What is PSP? Civil rights activist Rev. Jesse Jackson being treated for rare brain disorder

CHICAGO — Civil rights activist Rev. Jesse Jackson was hospitalized on Wednesday in Chicago, according to the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.

Sources told our sister station WLS that Jackson was being treated at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.

Jackson is “under observation for Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP), a neurodegenerative disorder he has managed for more than a decade,” a statement from Rainbow PUSH read.

The civil rights activist was initially diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. However, he was diagnosed with PSP in April 2025.

What is PSP?

Progressive supranuclear palsy is a rare brain disease that affects walking, balance, eye movements and swallowing, according to the Mayo Clinic.

PSP is also known as Steele-Richardson-Olszewski syndrome.

The cause of PSP isn’t known, according to the Mayo Clinic. Symptoms come from the damage of brain cells.

The only proven risk factor for progressive supranuclear palsy is age, according to the Mayo Clinic.

The 84-year-old gained national attention in the 1960s as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s protégé.

Jackson spent more than 60 years advocating for racial equality and economic justice. He ran for U.S. president in 1984 and 1988.

He helped to found the Chicago-based Rainbow PUSH Coalition, an organization dedicated to social justice. He spent nearly three decades leading Rainbow PUSH before stepping down in 2023.