president to individuals who have made contributions "especially meritorious to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors."

Jackson and his wife of nearly four decades, Jacqueline, have five children, including a son, Jesse Jackson Jr., who is a Democratic congressman from Illinois. In January 2001, in response to tabloid reports, Jackson issued a statement admitting that he fathered a daughter, born in 1999, with a former staff member of his Rainbow Coalition, Dr. Karin L. Stanford.