Rev. Jesse Jackson to Step Down as President of Rainbow PUSH Coalition

Jackson's successor will be announced at the organization's annual convention on Sunday

Rev. Jesse Jackson, the founder of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, is stepping down as president, the organization said in a statement to New York Times on Friday.

“His commitment is unwavering, and he will elevate his life’s work by teaching ministers how to fight for social justice and continue the freedom movement,” the statement read.

The civil rights leader, 81, announced his decision during the Rainbow PUSH Coalition’s weekly radio broadcast on Saturday, according to Fox 32 Chicago.

“I’m going to make a transition pretty soon,” Jackson said, per the outlet. “I’ve been doing this stuff for 64 years. I was 18 years old. I’m going to get a new president for Rainbow PUSH Coalition.”

Related: Rev. Jesse Jackson Among Those Arrested at Protest Outside Capitol Over Stalled Voting Rights Bill

He continued: "I'm going to work along with the new president and our board, and we'll have a new president who will in fact be working here day to day. I want to see us grow and prosper. I think this idea about stopping your drop does not make sense. We have the ability to build on what we've established over the years."

The reverend reiterated the decision during a convention kickoff Saturday morning.

One of his sons, Illinois Democratic Rep. Jonathan Jackson told The Chicago Sun-Times that there “is a determination made that in his current health and condition that he has appointed a successor and will formally announce it Sunday.”

In 2017, Jackson revealed that he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, an incurable degenerative disorder of the central nervous system, in 2015.

Related: Rev. Jesse Jackson Hospitalized After Falling and Hitting His Head at Howard University

The Rainbow PUSH Coalition confirmed in a statement to NYT that Jackson’s successor will be introduced at the annual international convention in Chicago, which runs until Wednesday.

Jackson will also be paid tribute at the convention Saturday afternoon to celebrate his 35 years as president since his 1988 nomination.

The Rainbow PUSH Coalition is described as “the product of a social justice movement that grew out of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference’s Operation Breadbasket,” which was founded by Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Jackson served as the first-ever director.

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Jackson founded the Rainbow PUSH Coalition in 1971 as a result of merging Operation PUSH and the Rainbow Organization and is “dedicated to improving the economic conditions of Black communities across the United States,” per the website.

Rev. Jackson famously marched with Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in civil rights demonstrations in the 1960s and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bill Clinton in 2000.

He also ran as a Democratic presidential candidate in 1984 and served as a shadow U.S. senator for Washington D.C. from 1991 to 1997.

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