Civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson was hospitalized after falling and hitting his head while attending a meeting at Howard University in Washington, DC, Monday, according to his Rainbow PUSH Coalition.
Jackson was on campus for a meeting with Howard University Pres. Wayne A.I. Frederick and students to address the students’ concerns about living conditions in their residential halls when he was injured, a statement from the coalition said.
“When Rev. Jackson entered a building on campus, he fell and hit his head. His staff took him to the Howard University Hospital where various tests were run including a CT scan. The results came back normal. However, hospital officials decided to keep Rev. Jackson overnight for observation,” the civil rights organization founded by Jackson said.
“We can confirm that Rev. Jackson was taken to the hospital by a university administrator and was later joined by Dr. Wayne Frederick. Our prayers are with the Jackson family,” the university said on Twitter.
Monday’s incident is the latest of recent health concerns for the 80-year-old Jackson.
He and his wife, Jacqueline Jackson, 77, were both hospitalized in August after testing positive for Covid-19 and discharged in early September. Jackson then received physical therapy at a rehab facility due to his Parkinson’s disease and was released later that month.
In February, it was announced that the civil rights leader had undergone successful surgery after being hospitalized for abdominal discomfort.
Student protests
Students at Howard University have been protesting since mid-October against what they say are substandard living conditions such as mold, mice and roaches in campus dorms.
Black leaders have rallied around the students at the historically Black college, who have been assembling for sit-ins to demand that the university address their concerns.
Martin Luther King III, the eldest son of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and NAACP President Derrick Johnson are among those to have praised the students for taking the action.
Frederick, the university president, addressed the protests in a letter to the Howard community last week.
Frederick called on students to end their occupation of a university center, saying they were impeding “operations and access to essential services” and creating health and safety risks.
The university was working with housing partners to ensure that all maintenance tickets were handled expeditiously, he said.
