Author: Reggie Jackson

Christopher M. Perceptions When I was a young boy, I was fascinated by the military. I knew the location of every U.S. Marine base in the country by fourth grade. I had hundreds of little green Army men, tanks, trucks, artillery, and such. I spent hours setting up battles in the house as well as outside in the back yard. I carried the soldiers with me when I travelled to Chicago to visit relatives. Until very recently I had not thought much about where these feelings of love for war machines and soldiers came from. This past Memorial Day...

Why the issue of race matters and a long path across is contours in America, from the Jim Crow South to Milwaukee. My great-grandfather Edward Diltz was born in Tillatoba, Mississippi in 1890, twenty-five years after legalized slavery ended in the land of the free and the home of the brave. Papa, as we called him was a tall, thin man who could have easily passed for white due to the light complexion he inherited from a white grandfather on a small cotton plantation in the northern edges of the Mississippi Delta. He moved his family to Charleston, the...

“Michael Phelps sets record in 100m butterfly and receives second place medal.” “Cleveland Indians outscored 8 to 7 in game seven of 2016 World Series, win first World Championship since 1948.” “Simone Biles dominates the field at 2016 all-around final, receives silver medal.” “Golden State Warriors blow 3-1 series lead against Cleveland Cavaliers, losing final game 93-89, win back-to-back championship.” These headlines are all obviously fake and absurd. No one who wins actually loses. But for the fourth time in US history the winner of the popular vote in the presidential election has lost. None of the fictitious sports...

A black man, 40-year-old Terence Crutcher, was walking away from several Tulsa police officers with his hands in the air when he was shot and kiIIed by white officer Betty Shelby. She is now facing a “heat-of-passion” mansIaughter charge in the case. He’s dеad, she’s alive and well, walking free after posting a $50,000 bond. She was released 20 minutes after being booked. A police helicopter flying above the scene filmed the incident. The husband of the officer who fired the fatal shot was the pilot in that helicopter. In released video, one of the officers in the helicopter...

“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with ʍurder.” Colin Kapaernick, San Francisco 49’s quarterback – August 26, 2016 With these words and a refusal to stand during the playing of the national anthem, a young quarterback who many outside of NFL fans had never heard of before, became an...