{"id":2570573,"date":"2026-02-17T09:52:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T14:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/overnight-breaking-jesse-jackson-race-activist-associate-of-louis-farrakhan-and-democrat-politician-dead-at-84\/"},"modified":"2026-02-17T09:54:39","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T14:54:39","slug":"overnight-breaking-jesse-jackson-race-activist-associate-of-louis-farrakhan-and-democrat-politician-dead-at-84","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/overnight-breaking-jesse-jackson-race-activist-associate-of-louis-farrakhan-and-democrat-politician-dead-at-84\/","title":{"rendered":"Overnight Breaking: Jesse Jackson &#8211; Race Activist, Associate of Louis Farrakhan, and Democrat Politician &#8211; Dead at 84"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">36<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fovernight-breaking-jesse-jackson-race-activist-associate-of-louis-farrakhan-and-democrat-politician-dead-at-84%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2570573&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The Rev. Jesse Jackson, a <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >civil rights leader<\/a> who helped shape American politics and twice ran for the Democratic nomination in the 1980s, died early Tuesday at age 84 after being hospitalized with progressive supranuclear palsy, and he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republican-congressman-derrick-van-ordens-oldest-daughter-dies-cause-revealed\/\" title=\"Republican Congressman Derrick Van Orden&#039;s eldest daughter tragically passes away, cause disclosed.\">died peacefully surrounded<\/a> by his family. Born in 1941 in Greenville, South Carolina, Jackson first rose to prominence as an aide to Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in the 1960s and became known for his rallying cry \u201cI Am Somebody.\u201d His 1984 and 1988 presidential campaigns drew both black and white voters and signaled a broader, more identity-focused Democratic Party, though his career was also plagued by controversy. He faced criticism for associations with Louis Farrakhan and for remarks judged antisemitic,and he was dogged by allegations in 1988 that he had exaggerated his actions after King\u2019s assassination. In 2001, it was disclosed that he had fathered a child with a former staffer, and he publicly apologized. Jackson announced in 2017 that he had Parkinson\u2019s disease but remained active at times, including comments on national events after the 2020 shooting in Kenosha. The Rainbow\/PUSH Coalition described him as a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/catalina-lauf-on-challenging-anti-trump-rep-kinzinger-its-time\/\" title=\"Catalina Lauf on Challenging Anti-Trump Rep. Kinzinger: \u2018It\u2019s Time\u2019\">servant leader<\/a> who uplifted the oppressed and called on others to continue the causes he championed\u2014justice, equality, and love\u2014urging people to honor his memory by continuing his work.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_0)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>The Rev. Jesse Jackson, the racial activist whose two presidential primary runs were historic but were oft overshadowed by his conduct away from the campaign trail and pulpit, died early Tuesday morning at the age of 84.<\/p>\n<p>Jackson, <a href=\"https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/2026\/02\/17\/us\/reverend-jesse-jackson-death?Date=20260217&amp;Profile=CNN\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CNN<\/a> reported, had been hospitalized for progressive supranuclear palsy, a neurological disorder.<\/p>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DU2mUvPDoh9\/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">statement<\/a> from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/activist-jesse-jackson-hospitalized-rare-brain-disorder\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Rainbow\/PUSH Coalition<\/a>, which he helped found, &ldquo;died peacefully &hellip; surrounded by his family.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Our father was a servant leader &mdash; not only to our family, but to the oppressed, the voiceless, and the overlooked around the world,&rdquo; the Jackson family said in the statement.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We d him with the world, and in return, the world became part of our extended family. His unwavering belief in justice, equality, and love uplifted millions, and we ask you to honor his memory by continuing the fight for the values he lived by.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadScript(src) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=src; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.async=true; \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.body.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadScript(\"https:\/\/embed.sendtonews.com\/player3\/embedcode.js?fk=s28Az7AY\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #stnvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#stnvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>Jackson, born to an unmarried mother in Greenville, South Carolina in 1941, first came to prominence as an aide to Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in the 1960s.