Author: Reggie Jackson

“But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we’ve come here today to dramatize a shameful condition. In a sense we’ve come to our...

“Most racists have been uninterested in reform…racists have been either of the type who wished to oppress the black directly…or indirectly through avoidance.” – Joel Kovel “Racism is a reflection of personal and collective anxieties lodged deep in the hearts and minds of White Americans.” – Lerone Bennett Jr. I keep hearing this language from people about finding common ground with people on the other side. I’m quite frankly tired of it. Did anyone ask Dr. King to find common ground with Bull Connor? Did anyone ask John Lewis to find common ground with David Duke? Has anyone asked...

“You deplore the demonstrations taking place in Birmingham. But your statement, I am sorry to say, fails to express a similar concern for the conditions that brought about the demonstrations. I am sure that none of you would want to rest content with the superficial kind of social analysis that deals merely with effects and does not grapple with underlying causes. It is unfortunate that demonstrations are taking place in Birmingham, but it is even more unfortunate that the city’s white power structure left the Negro community with no alternative.” – Dr. King’s Letter From a Birmingham Jail, April...