Reggie Jackson, Author at Milwaukee Independent

Counted but unheard: The paradox of the Black voter in Wisconsin

Posted by Reggie Jackson | Oct 7, 2020 |

“When maps do not represent the people, all Americans lose out because democracy loses out. But, as in so many other areas, it is Black voters who bear the most severe consequences of gerrymandering. In some cases, it is literally a matter of life and death.” – Julie Kirschenbaum, The Brennan Center for Justice Every four years before presidential elections political parties and their supporters summon the courage to reach out to the Black community that they similarly ignore after said elections. We become giants in the narrative of getting out the vote but are summarily dismissed after we...

Drinking the Kool-Aid: Trump echoes Jim Jones by declaring “Don’t Be Afraid of Covid”

Posted by Reggie Jackson | Oct 6, 2020 |

“Don’t Be Afraid of Covid. Don’t let it dominate our life.” – President Donald Trump “Go home, my darlings! Sleep tight!” – Reverend Jim Jones After spending time in The Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, following a positive test for the coronavirus, the president left his hospital bed to do a drive-by for his adoring fans outside the hospital. In the front seat of the vehicle were two Secret Service agents dressed in medical gowns, face masks, and N95 respirators. Despite the fact that the president was reported to have taken multiple medications while in the hospital, including...

The suburban response to protesters masks a century of housing discrimination in Milwaukee

Posted by Reggie Jackson | Oct 3, 2020 |

“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...

Reggie Jackson: If talking about racism is political, then so be it

Posted by Reggie Jackson | Sep 25, 2020 |

Political Definition: (adjective) of, relating to, or concerned with politics: exercising or seeking power in the governmental or public affairs of a state, municipality, etc. Partisan Definition: (adjective) of, relating to, or characteristic of partisans; partial to a specific party, person, etc. I am so tired of people claiming that talking about racism is political. What infuriates me most is the notion that this is something new. Were conversations about ending slavery political? Yes, of course they were. Was the debate about citizenship for Native Americans political? Yes it was as well. Was the issue of placing Japanese in...

From Emmett Till to Breonna Taylor: America continues to sanction the murdering of Blacks

Posted by Reggie Jackson | Sep 24, 2020 |

“We want Justice for Breonna yet justice was met for her neighbors apartment walls and not her beautiful life.” – Lebron James, NBA star On the 65th anniversary of the acquittal of the men who murdered 14-year-old Emmett “Bobo” Till, Black America suffered another punch to the gut by a justice system that too seldom provides anything approximating justice when the victim is Black. The officers who killed Breonna Taylor will not be held accountable. In August of 1955, Till was murdered by a group of men after being falsely accused of flirting with a White woman in Money,...

Reggie Jackson: Explaining about the persistence of racism in America

Posted by Reggie Jackson | Sep 16, 2020 |

OBDURATE: Unmoved by persuasion, pity, or tender feelings; stubborn; unyielding; stubbornly resistant to moral influence; persistently impenitent. IMPENITENT: Not feeling regret about one’s sin or sins. Racism is part of a system that allows groups of people to benefit from all of the resources available within a society while simultaneously denying the benefits to others deemed incorrigible. In America, racism has benefitted those we call white and denied people of color the benefits accrued by whites. Along the way different white ethnic groups have been lumped into the group of incorrigibles, but only temporarily as they assimilated into the...