Jesse Jackson hospitalized after falling, cutting head at Howard University
Civil rights leader and Baptist minister the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., 80, was hospitalized after falling and cutting his head at Howard University in Washington, D.C. on Monday.
Jackson was at the school to support students protesting living conditions and a lack of housing at the historically black college.
Before the accident, The Grio reports that Jackson helped secure a verbal agreement from Howard University’s administration to allow students to end their two-week-long protest without facing expulsion, along with a commitment that dorms containing hazardous mold would be investigated.
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Howard University, led by Wayne A. I. Frederick, said Jackson sustained the injury to his head as he entered the Blackburn Center, the school’s social hub where student protesters had taken over.
“While meeting with various administrators, including Dr. Wayne Frederick, Rev. Jackson sustained an injury upon entering the Blackburn Center. Our thoughts and prayers are with Rev. Jesse Jackson and his family at this time,” the university announced on Twitter just after 11 p.m. Monday.”
.@RevJJackson, @RevDrBarber and @ministter at #BlackburnTakeoverhttps://t.co/GtUR8fYbGj
— ? † The Rev. Mark Thompson, Host @MakeItPlain (@ministter) November 2, 2021
“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 school added minutes later.
His daughter Santita Jackson also acknowledged her father’s injury.
“Family, he’s resting comfortably & doing well: we thank u 4 ur prayers!” she wrote on Twitter. “Fighting 4 u is what he’ll always do. His goal is 2 ensure the well-being of@HowardU students: #MissionAccomplished.”
After being invited to preach at @HowardUChapel this morning, @RevDrBarber, along with @RevJJackson meet with powerful student leaders protesting unsafe campus living conditions on day 19 of #BlackburnTakeoverpic.twitter.com/A62rZD3jeQ
— Elliott S. (@elliott_smith22) October 31, 2021
Jackson's spokesperson Frank Watkins told The Washington Post that the minister underwent a series of tests, including a CT scan. The tests came back normal. Watkins said Jackson, who has Parkinson's disease, was kept overnight for observation.
The student protest over mold, mice, roaches and other concerns in campus dorms began on Oct. 12, CNN reported. Several black leaders, including the Rev. William Barber and Rev. Mark Thompson, rallied around the students as they did sit-ins at the Blackburn University Center with tents, air mattresses and sleeping bags demanding change.
National Bar Association President Carlos Moore said the images and reports of dorm conditions at Howard were “disturbing.” The organization issued a statement in support of the student protesters.
“The NBA stands with the students of Howard University and all HBCU students. The NBA believes that just as our HBCU’s demand the best of their students, those institutions must also provide the best service possible to their students,” the NBA stressed in a statement. “If the reports are accurate, these reported conditions are indeed substandard and simply unacceptable.”
Raegen Carter, National media director and manager of communications for The Live Movement, a national HBCU coalition, told The Grio that Jackson supported the students because “He knows there is something bigger here, something bigger than all of us.”
He further noted that while the agreement secured by Jackson with the school is a start, it still does not meet their demands.
“We got an answer but it’s not the answer that we’re looking for,” Carter said. “It’s not the answer that we need.”
