From the steps outside his longtime Chicago home, five of Jesse L. Jackson Sr.’s children gathered Wednesday to mark the civil-rights leader’s legacy with a mix of grief and memories, one day after he died. The adult children described a figure known to the public for his decades of civil-rights work, but also as a father and spiritual leader they said they would continue to carry in family life.
The family said Jackson died Tuesday at his home in Chicago after battling a rare neurological disorder that affected his ability to move and speak. As remembrances poured in worldwide, including flowers left outside the house where portraits of a smiling Jackson had been placed, his children said his family role came first in how they want his life remembered.
“Our father is a man who dedicated his life to public service to gain, protect and defend civil rights and human rights to make our nation better, to make the world more just, our people better neighbors with each other,” said Yusef Jackson, his youngest son, at the steps outside the home. He spoke while fighting back tears at times, as other family members offered their own tributes.
Santita Jackson, the oldest child, said that Jackson took “fatherhood very seriously.” “It was his charge to keep,” she said, emphasizing that the work and discipline attributed to him as a public figure also shaped the way he raised his family.
The memorial schedule, the family said, will include multiple services next week tied to the institutions and communities Jackson helped build. Two days of “him lying in repose” were set for the Chicago headquarters of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, the organization he founded, according to the family’s account of the plans.
A public memorial dubbed “The People’s Celebration” was planned for Feb. 27 at the House of Hope, a South Side church that the report described as having a 10,000-person arena. The family also said “homegoing services” were set for the following day at Rainbow PUSH, according to the organization.
Jesse Jackson Jr., Jackson’s eldest son and a former congressman, said the services would be open to the broadest range of people who want to attend. He said his father’s funeral services would welcome all, “Democrat, Republican, liberal and conservative, right wing, left wing — because his life is broad enough to cover the full spectrum of what it means to be an American.” He added that the family asked those attending to be respectful.
In a reflection with the style his family associated with Jackson—filled with prayer, tears and occasional chuckles—Jesse Jackson Jr. also said, “If his life becomes a turning point in our national political discourse, amen.” He concluded, “His last breath is not his last breath,” framing the tributes as part of an ongoing effort rather than a final goodbye.