Updated March 6, 2026 at 1:54 PM EST
For live updates of Rev. Jesse Jackson's service, head to WBEZ and the Chicago Sun Times' live blog.
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.
"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.
The service will also feature performances by Chicago native Jennifer Hudson, along with gospel singers Bebe Winans and Pastor Marvin Winans.
The event was slated to begin at noon ET, but it was delayed more than 30 minutes as attendees greeted one another.
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.
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.
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.
The service — and another, private service on Saturday — will be officiated by faith leaders Pastor Charles Jenkins and Rev. James T. Meeks.
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Program for Friday's memorial
Below is the order of service, as planned:
Musical Prelude: Legacy Mass Choir
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
Scripture: Matthias Jackson, Old Testament; Atticus Jackson, New Testament
Acknowledgements & Resolutions
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)
Musical Selection: Hezekiah Walker, "Every Praise"
Expressions: Rabbi Steven Jacobs, Progressive Faith Foundation; Pastor Steve Munsey, Family Christian Center; Judge Greg Mathis
Opening: Yusef Jackson; Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker; Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson
Musical Selection: Opal Staples
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
Musical Selection: Jennifer Hudson, "A Change Gonna Come"
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
Video Tribute: Amadou Janaeh (Gambia); Andre Ramirez (former POW)
Musical Selection: Le'Andria Johnson, "We Shall Overcome"
Family Expression: Former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.
Expressions: John Nichols; Rep. Chuy Garcia (IL-04); Rep. Maxine Waters (CA-35); Pastor Jamal Bryant, New Birth Missionary Baptist Church (Stonecrest, Ga.)
Musical Selection: Marvin Sapp, "Never Would Have Made It"
Expressions: Former Vice President Kamala Harris; former President Joe Biden
Musical Selection: Bebe Winans, "Stand"
Family Expressions: Jacqueline Jackson; Ashley Jackson
Musical selection: Santita Jackson, "To God Be The Glory"
Family Expression: Rep. Jonathan L. Jackson (IL-01)
Musical Selection: Marvin Winans, "Let the Church Say Amen"
Benediction: Charles Jenkins
Recessional
Civil rights leader fought segregation in his home state
Jackson died on Feb. 17 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 to the "white library" in his hometown of Greenville, S.C., in 1960.
Dorris Wright, a former classmate of Jackson's who was one of the "Greenville Eight" along with him, told Here & Now 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."
Five years later, Jackson marched alongside Martin Luther King Jr. and others in Selma, Ala. His advocacy continued in the decades that followed, leading Jackson to run for president in 1984 and 1988.
The Chicago ceremonies bookend a week that began with Jackson's body lying in state at the South Carolina Capitol 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.
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, but streamed online.
Jackson will be laid to rest in Chicago's venerable Oak Woods Cemetery. There, as WBEZ reports, 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.
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