Gov. Tim Walz has ordered all U.S. and state flags to be flown at half-staff for two days this week to honor and remember the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., who died Feb. 17. He was 84.

All U.S. and state flags on state buildings will be flown at half-staff from sunrise Wednesday to sunset on Thursday.

“Reverend Jackson spent his life pushing America to live up to its highest ideals,” Walz said in a news release. “His fight for civil rights, dignity, and fairness changed our country and will inspire generations to come. Gwen and I extend our deepest condolences to the Jackson family and to all who mourn his passing.”

Jackson rose to national prominence in the civil rights movement, becoming a protégé of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and joining the voting rights march King led from Selma to Montgomery, Ala.

He will lie in repose this week at the Chicago headquarters of his Rainbow PUSH Coalition. His body will then travel to South Carolina and Washington, D.C., for more celebrations of his life. A public service will be held in Chicago at House of Hope on March 6, followed by private homegoing services the next day at Rainbow PUSH, which will be livestreamed.

“His work touched Minnesota through efforts like advocating for farmers, encouraging voter registration, and standing with communities after the killings of Philando Castile, George Floyd, and Daunte Wright,” according to the release from the governor’s office.

The governor’s office encouraged individuals and organizations to join in lowering their flags.

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Joe Soucheray: We keep electing people who merely intend to be important. Which stinks.