From USA TODAY.

Memorial services for Rev. Jesse Jackson will take place the next two weeks in several locations across the U.S.

Organized by Jackson’s family and the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, the Celebration of Life events will give the public a chance to honor the late activist’s life and accomplishments.

Born in Greenville, South Carolina, in 1941, Jackson was one of the country’s foremost civil rights, political and religious figures.

Throughout his career, Jackson fought for peace, civil rights, gender equality and economic and social justice, receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom from former President Bill Clinton in 2000.

Jackson worked alongside Martin Luther King, Jr., became an organizer for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and founded what would eventually become the Rainbow PUSH Coalition. He was ordained in 1968 and received his divinity degree from Chicago Theological Seminary in 2000.

He negotiated the release of political prisoners on several occasions and even tried his hand at a presidential run in the late 1980s.