(File Photo: Source for Photo: FILE – Rev. Jesse Jackson gestures to a friend in the balcony at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala., Sept. 15, 2013. The church held a ceremony honoring the memory of the four young girls who were killed by a bomb placed outside the church 50 years ago by members of the Ku Klux Klan. At right is U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Ala. (AP Photo/Dave Martin, File)
Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News
(Harrisburg, PA) According to a release in Harrisburg from Governor Josh Shapiro’s office, Shapiro ordered today that United States and Commonwealth flags on all Commonwealth facilities, public buildings, and grounds across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to fly at half-staff on Saturday, March 7th, 2026, in honor of Reverend Jesse Jackson who passed away on Tuesday. This tribute will coincide with the last day of memorial services scheduled for Reverend Jackson, who was a civil rights activist and Baptist minister who championed the civil rights movement. He made countless visits to Pennsylvania, advocating for labor rights and civil rights across the state, from Pittsburgh and Erie to Harrisburg and Philadelphia throughout his life of service. In October of 2024, on one of his last visits to the Commonwealth, Reverend Jackson was hosted by the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus, and while in the Capitol, he was recognized by the General Assembly for founding the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, which advocates for civil rights, economic equality, social justice and voting rights.
Shapiro made a post on X on the day of Jackson’s passing on Tuesday and said:
“Rev. Jesse Jackson was a change maker, a boundary breaker, and a passionate and unrelenting crusader for civil rights, equality and opportunity. To be around him felt like you were experiencing history. It was an honor to share the pulpit with him back in September of 2016 at Sharon Baptist Church in West Philly. I hung on his every word and could feel how much his presence meant to the congregation. Lori and I are praying for his wife Jacqueline, his family, and everyone he inspired over the years. May the memory of Rev. Jesse Jackson be a blessing.”
All Pennsylvanians are invited to participate in this tribute to honor the late Reverend Jackson and the flags shall remain lowered until sunset on March 7th, 2026.