Author: Reggie Jackson

A Poverty of Color: Debunking the myth about disparities being more related to “Class” than “Race”

“The FHA viewed metropolitan growth with “black and white” vision in which race trumped all other factors in predicting the trajectory of a city and its neighborhoods.” – John Kimble The fundamental tool used by Americans to build generational wealth and all the successes that come with, it is the ownership of land and property such as homes and businesses. The American dream since the 1930s has been wrapped up in homeownership. Many of the huge disparities we see today are a direct result of White people being given access to homeownership which fostered generational wealth building to the...

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The untold privilege of White Women: Unmasking a secret army of Karens in American history

“Let each issue of your paper contain something telling of the bright side, of the com shuckings, the quiltings, the barbecues, the big meetings, the weddings’ etc., showing that the slaves enjoyed life and were not eternally skulking in dark corners dodging the whip of the brutal overseer, or quaking with terror at the bay of a blood hound. You advocate the building of monuments to our heroes.” – Confederate Veterans Magazine, January 1893 Over the past several years there has been a seeming rise in the case of racist White women becoming famous or infamous for calling the...

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Jury Nullification: More violent insurrections are expected if Trump is acquitted for his acts of sedition

As the U.S. Senate speeds toward an obvious Republican led acquittal of former President Donald Trump, Americans must be careful what they ask for. A not guilty verdict which is all but assured as only six Republican Senators even voted to rule the impeachment trial constitutional will lead to a new wave of violence by those who stormed the Capitol. Back in 1870 and 1871 U.S. Senators grappled with a menacing anti-government, white supremacist threat. The first iteration of the Ku Klux Klan had been founded by former Confederate veterans in Pulaski, Tennessee and swiftly went about the business...

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Reggie Jackson: My fading love affair with the National Football League

“The NFL Wants “Unconventional” Head Coaches: They just have to be white.” – Richard Johnson of Slate As I sat and watched the Packers lose a game to the Tampa Bay Bucs and Tom Brady I realized it might be the last game I ever watch. I did not watch Kаnsаs City defeat Buffalo to punch a ticket to the Super Bowl, even though I love watching their quarterback, Patrick Mahomes. For the first time in my adult life I intentionally skipped the Super Bowl. My wife watched it while I sat binge watching a show on Netflix. I...

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A message to America: Black people are not broken and we don’t need fixing, you do

“…black people have been kept in oppression and deprivation by a poisonous fog of lies that depicted them as inferior, born deficient, and deservedly doomed to servitude to the grave.” – Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. “The reason people think it’s important to be white is that they think it’s important not to be black.” – James Baldwin Over the past nearly twenty years of my life I have been honored to share the history of my people in a variety of ways and in a multitude of spaces around the country. I do this because I’m proud...

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Reggie Jackson: My reflections on Black History Month celebrations

This year marks the 95th annual celebration of Black History Month. It has actually been a month-long celebration since just 1976. Each year the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), established in 1915 by the founder of the annual celebration, Dr. Carter G. Woodson, establishes a theme for the celebration each year. This year’s theme is, The Black Family: Representation, Identity and Diversity. They say this about the theme: “The black family has been a topic of study in many disciplines—history, literature, the visual arts and film studies, sociology, anthropology, and social policy. Its...

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