On Friday, the memorial for Jesse Jackson was held. Three former presidents — Bill Clinton, Joe Biden, and Barack Obama — were all in attendance and spoke to the crowd. Now, the last two mentioned are being criticized by Jesse Jackson’s son, who accuses them of turning the funeral into a political spectacle.
On February 17, the civil rights icon Jesse Jackson passed away at 84. He had been taken to the hospital in November and had lived for more than ten years with a serious brain disease called progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), according to the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.
The illness makes it difficult to walk and swallow, and it can lead to dangerous health complications. In 2017, he revealed he had Parkinson’s. Before going public, he received treatment at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago for about two years.
Jackson became well known during the civil rights movement. He marched and protested alongside Martin Luther King Jr. and spent his life fighting for equality. Over the years, Jesse Jackson also ran twice for the Democratic presidential nomination, in 1984 and 1988. On Friday, his memorial was held at the Chicago House of Hope to celebrate his life. Three former U.S. presidents — Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and Bill Clinton — along with former Vice President Kamala Harris, attended and addressed the crowd.
Barack Obama and Joe Biden slammed by Jesse Jackson’s son for speeches at memorial service
However, they spoke not only about Jesse Jackson, but also about President Donald Trump. For example, Barack Obama commented on the state of the country today.
“Each day we wake up to some new assault on our Democratic institutions, another setback to the idea of the rule of law, an offense to common decency. Every day you wake up to things you just didn’t think were possible,” he said, as the crowd cheered.
Although the former president didn’t mention Trump by name, it was clear who he was referring to. He continued, “Each day, we’re told by those in high office to fear each other and to turn on each other, and that some Americans count more than others, and that some don’t even count at all. Everywhere we see greed and bigotry being celebrated, and bullying and mockery masquerading as strength.”
Joe Biden also spoke about his former presidential opponent, saying, “We’re in a tough spot, folks. We’ve got an administration that doesn’t share any of the values that we have. And I don’t think I’m exaggerating a little bit.” While many in attendance cheered, not everyone was pleased with Obama and Biden’s remarks. Per the NY Post, during a private memorial service at Rainbow PUSH Coalition headquarters in Chicago on Saturday, Jackson’s son, Jesse Jackson Jr., criticized the former presidents for making the memorial political.
“Tense relationship”
“Yesterday, I listened for several hours to three United States presidents who do not know Jesse Jackson,” he said.
“He maintained a tense relationship with the political order, not because the presidents were white or Black, but because the demands of our message — the demands of speaking for the least of these, those who are disinherited, the damned, the dispossessed, the disrespected — required not Democratic or Republican solutions, but a consistent, prophetic voice that at no point ever sold us out as a people. And it speaks volumes about who the Rev. Jesse Jackson was.”
Neither Joe Biden nor Barack Obama has responded to the criticism. However, it’s not the first time Obama has been cast in a negative light in connection with Jesse Jackson.
The same day the civil rights leader’s death was announced, Donald Trump claimed Jackson didn’t like Obama.
“Jesse was a force of nature like few others before him. He had much to do with the Election, without acknowledgment or credit, of Barack Hussein Obama, a man who Jesse could not stand. He loved his family greatly, and to them I send my deepest sympathies and condolences. Jesse will be missed!” Trump wrote on Truth Social at the time.