Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has ordered U.S. and Michigan flags across the state to be lowered to half-staff on Thursday, Feb. 26, and Friday, Feb. 27, to honor the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., who died earlier this month.
“We mourn the loss of Reverend Jesse Jackson, a fierce advocate for justice, equality, and prosperity for all. He dedicated decades of his life to advancing civil rights and economic opportunity for the working class in the United States and around the world,” Whitmer said in a Feb. 25 release.
Jackson died Tuesday, Feb. 17, at age 84 following a prolonged battle with the neuromuscular disease progressive supranuclear palsy, a condition similar to Parkinson’s disease, USA TODAY reported.
“Rev. Jackson had a special connection to Michigan and especially the city of Detroit. He visited often, standing with labor, working with local leaders, and inspiring the next generation of changemakers. I was honored to meet and partner with him on our shared goals of investing in working people and ensuring every Michigander is treated with dignity and respect,” Whitmer said in the release.
To lower flags to half-staff, flags should be hoisted first to the peak for an instant and then lowered to the half-staff position. The process is reversed before the flag is lowered for the day.
Whitmer’s release said Michigan residents, businesses, schools, local governments, and other organizations are encouraged to display flags at half-staff.
Who was Jesse Jackson?
Born Jesse Louis Burns in Greenville, South Carolina, he attended Sterling High School. He attended the University of Illinois for a year before transferring to the Agricultural and Technical College of North Carolina where he studied sociology and met his future wife, Jacqueline.
After graduating college, Jackson moved to Chicago where he studied at the Chicago Theological Seminary and became a Baptist minister in 1968.
Jackson began his work as an organizer with the Congress of Racial Equality, participating in marches and sit-ins. After participating in the 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery march, Jackson joined the Southern Christian Leadership Conference to work alongside Martin Luther King Jr.
After King’s death, Jackson founded People United to Save Humanity in 1971, working to improve economic conditions of Black communities. Jackson’s activism spanned decades and included two runs for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988.
Jackson founded Rainbow PUSH Coalition in December 1996, combining two organizations he previously founded, the website said. He started People United to Serve Humanity (PUSH) in 1971, with a focus on improving economic conditions for Black Americans. In 1984, Jackson founded the National Rainbow Coalition, a group advocating for equal rights for all Americans, following his first failed presidential bid.
Jackson is survived by his wife of 63 years Jacqueline Jackson, six children, and grandchildren.
When is Jackson’s funeral?
Jackson will lie in repose from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday and Friday at the Chicago headquarters of his Rainbow PUSH Coalition, 930 E. 50th St. in Chicago.
His body will then travel to South Carolina and Washington, D.C., for more celebrations of his life, the organization said.
A public service will take place in Chicago at House of Hope, a 10,000-seat church, on March 6, followed by private homegoing services the next day at Rainbow PUSH, which will be livestreamed.
Where did Jesse Jackson visit in Michigan?
Jackson visited Michigan on numerous occasions over several decades, from his presidential runs, to public speeches, funerals and more.
On Aug. 19, 1979, he delivered the commencement speech at University of Michigan, speaking on the theme “America and the Challenge of a New World Order: A Quest for Peace.” He returned to U-M as a guest speaker in 2016.
Jackson delivered the winter 1988 commencement speech at Michigan State University on March 12, 1988, and received an honorary Doctor of Humanities.
He rallied in Michigan during his 1984 and 1988 presidential runs, including stops in Ann Arbor, Detroit and Flint. During the 1988 campaign, Jackson won the Michigan caucus, though he eventually lost the Democratic nomination to front-runner Michael Dukakis.
Jackson spoke at several funerals for prominent civil rights figures in the Motor City over the years.
In 1984, he gave a speech at the funeral of Rev. C.L. Franklin, prominent minister and civil rights activist, in Detroit. Jackson then eulogized Detroit’s “Queen of Soul,” musical artist and civil rights activist Aretha Franklin in 2018, daughter of Rev. C.L. Franklin. He also spoke at the 2005 Detroit funeral of civil rights icon Rosa Parks.
In 2016, during the height of the Flint water crisis, Jackson visited the city, where he spoke out against the injustice of contaminated lead water and called for a stronger federal response.
How long should flags fly at half-staff?
Whitmer ordered U.S. and Michigan flags across the state to be lowered to half-staff on Thursday, Feb. 26, and Friday, Feb. 27, to honor Jackson. Flags should return to full staff on Saturday.
How to correctly fly your flag at half-staff
On days when the flag is flown at half-staff, it should first be raised “briskly” to the top of the pole for an instant and then lowered slowly to the half-staff position, according to the U.S. Flag Code.
Before lowering the flag, it should again be raised to the top before being lowered for the day.
Do flags fly at half-mast or half-staff?
On ships and at naval stations ashore, flags are flown at half-mast.
On shore, flags are flown at half-staff.
When do flags fly at half-staff?
State officials announce which days to fly Michigan and U.S. flags at half-staff online. You also can sign up for notifications about flag honors.
The flag is always lowered to half staff on the following days:
When flags are lowered to half-staff, Michigan residents, businesses, schools, local governments, and other organizations are encouraged to display the flag at half staff.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Why are flags at half-staff in Michigan? Civil rights leader honored
Reporting by Dan Basso, Lansing State Journal / Lansing State Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
