Renowned civil rights leader Reverend Jesse Jackson has been discharged from a hospital in Chicago after undergoing treatment for a rare neurological condition, his family reported. Jackson spent more than 12 days in medical care.

At 84, Jackson left Northwestern Memorial Hospital in stable condition, according to a statement from his son, Yusef Jackson, who also serves as the family spokesperson. The statement, shared via the Rainbow PUSH Coalition’s social media, expressed relief over his recovery.

The eminent Baptist minister and former U.S. presidential hopeful had been hospitalized since earlier this month due to progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), a rare degenerative disease impacting movement, balance, and eye control. Initially diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2013, Jackson’s condition was updated to PSP in April 2025, a disorder that currently has no known cure.

In an image captured at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on August 19, 2024, Rev. Jesse Jackson stands as a testament to his enduring influence. (Photo by Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Yusef Jackson expressed gratitude on behalf of the family, thanking the numerous friends and supporters who offered visits, prayers, and support for his father during this challenging time. The statement was released through the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, a progressive organization founded by Jackson in Chicago.

“We bear witness to the fact that prayer works and would also like to thank the professional, caring, and amazing medical and security staff at Northwestern Memorial Hospital,” he added. “We humbly ask for your continued prayers throughout this precious time.”

Jackson announced his Parkinson’s diagnosis in 2017.

“After a battery of tests, my physicians identified the issue as Parkinson’s disease, a disease that bested my father,” he said at the time. “Recognition of the effects of this disease on me has been painful, and I have been slow to grasp the gravity of it.”

Rev. Al Sharpton and Rev. Jesse Jackson attend Day One of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago, Illinois, on Aug. 19, 2024.  (REUTERS/Mike Segar)

The longtime political activist, who worked alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., has faced several health challenges in recent years, including gallbladder surgery and hospitalization due to COVID-19.

In 2021, he was hospitalized in Washington, D.C., after falling and hitting his head while helping Howard University students protesting campus living conditions.

Jackson became a key lieutenant to King in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in the 1960s. He was involved in the Selma to Montgomery marches, three protest marches held in 1965 in Alabama to advocate for voting rights for African Americans.

Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. delivers a speech during a presidential campaign stop with Rep. Maxine Waters and supporters at the Los Angeles Hilton Hotel, June 6, 1984. (Bob Riha Jr./Getty)

After King’s assassination in 1968, Jackson became one of the most prominent heirs to King’s legacy of activism. Jackson is considered one of the most prominent civil rights leaders, ministers and political figures in modern American history. Jackson twice ran for president as a Democrat, in 1984 and 1988.

The Rainbow PUSH Coalition was formed by the elder Jackson in 1996 by merging two groups he had founded: Operation PUSH (People United to Save Humanity) and the National Rainbow Coalition.