Jesse Jackson’s memorial was held on March 6, 2026, at Chicago’s House of Hope, attended by former Presidents Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and former VP Kamala Harris. Jackson, who died on February 17 at 84 from progressive supranuclear palsy, was a civil rights icon who marched with Martin Luther King Jr. and ran for the Democratic presidential nomination twice.
At the service, Obama and Biden criticized the current administration, indirectly targeting Donald Trump. Obama warned of attacks on democratic institutions, while Biden said the administration “doesn’t share any of the values that we have.” While many applauded, Jesse Jackson’s son, Jesse Jackson Jr., criticized the speeches as politicizing his father’s memorial, saying the leaders “do not know Jesse Jackson” and that his father’s work demanded a prophetic voice beyond party politics.
Neither Obama nor Biden has responded to the criticism.