The late Rev. Jesse Jackson to lie in state at SC State House. Here’s what we know
The late Rev. Jesse Jackson will lie in state at the South Carolina State House as part of the arrangements honoring the civil rights leader who died on Feb. 17.
Jackson will lie in state Monday, March 2.
Further details have yet to be finalized.
Gov. Henry McMaster also will order flags to be lowered to half-staff March 2 in honor of Jackson, the governor’s office said in a news release.
Jackson is a South Carolina native and was born in Greenville in 1941.
In July 1960, Jackson was one of eight Black students to stage a sit-in at the whites-only Greenville County Public Library. Known as the Greenville Eight, they were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct after refusing requests to leave.
Jackson was with Martin Luther King Jr. when King was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968. Jackson went on to found the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, a progressive group dedicated to fighting for social change.
He ran for president in 1984 and 1988.
The request for Jackson to lie in repose at the State House was made by several state lawmakers and Jackson’s family, the governor’s office said.
McMaster spoke to Jackson’s son U.S. Rep. Jonathan Jackson, D-Illinois, on Friday, according to the governor’s schedule.
State Sen. Darrell Jackson, D-Richland, last week was one of several people exploring the possibility of having Jesse Jackson lie in state in South Carolina’s capitol building.
“It is a great honor for Rev. Jackson and a fitting tribute to someone who really loved his state, and he said it, no matter where he went, although he challenged his state to do better,” Darrell Jackson said.
The last person to lie in repose at the State House was the late U.S. Sen. Fritz Hollings in 2019. Before that was the late state Sen. Clementa Pinckney in 2015.
Reporter John Monk contributed to this article.
This story was originally published February 23, 2026 at 5:37 PM with the headline "The late Rev. Jesse Jackson to lie in state at SC State House. Here’s what we know."
