CHICAGO (AP) — The Rev. Jesse Jackson and his wife, Jacqueline, have been hospitalized after testing positive for COVID-19.
The famed 79-year-old civil rights leader is vaccinated against the virus and publicly received his first dose in January. According to a statement released Saturday evening, the Jacksons are being treated at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.
Jesse Jackson was a protégé of the Rev. Martin Luther King and key in guiding the modern civil rights movement on numerous issues, including voting rights. Despite having been diagnosed for Parkinson’s disease, Jackson has remained active and has advocated for Black people to get vaccinated.