<\/p>\n<p>Following King&rsquo;s assassination in 1968, Jackson was seen by many as his heir apparent. &ldquo;I Am Somebody,&rdquo; his signature line, was often repeated or chanted during his speeches &mdash; although, as CNN noted, it &ldquo;was aimed as much at himself as it was to his audience.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The apex of Jackson&rsquo;s public career came during his runs for the Democratic nomination for the presidency in 1984 and 1988, where he surprised many by his ability to draw white as well as black voters.<\/p>\n<p>During the 1984 race, he won several contests in what was seen to be a two-man race for the future of the Democratic Party between old-school liberal and former Vice President Walter Mondale, and Colorado Sen. Gary Hart, a centrist so-called &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Atari_Democrat\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Atari Democrat<\/a>&rdquo; who favored the nascent tech industry and pro-business policy.<\/p>\n<p>However, Jackson became the surprise of the campaign, prevailing in several states and finishing third in delegates. In 1988, he ran again, finishing second in delegates to Massachusetts Gov. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/watch-make-dukakis-look-cool-minneapolis-mayor-kisses-somalis-feet-cringe-inducing-dance-routine\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Michael Dukakis<\/a> after several candidates &mdash; including Hart and future <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/joe-biden-never-good-man-proof-disgraced-not-celebrated\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">President Joe Biden<\/a>, then a Delaware senator &mdash; dropped out due to scandal. Both times, the Democratic nominee lost in a landslide to the Republican.<\/p>\n<p>And, indeed, while moderate Democrats would prevail in the short-term battle for the party&rsquo;s soul that followed three straight losses in the 1980s, Jackson&rsquo;s politics of identity presaged where the party would go in the 21st century.<\/p>\n<p>So, too, did many of the controversies that shadowed Jackson throughout his career.<\/p>\n<p>In the 1984 campaign, Jackson&rsquo;s association with the virulently anti-Semitic leader of the Nation of Islam, Louis Farrakhan, came under scrutiny. Jackson would try to distance himself from some of Farrakhan&rsquo;s statements, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1984\/06\/29\/world\/jackson-criticizes-remarks-made-by-farrakhan-as-reprehensible.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">calling<\/a> them &ldquo;reprehensible and morally indefensible&rdquo; late in the campaign.<\/p>\n<p>However, Jackson&rsquo;s cause wasn&rsquo;t helped by anti-Semitic remarks of his own making during the campaign; in a conversation with a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/wp-srv\/politics\/special\/clinton\/frenzy\/jackson.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Washington Post<\/a> reporter, he referred to Jews as &ldquo;Hymies&rdquo; and the city of New York as &ldquo;Hymietown.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Farrakhan made the situation worse, tacitly threatening the Post reporter who made the comment public: &ldquo;If you harm this brother [Jackson], it will be the last one you harm,&rdquo; he said during a radio broadcast.<\/p>\n<p>In 1988, meanwhile, Jackson&rsquo;s second run was dogged by allegations that he had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1988\/04\/18\/us\/koch-says-jackson-lied-about-actions-after-dr-king-was-slain.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">lied<\/a> about and exaggerated his actions following <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/confirmed-jfk-rfk-mlk-assassination-docs-released-mass-declassification-govt-docs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">King&rsquo;s assassination<\/a> in 1968.<\/p>\n<p>His <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-left-unmasks-its-desire-to-destroy-families-and-the-nation-with-sexual-chaos\/\" title=\"The Left Unmasks Its Desire To Destroy Families \u2014 And The Nation \u2014 With Sexual Chaos\">post-political career<\/a> was similarly affected by controversy.<\/p>\n<p>In 2001, there were revelations he had fathered a child with a former member of his staff with whom he was having an affair, just one year after then-President Bill Clinton awarded Jackson with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This is no time for evasions, denials or alibis. I fully accept responsibility and I am truly sorry for my actions,&rdquo; Jackson said, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2026\/02\/17\/963124454\/jesse-jackson-civil-rights-leader-rainbow-coalition-dies\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NPR<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In 2008, meanwhile, during <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/top-goldman-sachs-lawyer-quits-epstein-relationship-media-glosses-connection-obama\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Barack Obama&rsquo;s<\/a> first candidacy for presidency, Jackson drew controversy during a hot mic moment where he said he wanted to castrate the Illinois senator for &ldquo;talking down to black people.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I want to cut his n*** out,&rdquo; he said during a Fox News appearance.