Civil rights icon reveals Parkinson’s diagnosis
Rev. Jesse Jackson says disease is a ‘signal’ to make changes and help find cure
CHICAGO— The Rev. Jesse Jackson disclosed publicly Friday that he has been seeking outpatient care for two years for Parkinson’s disease and plans to “dedicate” himself to physical therapy.
In a Friday letter to supporters, the 76-year-old civil rights icon said family and friends noticed a change in him about three years ago and he could no longer ignore symptoms of the chronic neurological disorder that causes movement difficulties.
“Recognition of the effects of this disease on me has been painful, and I have been slow to grasp the gravity of it,” he wrote. “For me, a Parkinson’s diagnosis is not a stop sign but rather a signal that I must make lifestyle changes and dedicate myself to physical therapy in hopes of slowing the disease’s progression.”
Jackson also released a Northwestern Medicine letter saying he was diagnosed in 2015 and has since sought outpatient care. He vowed to use his voice to help find a cure for the disease. He declined an interview Friday.
Jackson remains an active presence in American politics. Last year, he shuttled across the country speaking and registering people to vote, saying that people “are very motivated when we are inspired.”
He runs the Chicago-based Rainbow/PUSH Coalition and was twice a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in the 1980s.
Jackson’s campaigns have since been viewed as paving the way for former president Barack Obama’s successful campaigns that followed a generation later.
The Rev. Al Sharpton, who once worked for Jackson, said Friday he had spent recent days in New York with the man he described as his mentor, and he praised Jackson’s work and legacy on civil rights issues and in electoral politics.
“He changed the nation,” Sharpton said in a video statement. “He served in ways he never got credit (for). No one in our lifetime served longer and stronger. We pray for him because he’s given his life for us.”
About 60,000 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with Parkinson’s annually, according to the Parkinson’s Foundation. The exact cause isn’t known, treatments include medications, surgery and physical therapy. With files from the Washington Post