The farewell for Rev. Jesse Jackson drew some of the biggest names in American politics, but in the days after the memorial, attention shifted from the tributes themselves to the sharp criticism that followed.Jackson, the longtime civil rights leader, died on February 17 at age 84 after years of serious health struggles. He had previously disclosed a Parkinson’s diagnosis in 2017, and the Rainbow PUSH Coalition said he had also been living with progressive supranuclear palsy, a degenerative brain disease that can severely affect movement, swallowing, and overall health. Over the course of his life, Jackson became one of the most recognizable figures of the civil rights movement, marched alongside Martin Luther King Jr., founded major activist organizations, and ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in both 1984 and 1988.On March 6, thousands gathered at the House of Hope in Chicago for a public memorial celebrating his life. Among those in attendance were former Presidents Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and Bill Clinton, along with former Vice President Kamala Harris and other public figures who came to honor Jackson’s influence on politics, race, faith, and public life. Chicago outlets and Reuters described the service as a major public tribute, with speakers reflecting on Jackson as a pathbreaking force who changed the direction of American political life.