Author: Reggie Jackson

I keep hearing people say that they are tired of talking about race and racism all the time. They claim that it is causing discord and division and making people feel a great deal of discomfort. My response to this, has grown out of a feeling of frustration. I am tired of people claiming that their discomfort is more important than mine. Your discomfort is related to a conversation about racism, while mine is related to dealing with racism all the time. Your last seven years of hearing that Black Lives Matter pales in comparison to my lifelong battle...

There is an old Chris Rock skit where a woman has caught her man cheating and tells him, “I know you did it! Just admit it!” I’d like to use the same technique to address American racism and those who are trying so hard to protect it nowadays. For those who follow my column, you have heard me say on numerous occasions that American racism can’t be denied, primarily because it was openly practiced and the perpetrators left a ton of evidence of their racism. The breadcrumbs are everywhere. They were not afraid of being a racist, they had...

“This land is your land and this land is my land From California to the New York island From the redwood forest to the Gulf Stream waters This land was made for you and me” Woody Guthrie’s 1944 folk song In light of the twentieth anniversary of the September 11 terrorists attacks, most Americans memories of terrorism are related to that horrific day. I clearly remember that day as if it just happened. There are images and sounds from that day that will never leave my consciousness. However, we as Americans need to be clearly aware of two things....

“White people go around, it seems to me, with a very carefully suppressed terror of Black people,  a tremendous uneasiness. They don’t know what the Black face hides. They’re sure it’s hiding something. What it’s hiding is American history. What it’s hiding is what white people know they have done, and what they like doing. White people know very well one thing; it’s the only thing they have to know. They know this; everything else, they’ll say, is a lie. They know they would not like to be Black here. They know that, and they’re telling me lies. They’re...

This special series by Reggie Jackson explores his journey across four cities in Alabama, to visit historical sites that many are trying to erase from public memory so the disturbing truth about racism, segregation, and White Supremacy can be forgotten. mkeind.com/alabamajourney The plan for this trip had been percolating in my heart and mind for a number of years. I had certain expectations of what I wanted to see and how I wanted to experience those places. In the end, the events of 2020 and 2021 made the trip much more important to me. The racial reckoning that arrived...

This special series by Reggie Jackson explores his journey across four cities in Alabama, to visit historical sites that many are trying to erase from public memory so the disturbing truth about racism, segregation, and White Supremacy can be forgotten. mkeind.com/alabamajourney As I said in yesterday’s column, Tuskegee was a place I was not sure we’d have time to see on out trip. I had mostly written it off as a place to see because of our tight itinerary. I’m glad we stopped there though. Tuskegee is a very small town in the heart of Macon County, Alabama, famous...