Civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson, who ran for president twice in the 1980s, has been hospitalized for observation of a neurodegenerative condition. Now, his family and his nonprofit Rainbow PUSH Coalition share an update.

Rev. Jesse Jackson, 84, was hospitalized late Wednesday for observation of a neurodegenerative condition with which he was diagnosed earlier this year, The Rainbow PUSH Coalition said in a statement.

The civil rights leader, who was seen as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s protegé and part of his inner circle in the 1960s, ran for president in the 1980s.

Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson hospitalized
The Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, which Jackson founded, confirmed Jackson was under observation for progressive supranuclear palsy.

“He has been managing this neurodegenerative condition for more than a decade. He was originally diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease; however, last April, his PSP condition was confirmed. The family appreciates all prayers at this time,” Rainbow/PUSH said in a statement.

According to Johns Hopkins, PSP is easily mistaken for Parkinson’s disease, with the second being more common. Both conditions cause slowing of movements, tremors, falls, and stiffness, as well as shuffling of the feet. Also, Parkinson’s and PSP can cause changes in memory.

In 2017, Jesse Jackson revealed he had Parkinson’s. At the time, he said he had noticed first symptoms “about tree years ago” with motor system disorder, which he attempted to work through.

“But as my daily physical struggles intensified, I could no longer ignore the symptoms, so I acquiesced,” Jackson wrote in a statement in 2017. “After a battery of tests, my physicians identified the issue as Parkinson’s disease, a disease that bested my father. Recognition of the effects of this disease on me has been painful, and I have been slow to grasp the gravity of it.”

He added, “For me, a Parkinson’s diagnosis is not a stop sign.”

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Rev. Jesse Jackson.