
The Rev. Jesse Jackson announced Saturday that he will step down as president of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, the Chicago-based civil rights group he founded more than 50 years ago.
Jackson, 81, announced his resignation during a quiet farewell speech at the organization's annual convention, where the group paid tribute to him with songs, kind words from other Black activists and politicians, and a video montage of Jackson's 1984 and 1988 presidential campaigns.