In Chicago, Vice President Kamala Harris praises Rev. Jesse Jackson

Days after the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. announced he was stepping down as president of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, Vice President Kamala Harris came to the South Side Sunday to deliver a tribute to the longtime civil rights leader while warning that conservative “extremists” sought to undermine his legacy.

Harris was among several Democratic politicians who gathered at the Apostolic Church of God in the Woodlawn neighborhood for Rainbow/PUSH’s annual conference to celebrate Jackson’s more than half-century of influence on civil rights and American politics. Harris called Jackson “one of America’s greatest patriots, someone who deeply believes in the promise of our country.”

But as Harris — the first woman, Black person and South Asian to be elected vice president — celebrated Jackson for paving the way for herself as well other elected officials of color such as former President Barack Obama, she warned of a new era of conservative right-wing ideology.

“In this…