Reggie Jackson, Author at Milwaukee Independent

When America catches a cold, Blacks gets pneumonia: The impact of an uneven economic playing field

Posted by Reggie Jackson | Aug 21, 2020 |

“The U.S. economy must undergo a fundamental change if it is to retain a measure of economic viability let alone leadership in the remaining 20 years of this century. The goal must be nothing less than the reindustrialization of America.” – Business Week, June 30, 1980 This warning about the U.S. economy from Business Week came nearly forty years after something monumental happened to Black workers in the Mississippi Delta and other parts of the South. On a hot October day in 1944 a mechanized cotton picker was put on display for the first time. For a majority of...

Everything About Us, Except Us: The Psychology of Systemic Racism

Posted by Reggie Jackson | Aug 17, 2020 |

“People often hurl stones, steel, and insults at one another in order to own, to control, and to secure privileges. In pursuit of these aims, reason is lost sight of, passions run high, and morality is conveniently shelved or proclaimed for self-vindication. Wars are fought, societies disrupted, cultures dislocated, families uprooted, and psyches ruptured.” – Hussein A. Bulhan We live in a world which is becoming increasingly concerned with issues of systemic racism. Some people are embracing the concept while others bemoan it as a fantasy designed to make white people feel guilty. Perspective is everything when it comes...

Blaming the Victim: Techniques used to avoid talking about systemic racism

Posted by Reggie Jackson | Aug 14, 2020 |

In recent weeks I have begun to notice a pattern developing. I have heard similar language used by people pushing back against the conversations about systemic racism. Some old tried and true tropes are making the rounds and leading to fear by some who are trying to have real conversations about racism for the first time in their lives. You may have noticed it yourself. They call these conversations about systemic racism rhetoric. They claim there are always two sides to the story but always feel their side is the only legitimate one. They pushback against ideas which make...

The Hypocrisy of American Rights: What Constitutional entitlement means in a nation created unequal

Posted by Reggie Jackson | Aug 11, 2020 |

First Amendment: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” Fourth Amendment: “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or...

Now that you are woke: Will White allies actually be willing to “get out of the bed?”

Posted by Reggie Jackson | Aug 3, 2020 |

“The whole history of the progress of human liberty shows that all concessions yet made to her august claims have been born of earnest struggle. The conflict has been exciting, agitating, all-absorbing, and for the time being, putting all other tumults to silence. It must do this or it does nothing. If there is no struggle there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom and yet deprecate agitation are men who want crops without plowing up the ground; they want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters....

Why saying “All Lives Matter” is disrespectful to Black people

Posted by Reggie Jackson | Jul 17, 2020 |

“White people who say “All Lives Matter” are the equivalent of the Founding Fathers writing “All men are created equal” while owning slaves.” – Social Media Meme A conversation that will never take place: Person 1: I’m going to make sure this year that I show my support for breast cancer awareness month. Person 2: Hey you really should not make a statement about breast cancer awareness, it devalues all other cancers. All Cancers Matter. A conversation you’ve probably heard: Person 1: I’m going to make sure this year that I show my support for the Black Lives Matter...