US Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson is stepping down as head of the Chicago-based Rainbow PUSH Coalition he founded, the organization announced Friday.

"Reverend Jesse Jackson is officially pivoting from his role as president of Rainbow PUSH Coalition. His commitment is unwavering, and he will elevate his life's work by teaching ministers how to fight for social justice and continue the freedom movement," the organization said in a statement.

The 81-year-old Jackson, has been a prominent leader of the US civil rights movement since the 1960s and has remained active in civil rights in recent years despite health setbacks.

New president to be announced soon

In a weekly broadcast, Jackson said he would "make a transition pretty soon," where he also reminded the people that he had been active in the movement for 64 years.

The new president will be announced this weekend during the Coalition's annual convention, he added. 

PUSH Coalition's missions range from encouraging corporations to hire more minorities to voter registration drives in communities of color.

Jackson's retirement announcement from his leadership role follows several health complications in recent years. 

In 2017, he announced that he had Parkinson's disease. He was hospitalized after testing COVID-19 positive in 2021.

Again in the same year, he was hospitalized for falling and hitting his head. 

Powerful voice in US politics

Jackson, a protégé of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., has long been a powerful voice in American politics.

In 1971, he founded Operation PUSH - originally named People United to Save Humanity, to continue the King's work.

From voting rights to education – he has shaped the modern civil rights movement on various issues.

Until Barack Obama's election in 2008, Jackson was the most successful Black presidential candidate. He won 13 primaries and caucuses for the Democratic nomination in 1988. 

But ultimately, Jackson failed to become the first Black presidential nominee from a major party.

ara/lo (AP,Reuters)