in Washington, D.C.
Rev. Jesse Jackson funeral and celebration of life services schedule Thursday, Feb. 26 and Friday, Feb. 27: Lying in State at Rainbow PUSH Coalition, 930 E. 50th St., Chicago, 10 a.m. Sunday, March 1 – Thursday, March 5: Travel dates for formal services in South Carolina and Washington, D.C. Monday, March 2 – Jackson will lie in repose at the South Carolina Statehouse. Following a small private family ceremony inside the Statehouse, the visitation will be open to the public from 11:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Friday, March 6: The People’s Celebration at House of Hope, 752 E. 114th St., Chicago Doors Open: 9 a.m., service: 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Saturday, March 7: Private Homegoing Celebration at Rainbow PUSH Coalition. Limited capacity. A spokesperson for the Jackson family said they will share additional details and information for public registration to attend services soon. They will also share a livestream of the services for the public.
The family asks that all flowers and condolence cards be sent to:
Leak & Sons Funeral Home
7838 S. Cottage Grove Ave.
Chicago, IL 60619
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