At the longtime civil rights activist’s memorial celebration on Friday, the Rev Jesse Jackson was remembered as a “champion” for the “poor and the dispossessed” – as well as “one of the most effective community and political organizers of our time”.

Such tributes came from past Democratic US presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and Joe Biden, along with former vice-president Kamala Harris, who received cheers and applause while they joined thousands of others in a Chicago church for a celebration of life for Jackson.

Outside the church on Chicago’s South Side, crowds formed long lines as TV screens showed highlights from some of the best-known speeches delivered by Jackson, who spent more than half a century in public life and mounted a strong campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988.

Vendors on site offered hoodies with his slogan “I am somebody.”

Obama was met with a standing ovation upon taking the stage to eulogize Jackson, whom he compared to the prophet Isaiah in his remarks.

Jackson, Obama remarked, was “a man who, when the poor and the dispossessed needed a champion and the country needed healing, stepped forward again and again and again and said: ‘send me’”.

Obama added that Jackson’s first presidential campaign inspired him and drew him to Chicago, the city both men called home.

“In his ideas and his platform, in his analysis, in his intelligence, in his insight, Jesse hadn’t just held his own,” Obama said. “He had owned that stage.”

Two decades after Jackson’s second presidential campaign, Obama became the first Black US president. He credited Jackson with helping make that milestone achievable.

Jackson “wasn’t an intruder – he wasn’t a pretender”, Obama said. “He belonged on that stage. And the message he sent, to a 22-year-old child of a single mother with a funny name, an outsider, was that there wasn’t any place, any room, where we didn’t belong.”

Illinois governor JB Pritzker, meanwhile, described Jackson as “an ambassador of hope for the oppressed, who met with kings and queens and presidents and dictators and clergy of all the great religions.

“But here in Chicago, he was our neighbor. He was our friend. We were so proud. We are so proud.”

Biden expressed deep admiration for Jackson in his speech, describing him as “underrated, undeterred and unafraid”.

“We had very different backgrounds, and in some cases different views, but never on race,” Biden said. “Sometimes we went toe-to-toe and disagreed about issues. But that’s what I admired most about Jesse, his passion. The courage of his convictions.”

Biden also criticized Donald Trump’s administration, saying its values run counter to those of the people gathered at the service. “We’re in a tough spot, folks,” Biden said. “We’ve got an administration that doesn’t share any of the values that we have.

“And I don’t think I’m exaggerating a little bit.”

The Rev Al Sharpton, who often referred to Jackson as his mentor, echoed Biden’s sentiments about the Trump administration.

“We are sitting on the brink of some of the most serious reconstruction behavior being rescinded that we’ve seen in modern times,” said Sharpton, who shared a close decades-long friendship with Jackson. “To leave here and not follow an assignment would not be what Jesse Jackson taught us.”

The civil rights activist also said that – simultaneous to the memorial – those in power were “killing illegal immigrants” while hurting Americans by cutting the Affordable Care Act.

“We won’t go back!” Sharpton said, before his speech concluded with applause. “We won’t go back!”

Harris opened her remarks by saying: “Let me just say, I predicted a lot about what’s happening right now,” referring to her unsuccessful run for the White House against Trump.

“I’m not into saying ‘I told you so,’ but we did see it coming. But what I did not predict is that we would not have Jesse Jackson with us right now to help us get through this.”

Harris lauded Jackson as “a strategist”, adding: “He did not waste time waiting, even when the doors in front of him were barred and bolted, even if those on the other side hesitated or even ignored him. He always devised a way through.

“He was one of the most effective community and political organizers of our time. And he was the founder – I think most would agree – the founder of the modern progressive coalition.”

Jackson, 84, died on 17 February after struggling with a rare neurological disorder that impaired his mobility and speech. Relatives said he kept coming into the office until late 2025 and used hand signals to communicate.

His last public appearances included the 2024 Democratic national convention in Chicago.

Over decades, Jackson’s activism took him around the world as he spoke out for marginalized communities.

His efforts addressed issues such as voting rights, healthcare access, employment opportunities and education. Among other accomplishments, he pushed corporate executives to broaden opportunities and fairness in American society.

“I was a trailblazer – I was a pathfinder,” Jackson said in a May 2020 interview with the the Guardian. “I had to deal with doubt and cynicism and fears about a Black person running [for president]. There were Black scholars writing papers about why I was wasting my time. Even Blacks said a Black couldn’t win.”

Plans for a memorial event in Washington DC were postponed after US House speaker Mike Johnson rejected a proposal for Jackson to lie in honor in the Capitol’s rotunda. Jackson argued that the space is typically reserved for a limited group of officials, including former presidents.

No further details about a future ceremony have been announced.

The Associated Press contributed reporting