Rainbow PUSH taps youngest son of late Rev. Jesse Jackson as new leader

Tess Kenny, Chicago Tribune on Apr 9, 2026

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CHICAGO — The Rainbow PUSH Coalition has tapped the youngest son of the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. as its new leader, the organization said Thursday.

The announcement that Yusef Jackson would take over as the coalition’s president and CEO comes nearly two months after his father’s death reverberated across the country.

“I am deeply grateful to my father for his trust, his guidance, and the example he set for all of us,” Yusef Jackson said in a statement.

Before the reverend’s death, he had designated his son Yusef his successor, Rainbow PUSH said in a news release. For the past two years, the younger Jackson had served as the organization’s chief operating officer.

“I will carry forward his vision with renewed energy and direction — strengthening our strategy, sharpening our tactics and building momentum to meet this moment with the urgency it demands,” his statement continued.

The senior Jackson died Feb. 17 at age 84. His health had been in decline for years because of progressive supranuclear palsy, a rare neurological disorder. His death marked the loss of a titan in the Civil Rights Movement, defined by a six-decade career that took him across the country and around the world. More than 1,000 people gathered to celebrate his life last month, including former presidents, Gov. JB Pritzker, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and sports icons.

A day after his father’s death, Yusef Jackson stood on the steps of their family home in Chicago’s Jackson Park Highlands area and said he, his family and “the many others touched by him, inspired by him, are left obligated to continue his work to make our nation a better place for all through the techniques, tools, and platforms he championed and left us to use.”

The inception of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition dates back to 1971, when Jesse Jackson Sr. founded then Operation PUSH, a sweeping civil rights organization based on Chicago’s South Side. Thirteen years later, he founded the National Rainbow Coalition. By 1996, the two had merged to become the joint Rainbow/PUSH, now known as the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.

Jackson stepped down from heading Rainbow PUSH in 2023 and at the time, chose the Rev. Frederick Douglass Haynes III as his successor. But Haynes resigned from the position three months into the job. Ever since, day-to-day operational insight has been under Yusef Jackson.

Jacqueline Jackson in a statement said the formal change in Rainbow PUSH leadership marks a “solemn and pivotal moment for our organization” as they mourn the loss of her late husband but “also celebrate his enduring legacy.”