{"id":507856,"date":"2026-03-06T20:05:11","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T20:05:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/507856\/"},"modified":"2026-03-06T20:05:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T20:05:11","slug":"watch-jesse-jacksons-celebration-of-life-ceremony-in-chicago-npr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/507856\/","title":{"rendered":"Watch Jesse Jackson’s celebration of life ceremony in Chicago : NPR"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"People<\/p>\n

\n People attend a celebration of life service for civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson at the House of Hope on Friday in Chicago.<\/p>\n

Scott Olson\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

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Scott Olson\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

For live updates of Rev. Jesse Jackson’s service, head to WBEZ and the Chicago Sun Times’ live blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Former Presidents Barack Obama, Joe Biden and Bill Clinton are speaking at a celebration of the Rev. Jesse Jackson’s life on Friday. The service at the House of Hope, a megachurch on Chicago’s South Side, is drawing a roster of luminaries to help Jackson’s family observe a homegoing for the late civil rights leader. <\/p>\n

“I am! Somebody!” the crowd chanted as the former presidents made their way to their seats, repeating one of Jackson’s trademark sentiments. The service began moments later.<\/p>\n

The service will also feature performances by Chicago native Jennifer Hudson, along with gospel singers Bebe Winans and Pastor Marvin Winans.<\/p>\n

The event was slated to begin at noon ET, but it was delayed more than 30 minutes as attendees greeted one another. <\/p>\n

\"The<\/a> <\/p>\n

The memorial is expected to run for several hours. You can watch streaming video of the service here, along with live coverage from WBEZ in Chicago<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Other speakers include former Vice President Kamala Harris, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, along with the Rev. Al Sharpton and former NBA star Isiah Thomas.<\/p>\n

Notable attendees include: California Gov. Gavin Newsom; former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich; former Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley; Sen. Dick Durbin and Rep. Robin Kelly of Illinois; and Mr. T.<\/p>\n

The service \u2014 and another, private service on Saturday \u2014 will be officiated by faith leaders Pastor Charles Jenkins and Rev. James T. Meeks.<\/p>\n

\"Former<\/p>\n

\n Former Vice President Kamala Harris, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, former first lady Jill Biden and former President Joe Biden attend a public homegoing service for the Rev. Jesse Jackson at the House of Hope on Friday in Chicago.<\/p>\n

Kenn Cook Jr. for NPR
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Kenn Cook Jr. for NPR<\/p>\n

Program for Friday’s memorial <\/p>\n

\"Family<\/a> <\/p>\n

Below is the order of service, as planned:
\u00a0
Musical Prelude: Legacy Mass Choir\u00a0
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Call to Order: Officiants Rev. James T. Meeks, pastor emeritus of Salem Baptist Church of Chicago, and Pastor Charles Jenkins, pastor emeritus of Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church of Chicago
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Scripture: Matthias Jackson, Old Testament; Atticus Jackson, New Testament
\u00a0
Acknowledgements & Resolutions
\u00a0
Prayers: Rev. Michael I. Pfleger, pastor emeritus of Faith Community of St. Sabina (Chicago); Rabbi Sharon Brous, founder of IKAR (Los Angeles); Rev. Otis Moss III, Trinity United Church of Christ (Chicago)
\u00a0
Musical Selection:\u00a0Hezekiah Walker, “Every Praise”
\u00a0
Expressions: Rabbi Steven Jacobs, Progressive Faith Foundation; Pastor Steve Munsey, Family Christian Center; Judge Greg Mathis
\u00a0
Opening: Yusef Jackson; Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker; Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson
\u00a0
Musical Selection: Opal Staples
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Expressions: James Reynolds, Jr., chairman and CEO, Loop Capital; C.K. Hoffler, board chair, Rainbow PUSH Coalition; Thomas S. Ricketts, chairman, Chicago Cubs; Isiah Thomas, NBA Hall of Famer; former President Barack Obama
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Musical Selection: Jennifer Hudson, “A Change Gonna Come”
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Expressions: Rev. Al Sharpton, founder, National Action Network; James Zogby, founder, Arab American Institute; Gustavo Francisco Petro Urrego, president of the Republic of Colombia; former President Bill Clinton<\/p>\n

\"Rev.<\/p>\n

\n Rev. Jesse Jackson, who died last month, is being celebrated in Chicago, the city where he took his fight for civil rights after growing up in South Carolina during the segregation era. He’s seen here in 2013, during an event at the historic Ben’s Chili Bowl restaurant in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n

Kris Connor\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

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Kris Connor\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Video Tribute: Amadou Janaeh (Gambia); Andre Ramirez\u00a0(former POW)<\/p>\n

Musical Selection: Le’Andria Johnson, “We Shall Overcome”<\/p>\n

Family Expression: Former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.<\/p>\n

\"'Marchers<\/a> <\/p>\n

Expressions: John Nichols; Rep. Chuy Garcia (IL-04); Rep. Maxine Waters (CA-35); Pastor Jamal Bryant, New Birth Missionary Baptist Church (Stonecrest, Ga.)
\u00a0
Musical Selection: Marvin Sapp, “Never Would Have Made It”<\/p>\n

Expressions: Former Vice President Kamala Harris; former President Joe Biden<\/p>\n

Musical Selection: Bebe Winans, “Stand”<\/p>\n

Family Expressions: Jacqueline Jackson; Ashley Jackson<\/p>\n

Musical selection: Santita Jackson, “To God Be The Glory”<\/p>\n

Family Expression: Rep. Jonathan L. Jackson (IL-01)<\/p>\n

Musical Selection: Marvin Winans, “Let the Church Say Amen”<\/p>\n

Benediction: Charles Jenkins<\/p>\n

Recessional<\/p>\n

Civil rights leader fought segregation in his home state <\/p>\n

Jackson died on Feb. 17<\/a> at age 84. His death has brought an outpouring of tributes to the civil rights leader and politician who devoted his life to pushing for equality and change. His early efforts to fight segregation included insisting on access<\/a> to the “white library” in his hometown of Greenville, S.C., in 1960.<\/p>\n

Dorris Wright, a former classmate of Jackson’s who was one of the “Greenville Eight” along with him, told Here & Now<\/a> that after their action, “the library was shut down, I think, for about a week or ten days. And then when they reopened, they reopened it to everybody.”<\/p>\n

Five years later, Jackson marched alongside Martin Luther King Jr. and others in Selma, Ala.<\/a> His advocacy continued in the decades that followed, leading Jackson to run for president in 1984 and 1988.<\/p>\n

\"Abby<\/a> <\/p>\n

The Chicago ceremonies bookend a week that began with Jackson’s body lying in state at the South Carolina Capitol<\/a> on Monday. There, he was honored in events that drew luminaries such as Rep. Jim Clyburn, former U.N. Ambassador Andrew Young, and University of South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley.<\/p>\n

Last week, Jackson’s body lay in repose at the headquarters of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, the Chicago-based civil rights organization he founded. His body will return to the group’s headquarters on Saturday, for a celebration that will be private<\/a>, but streamed online.<\/p>\n

Jackson will be laid to rest in Chicago’s venerable Oak Woods Cemetery. There, as WBEZ reports<\/a>, Jackson will join civil rights icons such as journalist Ida B. Wells-Barnett, who died in 1931, and Olympian Jesse Owens, who died in 1980.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"People attend a celebration of life service for civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson at the House of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":507857,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[23,3,21,19,22,20,25,24],"class_list":["post-507856","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-states","tag-america","tag-news","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/507856","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=507856"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/507856\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/507857"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=507856"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=507856"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=507856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}