COLUMBIA, S.C. — The late Rev. Jesse Jackson is being honored in South Carolina on Monday, with a public visitation at the State House and later a memorial service at Brookland Baptist Church.

Jackson, a civil rights leader who was with Martin Luther King Jr. when he was assassinated, died on Feb. 17, 2026.

The Greenville native was 84. In addition to Jackson lying in state at the South Carolina State House, flags were flown at half staff in his honor.

Jackson’s flag-draped casket rested on two pedestals in the second-floor lobby next to the statue of John C. Calhoun. Jackson’s casket was flanked by two photos of him and U.S. and South Carolina flags.

He was brought to the State House from Leevy’s Funeral Home in Columbia through downtown via a caisson. His remains were carried into the State House by the South Carolina Highway Patrol Honor Guard.

In addition to his family, among those in attendance for the ceremony preceding the public visitation are U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., South Carolina state Reps. Jermaine Johnson and Gilda Cobb Hunter, and many members of the Legislative Black Caucus.

“Today we are here to celebrate a life well lived, a job well done,” Johnson said at the beginning of ceremony inside the State House.

Ahead of the service, people from all over the state and southeast lined up outside the State House. Gwendolyn Adams, who traveled from Atlanta but grew up in Greenville, said it was important for her to pay her respects to Jackson.

“I think he just made a great contribution as a soldier of justice and righteousness for civil rights,” Adams said. “Not just for African Americans, for all people. We are all God’s children, and I just felt the need to pay respects and my appreciation for what he’s done for America’s civil rights.”

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