Who Is Jacqueline Jackson? Jesse Jackson’s Wife Gains Attention After COVID Hospitalization

The Rev. Jesse Jackson and his wife Jacqueline Jackson were hospitalized Saturday after testing positive for COVID-19. The couple is being treated at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.

“Doctors are currently monitoring the condition of both,” Jackson’s nonprofit organization, the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, said in a statement.

“There are no further updates at this time. We will provide updates as they become available."

Jesse Jackson, 79, has been in the media spotlight for decades after his runs for president, as well as his expansive work in the civil rights movement.

But many may not know much about Jacqueline, who has mostly kept a low profile.

Jacqueline Lavinia Davis, 77, was born in Fort Pierce, Florida.

She and Jesse Jackson met during her freshman year at North Carolina A&T State University and were married in 1962 during her sophomore year. The couple has five children.

She is a published author, who released “Loving You, Thinking of You, Don’t Forget to Pray” after her son Jesse Jackson Jr. was incarcerated for violating federal campaign laws.

He served 30 months. Jacqueline wrote a letter to him every day.

She later compiled the letters to be released as a book.

Jacqueline Jackson has not shied away from peace activism. She was arrested in 2001 when she protested the United States Navy’s bombing tests at Camp Garcia Vieques in Vieques, Puerto Rico.

She was sentenced to 10 days in prison and refused to post the $3,000 bail. She would later be rewarded for her activism and received the Peace & Justice Award from the Over the Rainbow Gala for her efforts.