<\/p>\n<p>At the time, his son, former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., was a co-chair of the Obama campaign and chastised his father. Jackson Jr. &mdash; a congressman who was subsequently <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nprillinois.org\/statehouse\/2013-04-01\/jr-s-fall-much-was-expected-from-him-in-the-end-he-was-the-one-who-expected-too-much\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">implicated<\/a> in trying to buy Obama&rsquo;s vacant Senate seat in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/il-dem-rep-legalize-abortion-castrate-tax-men-abortions-rare\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ron Blagojevich<\/a> scandal &mdash; would later plead guilty to spending three-quarters of a million in taxpayer funds for his own personal use in 2013 and spend 30 months in prison.<\/p>\n<p>Jackson announced he had Parkinson&rsquo;s disease in 2017. However, he continued to speak publicly on occasion. One of his last high-profile appearances came after Jacob Blake was shot by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin in August of 2020.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Today, there&rsquo;s a moral desert, top-down. The acid rain is coming, top-down,&rdquo; Jackson said in Kenosha at the time. &ldquo;That kind of moral desert hurts all of America.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Video showed that Blake was trying to stab police at the time of his shooting and no officers were ever charged. Kenosha was engulfed in riots that were infamous called, in a CNN chyron, &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/cnn-mocked-labeling-kenosha-mostly-peaceful-footage-showed-opposite\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">fiery but mostly peaceful protests<\/a>.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here\u2019s a paraphrase of the passage:<\/p>\n<p>Rev. Jesse Jackson, the civil rights leader and two-time Democratic presidential hopeful, died early Tuesday at 84 after a hospitalization for progressive supranuclear palsy. A Rainbow\/PUSH Coalition statement said he died peacefully with his family by his side. His family praised him as a servant leader for the oppressed and the voiceless around the world, urging others to carry forward the values of justice, equality, and love that he lived by.<\/p>\n<p>Jackson, born in Greenville, South Carolina in 1941 to an unmarried mother, rose to prominence as an aide to Martin Luther King Jr. in the 1960s. After King\u2019s assassination in 1968, many saw him as his rightful successor. His trademark phrase \u201cI Am Somebody\u201d became a rallying cry in his speeches. His most significant political impact came during his 1984 and 1988 campaigns for the Democratic nomination, when he attracted both Black and white voters. In 1984 he surprised many by winning several contests and finishing third in delegates in a race that was viewed as a contest between Mondale and Hart. In 1988 he again ran and finished second in delegates to Michael Dukakis after other candidates dropped out amid scandal. Although the Democratic nominee lost in a landslide to the Republican winner in both elections, Jackson\u2019s identity-focused politics helped shape the party\u2019s direction in the years that followed. His career was also marked by controversy.<\/p>\n<p>During the 1984 campaign, his association with Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan drew scrutiny. Jackson tried to distance himself from some of Farrakhan\u2019s statements, but he also faced backlash from his own past remarks, including disparaging comments about Jews that he later acknowledged as reprehensible. Farrakhan publicly threatened a journalist over publication of those comments. In 1988, Jackson faced accusations that he exaggerated his role after King\u2019s assassination. His post-political life was troubled as well: in 2001 it emerged that he had fathered a child with a former staffer, just after receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 2008, a hot-mic moment during Obama\u2019s campaign drew further controversy when he referenced a desire to criticize Obama in harsh terms. His son, Jesse Jackson Jr., would later face his own legal troubles, including a conviction for misuse of funds related to the Blagojevich scandal. Jackson revealed he had Parkinson\u2019s disease in 2017, yet he continued to speak publicly on occasions, including remarks after Jacob Blake was shot in Kenosha in 2020, where he described a national moral crisis and the damaging effects of political rhetoric on the country<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2570574,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Michael-Featured-Image-698.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[32327,73931,67018,39408,73930],"class_list":["post-2570573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-breaking-news","tag-democrat-politician","tag-jesse-jackson","tag-louis-farrakhan","tag-race-activism"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Michael-Featured-Image-698.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2570573","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2570573"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2570573\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2570577,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2570573\/revisions\/2570577"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2570574"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2570573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2570573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2570573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}