American civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson, 76, disclosed publicly on Friday that he's been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.Jackson, who emerged as a key figure in the civil rights movement in the 1960s alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., said in a letter to supporters that he was diagnosed in 2015. He is seeking outpatient care and plans to "dedicate" himself to physical therapy.
The politician said family and friends noticed a change in him about three years ago. He said he could no longer ignore symptoms of the chronic neurological disorder that causes movement difficulties.
He wrote: "Recognition of the effects of this disease on me has been painful, and I have been slow to grasp the gravity of it. 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."
He noted that his father Noah Lewis Robinson Sr., who died in 1997 at age 88, also suffered from the same disease.
He added in his letter that he is also working on a memoir.
"I will continue to try to instill hope in the hopeless, expand our democracy to the disenfranchised and free innocent prisoners around the world. I steadfastly affirm that I would rather wear out than rust out."
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