Three former Democratic presidents attended a memorial service for Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. at a Chicago church, while mourners pay their final respects to the civil rights leader. Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and Joe Biden were set to speak at the event, but President Donald Trump did not attend.
However, the former president that got the loudest round of applause on arrival was “the South Side’s own, President Barack Obama” as the announcer described him. As noted by the Mirror US, as he headed to the podium to speak, Obama had to shut down calls for him to run for a third presidential term. People cheered, “Four more years!” However, he quickly responded with a jab at Trump, saying, “No, because I believe in the Constitution.”
Clinton and Biden were also there to pay their respects, and former Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris was also on the list as a speaker, according to the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, the organization that Jackson founded.
Obama on Jesse Jackson: “The message he sent to a 22 year old child of a single mother with a funny name, an outsider, was that maybe there wasn’t any place, any room, where we didn’t belong” pic.twitter.com/2zxJSpeF7i
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 6, 2026
The event honored the protégé of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and a two-time presidential candidate. It followed memorial services that drew large crowds in Chicago and South Carolina, where Jackson was born. Today’s celebration was expected to be the largest and was held at an influential Black church with 10,000 seats
On arrival, attendees waited in long lines to enter the church, while television screens played excerpts of some of Jackson’s most famous speeches. Inside, attendees could purchase pins with Jackson’s 1984 presidential slogan, as well as hoodies with his “I Am Somebody” mantra.
Meanwhile, Senator Bernie Sanders gave a prerecorded video address which appeared on auditorium screens in the chamber. Sanders went on to praise Jackson’s dual presidential bids as an “unprecedented” effort to bridge the gap, which is divided along race and class. The Vermont senator praised Jackson for inspiring “enthusiasm” across age and racial divides.
“Democrat, Republican, liberal, conservative, right wing, left wing because his life is broad enough to cover the full spectrum of what it means to be an American,” Jackson Jr. said last month. “Dad would have wanted us to have a great meeting to discuss our differences, to find ways of moving forward and moving together.”
Rev. Jackson passed away last month at the age of 84, after battling a rare neurological disorder that impacted his mobility and ability to speak. According to family members, he continued coming to the office up until last year and communicated via hand signals. His final public appearance was at the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
Meanwhile, the reverend’s services in Chicago and South Carolina attracted school groups, civil leaders and everyday people who were touched by his work, from scholarship programs to advocating for inmates.
Regrettably, services in Washington, DC, were canceled after a request to allow Jackson to lie in honor in the United States Capitol rotunda was denied by House Speaker Mike Johnson. According to Johnson, the space is typically reserved for select officials, including former presidents.
While current President Donald Trump was not in attendance, he did praise Jackson on social media after his death and shared photos of the two of them together.
President Donald Trump pays a moving tribute to himself on the death of Jesse Jackson.
😢 pic.twitter.com/ckGMwF2vnq
— Sir Michael Take CBE (@MichaelTakeMP) February 17, 2026
Jackson received several visitors in Chicago during his final months, including the Clintons and the Rev. Al Sharpton, who also attended the memorial service last week.
“He has been the central mentor of my life,” Sharpton said. “The challenge for us that we’ve got to make sure that all he lived for was not in vain.”
