Crowd gathers for procession for late Rev. Jesse Jackson as funeral, memorial services begin

Hundreds turned out as the Rev. Jesse Jackson's remains were transported to lie in repose at Rainbow PUSH Headquarters Thursday, in the first of a series of memorial services.

The procession began Thursday morning from the Leak & Sons funeral home, at 7838 S. Cottage Grove Ave. in the Grand Crossing neighborhood. The procession headed for Rainbow PUSH Headquarters, at 930 E. 50th St., where the late Rev. Jackson will lie in repose for the next two days.

The procession then headed north on Cottage Grove Avenue from Leak & Sons three and a half miles north to 51st Street. At that point, cars will turn onto Drexel Boulevard, then 50th Street.

Road closures for the procession have been in effect since at 5:30 a.m. and include the north and southbound lanes of Drexel Boulevard between Hyde Park Boulevard and 49th Street. Meanwhile, 50th Street is closed between Drexel and Ellis avenues.

The closures will remain in effect until 11:15 p.m. Thursday.

Before the doors opened, Jackson's son, former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., spoke outside Rainbow PUSH — flanked by the Rev. Al Sharpton.

"We see this is a unique opportunity to lay down some of the political rhetoric and to lay down some of the division that deeply divides our country, and to reflect upon a man who brought people together," said Jackson Jr.

Jackson Jr. spoke as hundreds lined up outside Rainbow PUSH Headquarters to pay their respects to his father.

"People that are lining up by the hundreds, just to say thank you to a man who didn't ask for much; a man who lived essentially a simple life, but opened up his heart is carrying his concern for all of humanity," Jackson Jr. said.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson was also in attendance at Rainbow PUSH.

Meanwhile, numerous everyday Chicagoans turned out to pay their respects all along their procession route.

Chicago native and retired Chicago Transit Authority employee Irvin Clay turned out in front of A.R. Leak to see the Rev. Jackson's body along the procession route. He emphasized how much Rev. Jackson meant to him personally.

"As I was a young child, my father, he always went to Operation PUSH and the Breadbasket. I had a chance to work with my father at Campbell's Soup. [Jackson] came out there and supported us at Campbell's Soup, and then I got a chance, when I went to high school, he came and supported us when we had the race riots going on out there at Gage Park High School. He came up to CTA when I worked at CTA, supported us, and he's been in my life since I was a child," Clay said. "I just want to show my appreciation to the family that he helped us out a lot."

Also along the procession route was a woman who got to know Rev. Jackson when he first started Operation PUSH. The 77-year-old Hyde Park resident said she was raised at 1119 E. Hyde Park Blvd., off University Avenue on the northern edge of the Hyde Park neighborhood and just down the street from Rainbow PUSH.

"My favorite memory is when my mom got up on Saturday morning, trying make us go with her to PUSH," the woman said.

Curtis Lawrence also came out to honor Rev. Jackson. Lawrence is a longtime print journalist who most recently worked as senior editor of investigations for Block Club Chicago, and also taught journalism at Columbia College Chicago.

"I think there's very few Chicagoans — and [Jackson] always will be a true Chicagoan — who had the impact on not only the city, but the nation and the world that he did. I have memories of him as being a kid growing up in Chicago. I was 11 or 12 when he came to my church on the South Side of Chicago to talk about the grocery store boycotts," Lawrence said, "and fast-forward years later, I've been a longtime journalist here. I had the privilege of covering him, and even when I traveled with him or interviewed him, I always felt like I was like that little 12-year-old, impressed with the man who told everybody that they too could be somebody." 

James Hickman of Bent Publishing sold posters filled with photos of Rev. Jackson and a timeline of the reverend's life, titled "Jesse Jackson: Voice of Justice." Hickman printed 5,000 copies of the poster, and expected to sell out by Friday.

"We need, you know, the education, because you know, they've taken a lot of stuff away from the schools and stuff like that — DEI," Hickman said, "and it's important to keep, you know, you can't just go get history and education in a lot of different places."

Hickman said he has sold his educational materials outside Rainbow PUSH before, with permission from the Jackson family.

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."

Doors were to open at Rainbow PUSH at 10 a.m., and organizers expect a steady stream of people throughout the day.

For decades, Rainbow PUSH Headquarters amplified Rev. Jackson's voice. 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.
• 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