Memorial services honoring Rev. Jesse Jackson are expanding beyond Chicago, with additional events now planned in Washington, D.C., and South Carolina, according to his organization, the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition.
According to the Associated Press, Jackson, who died earlier this week at 84, will be honored across multiple cities tied to both his life and legacy. Public services in Washington, D.C., and his home state of South Carolina are scheduled for March 1-4.
Chicago will remain the central hub for memorial events. Rev. Jackson will lie in repose at the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition headquarters, the organization he built into a cornerstone of economic and social advocacy.
A public celebration of life is set for March 6 at the House of Hope, a large-capacity church on the city’s South Side. Private homegoing services will follow the next day at Rainbow/PUSH and will be livestreamed.
Family members gathered outside the Jackson home in Chicago this week, confirming that the services are expected to draw large crowds and remain open to the public. His eldest daughter, Santita Jackson, spoke about continuing her father’s work in the days ahead.
“Although his body is absent from us, his spirit suffuses and infuses us, and it charges us to continue with the work,” she said.
The expanded memorial plans come as tributes continue to highlight the scope of Rev. Jackson’s life and influence. In a statement released following his passing, his family described him as a figure whose reach extended far beyond his immediate circle.
“Our father was a servant leader—not only to our family, but to the oppressed, the voiceless, and the overlooked around the world,” the statement read. “We shared him with the world, and in return, the world became part of our extended family.”
Rev. Jesse Jackson rose to national prominence during the civil rights movement of the 1960s as a close associate of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. He participated in major demonstrations, including the Selma to Montgomery voting rights march, and later led Operation Breadbasket in Chicago, pushing companies to expand hiring opportunities for Black workers.
He was also present in Memphis on April 4, 1968, when King was assassinated—a moment that remained central to his life’s work moving forward.
Over the decades, Rev. Jackson built a national platform through activism, politics, and organizing, including two presidential runs and the creation of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition.