Celebration of life for Jesse Jackson to draw former presidents and Grammy-winning artists

CHICAGO (AP) — Three former U.S. presidents, Grammy-winning artists, clergy and elected officials are expected to attend a Chicago celebration of life on Friday for the late Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr.

The event honoring the protege of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and two-time presidential candidate follows memorial services that drew large crowds in Chicago and South Carolina, where the civil rights leader was born.

The Chicago celebration — at an influential Black church with a 10,000-seat arena — is anticipated to be the largest. Former Democratic U.S. presidents Barack Obama, Joe Biden and Bill Clinton, along with former Vice President Kamala Harris, plan to attend, according to the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, the organization that Jackson founded. The musical lineup includes gospel singer BeBe Winans.

“These homegoing services are welcome to all. Democrat, Republican, liberal, conservative, right wing, left wing because his life is broad enough to cover the full spectrum of what it means to be an American,” the civil rights leader’s son Jesse Jackson Jr. said last month. “Dad would have wanted us to have a great meeting to discuss our differences, to find ways of moving forward and moving together.”

The elder Jackson died last month at age 84 after battling a rare neurological disorder that affected his mobility and ability to speak. Family members say he continued coming into the office until last year and communicated through hand signals. His final public appearances included the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

Jackson's pursuits were countless, taking him to all corners of the globe: Advocating for the poor and underrepresented on issues including voting rights, health care, job opportunities and education. He scored diplomatic victories with world leaders, and through Rainbow PUSH Coalition, he channeled cries for Black pride and self-determination into corporate boardrooms, pressuring executives to make America a more open and equitable society.

Jackson’s services in Chicago and South Carolina drew civic leaders, school groups and everyday people who said they were touched by Jackson’s work, from scholarship programs to advocating for inmates. Several states flew flags at half-staff in his honor.

Services in Washington, D.C., were tabled after a request to let Jackson lie in honor at the United States Capitol rotunda was denied by House Speaker Mike Johnson, who said precedent typically reserves the space for select officials, including former presidents. Details on a future event have not been made public.

In his final months, Jackson received numerous visitors in Chicago, including the Clintons and the Rev. Al Sharpton, who also attended his memorial services in Chicago last week.

“He has been the central mentor of my life,” Sharpton said. “The challenge for us that we’ve got to make sure that all he lived for was not in vain.”