Family of Rev. Jesse Jackson speaks in his memory; memorial plans rescheduled

Update: The Jackson family said Thursday afternoon memorial and funeral plans for Rev. Jesse Jackson's celebration of life are being rescheduled. New information about a celebration of life and funeral services have been announced.

The family of civil rights icon the Rev. Jesse Jackson spoke publicly on Wednesday morning, just one day after he died peacefully surrounded by loved ones.

Rev. Jesse Jackson's sons — U.S. Rep. Jonathan Jackson (D-Illinois), former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., and Yusef Jackson, and daughters Santita and Ashley Jackson — all gathered at the family home in Chicago's South Shore neighborhood to reflect on his life and legacy, and about his struggle to serve at the end of his life due to his debilitating illness. Daughter Jackie Jackson was out of the city on Wednesday and was unable to attend.

Jesse Jackson Jr. recalled the final moments of his father. He said he is grateful to say goodbye to his dad.

"I was there at 12:35 a.m., when my dad took his last breath," he said. "At 12:37, I said, 'Mom, dad is not breathing.' She didn't believe it. She said, 'Go on back. Tell him he'll go back to sleep.' Tell him to wake up in a couple of hours.' 'No, no, dad's gone, mom.' Mom got up and began calling everyone and notifying the world."

Jackson Jr. said that his father's "last breath is not his last breath." With a call to action in the wake of the passing of Jackson Sr., his family is grieving. 

"He's been a lion among lions, stubborn to the very, very end," said Yusef Jackson. "For his body of work that allows us this opportunity at one level to unite the country and our city, we give him thanks, and we give him grace."

Yusef Jackson emphasized that his father "quickly became maladjusted to injustice" at a young age, getting arrested at the age of 17 for protesting for the right to use a public library, and winning that battle and many others.

"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.

Santita Jackson emphasized the Rev. Jesse Jackson's dedication as a father and a man of faith. She said that he wouldn't listen to her when she called him reverend, and that he demanded that she call him daddy because he said, "I am that."

"I've seen him referred to as Jesse Jackson, Jesse Jetstream — remember Mike Royko? Yes," she said. "But you must remember that he was first a seminarian. He turned down an opportunity to be a law student at Duke University Law School, and he came here and became a seminarian."

It was in that role as a seminarian that Rev. Jackson caught the attention of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Santita Jackson said.

"[King] said, 'I see something special in you,' so a semester before he got his master's in divinity — which he ultimately finished — he went on to work for Dr. King," said Santita Jackson. "So he had a godly call, but he had an assignment from Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, which he never wavered from throughout his life. There is no one who's been more faithful to the mission of Dr. Martin Luther King than Rev. Jesse Louis Jackson Sr."

Rep. Jonathan Jackson said he was grateful to be able to have both of his parents for 60 years. He offered gratitude for those who honored the Rev. Jackson's memory.

"My father's lived a long life, and the words that he shared with me constantly in this latter part of his life is to remind people that he was a long-distance runner," said Rep. Jackson. "He ran the full measure of the race, and now this mantle of standing up for freedom, standing up for dignity, standing up for those that have been marginalized, has now passed on — not to be inherited by a person, but to be taken over and taken up by another generation."

Jesse Jackson Jr. said his father's funeral will be open to all — regardless of differences in values and point of view.

"These homegoing services are welcome to 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 said. "We only ask people to come and be respectful in the context of the extraordinary life that he lived."

People from all over Chicago and beyond have paid tribute to Rev. Jackson since his passing on Tuesday morning — placing flowers at a growing memorial outside the family's house.  

Rev. Jackson's adult children said their father was rooted in the community. A tireless advocate for equality, a civil rights leader, and a man with an unwavering belief in justice. Certainly big shoes to fill, and under the same namesake as Jesse Jackson Jr.

"That pressure is the inability to live up exactly to who he is, and what he's been able to accomplish, and I've also lived with that my entire life," Jackson Jr. said.  

Santita Jackson said on Tuesday that she hoped people would remember her father as their "champion."  She said her father always told everyone he believed in them and worked to ensure that everyone he encountered and helped could be somebody with a voice. 

Jackson's children vowed to continue his legacy and hope others will follow.

"I think that dad, um, unmistakably was known for his discourse, and I think that we, we've spoke at, ad nauseam about the fact that our generation, Gen Z-ers, Gen Alpha, millennium, uh, millennials, have the responsibility to remain in discourse with one another," daughter Ashley Jackson said.

His children have called their Father's impending memorial services a "great meeting" of people from all backgrounds and all beliefs.

Celebration of life services rescheduled 

The Jackson family announced memorial plans Wednesday night, but are now rescheduling those plans. New information about a celebration of life and funeral services will be announced soon, the family said. 

The video above is from an earlier report.