Author: Reggie Jackson

Let me begin by saying this to you. I’m told that you are afraid to talk about race and racism. I’m told that you feel blamed too much in these conversations. I’m told that you fear being called racist in these spaces. I’m told that you are guilted too much in this space. And, I’m told that you feel you are not included in “diversity” conversations. I hear a lot from other people on a second or third hand level, but I rarely hear your own perspectives. I would love you to understand clearly that you are not a...

“We are a people who formerly were Africans who were kidnaped and brought to America. Our forefathers weren’t the Pilgrims. We didn’t land on Plymouth Rock; the rock was landed on us. We were brought here against our will; we were not brought here to be made citizens.” – Malcolm X When the New York Times Magazine launched the 1619 Project, Black people across America shouted, “it’s about time.” We have been waiting for 401 years for the truth of the enslavement of our ancestors to be told on a national scale. Nicole Hannah-Jones, won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize...

The much anticipated trial is finally over. People around the country are breathing a sigh of relief. Derek Chauvin was found guilty on all charges. Some will say the system finally worked. Some will proclaim this a victory in the effort to hold police accountable. Some will make the claim that we as a Balck community should rejoice. I’m not one of them. The verdict does not bring George Floyd back. This verdict does not bring Daunte Wright back. This verdict is not an indictment of the system of policing. It is simply a case of an officer who...

“My heart is literally broken into a thousand pieces and I don’t know what to do or what to say. But I just need everybody to know that he is much more than this.” – Daunte Wright’s mother, Katie Wright During the most anticipated trial of police arguably since the Rodney King case in 1992, 20-year-old Daunte Wright was shot and killed by an experienced police officer in the Minneapolis area. As a result, the trial of Derek Chauvin lost its front page status, as protests continued in Brooklyn City, Minnesota – just north of Minneapolis, where the death...

“Weathering is a physiological process that accelerates aging and increases health vulnerability. It is spurred by chronic toxic stress exposures over the life course and the tenacious high-effort coping [that] families and communities engage in to survive them, if not prevail.” – Dr. Arline Geronimus When someone asked me if I’d been watching the trial of Derek Chauvin, who killed George Floyd last year, they were surprised by my answer. I have followed the trial in the news, but I have not watched a moment of it. I still have not watched the video of Floyd’s death last May....