Well-known civil rights activist the Rev. Jesse Jackson announced Friday that he has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

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“Recognition of the effects of this disease on me has been painful, and I have been slow to grasp the gravity of it,” he wrote in a statement released Friday. “For me, a Parkinson’s diagnosis is not a stop sign but rather a signal that I must make lifestyle changes and dedicate myself to physical therapy in hopes of slowing the disease’s progression.”

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Julian Conley listens during opening statements in his trial at Fulton County Superior Court in Atlanta on Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. The 25-year-old is accused of fatally shooting 8-year-old Secoriea Turner in July 2020. (Abbey Cutrer/AJC)

Credit: abbey.cutrer@ajc.com