Civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson diagnosed with Parkinson's disease

Aamer Madhani | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Civil rights activist Jesse Jackson diagnosed with Parkinson's disease Civil rights activist Jesse Jackson has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Veuer's Nick Cardona (@nickcardona93) has that story.

CHICAGO — The Rev. Jesse Jackson announced Friday that he has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

The 76-year-old civil rights leader made the announcement in a letter to supporters, saying he was diagnosed two years ago with the neurodegenerative disorder that results from loss of cells in various parts of the brain that control movement. The disease also afflicted his father.

“After a battery of tests, my physicians identified the issue as Parkinson’s disease, a disease that bested my father,” Jackson writes.

“Recognition of the effects of this disease on me has been painful, and I have been slow to grasp the gravity of it. For me, a Parkinson's diagnosis is not a stop sign but rather a signal that I must make lifestyle changes and dedicate myself to physical therapy in hopes of slowing the disease’s progression,” Jackson added.

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Jackson was diagnosed with the disease in 2015 and has been undergoing outpatient care, according to a statement from Northwestern Medicine that a Jackson aide provided.

Jackson said he and family members noticed something amiss with his health about three years ago. The disease has no cure and causes tremors, stiffness and difficulty balancing and walking.

"Now in the latter years of my life, at 76 years old, I find it increasingly difficult to perform routine tasks, and getting around is more of a challenge," Jackson writes. "For a while, I resisted interrupting my work to visit a doctor. But as my daily physical struggles intensified I could no longer ignore the symptoms, so I acquiesced."

A spokesman for Jackson declined to comment on the timing of the announcement.

Jackson emerged as a prominent voice in the civil rights movement in the 1960s. The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave Jackson a role in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and charged him with establishing a presence for the organization in Chicago.

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The ordained minister would go on to make two unsuccessful runs for the Democratic presidential nomination, in 1984 and 1988, and also organized the civil rights organizations Operation PUSH and the Rainbow Coalition.

He has served as an envoy to U.S. presidents, negotiating the release of a Navy pilot with Syrian president Hafez al-Assad and persuading Saddam Hussein to release several British and American citizens being held as "human shields" ahead of the 1991 Persian Gulf War. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Bill Clinton.

In recent years, he's been outspoken about police brutality in black and Latino communities. He's also pushed Silicon Valley executives to diversify their workforce.

Earlier this month, a journalist for the website The Root, alleged that Jackson grabbed her thigh and made an inappropriate comment toward her following a media event three years ago. A spokesman for Jackson said he didn't recall the incident but "profoundly and sincerely regrets" any pain caused.

Following the announcement of Parkinson's diagnosis, fellow activist Al Sharpton praised Jackson’s contribution to American life as someone who helped carry on King’s legacy, “perfected economic boycotts and jolted American politics with his two runs for the White House.

“Reverend Jackson has changed the nation and served in ways in which he never got credit,” Sharpton said. “We pray for him, just as he fought for us.”

In Jackson’s adopted hometown of Chicago, Mayor Rahm Emanuel said that Parkinson’s would “never, ever break Reverend Jackson’s spiritual commitment to justice and his ability to help continue to be a voice to those whose voices are not heard.”

Follow Aamer Madhani on Twitter: @AamerISmad