Jesse Jackson Funeral: Three Presidents, Stevie Wonder, and Jennifer Hudson Bid Farewell to Civil Rights Icon

Chicago said its final goodbye to the Rev. Jesse Jackson over two extraordinary days of services — a massive public homegoing at House of Hope on Friday followed by an intimate final sendoff at Rainbow PUSH Coalition headquarters Saturday, ending with burial at Oak Woods Cemetery. The city has never seen anything quite like it.

Jesse Jackson's Cause of Death and Age

Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr. died in February at the age of 84 following a battle with progressive supranuclear palsy, a condition similar to Parkinson's disease.

Friday: The People's Celebration at House of Hope — Three Presidents Attend

The homegoing ceremony lasted more than five hours and alternated between fiery speeches and gospel music. Three former presidents spoke, including Barack Obama, who gave a rousing eulogy at Friday's service at House of Hope on the city's South Side.

Seated together in the front rows were former Vice President Kamala Harris, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former President Bill Clinton, former President Barack Obama, former first lady Jill Biden, and former President Joe Biden.

Obama reminisced about watching Jackson's first presidential debate as a college student, saying that when it was over he turned off the TV and thought that in his ideas, his platform, his analysis, his intelligence, and his insight, Jesse had not just held his own — he had owned that stage.

Obama added: "And the message he sent to a 22-year-old child of a single mother with a funny name, an outsider, was that there wasn't any place, any room, where we didn't belong."

Barack Obama, Kamala Harris, and Al Sharpton Speak Out

Obama said "it's hard to hope" when "every day you wake up to things you just didn't think were possible. Each day we're told to fear each other, to turn on each other and that some Americans count more than others, and that some don't even count at all."

Kamala Harris said she had predicted how President Trump's second term would play out, and added: "I'm not into saying 'I told you so,' but we did see it coming. But what I did not predict is that we would not have Jesse Jackson with us to get through this."

Rev. Al Sharpton told the press: "He raised a generation of us. And he never gave up, even when he was sick."

Isiah Thomas, Jennifer Hudson, and Stevie Wonder Pay Tribute

One of the most emotional speeches came from NBA Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas, a longtime friend of Jackson's, who recalled meeting the civil rights leader when Thomas was a child in Chicago living in poverty and relying on a soup line for sustenance.

Jennifer Hudson, a Chicago native from the Englewood community, belted out the civil rights anthem "A Change is Gonna Come." Much of the crowd rose to its feet as the EGOT winner performed.

Stevie Wonder, at Saturday's service, said of Jackson: "It was personal and political. We were able to love each other and support each other through the good and the bad. I knew his heart, I respected his mind, and trusted his soul." He then performed "They Won't Go When I Go" and "As."

Saturday: Final Service at Rainbow PUSH, Burial at Oak Woods Cemetery

Hundreds of people packed the chapel at Jackson's Rainbow PUSH Coalition headquarters for the final tribute before he was laid to rest at Oak Woods Cemetery — the same Chicago resting place as civil rights hero Ida B. Wells, Olympian Jesse Owens, and Chicago's first Black mayor Harold Washington.

Other notable speakers across the two days included comedian Chris Tucker, Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, Chicago Archbishop Cardinal Blase Cupich, and Tyler Perry, who attended Friday's service.

The crowd repeatedly chanted "I am! Somebody!" — Jackson's hallmark declaration — throughout the services, honoring the belief he preached his entire life: that every person matters, no matter their race or economic standing.