Author: Reggie Jackson

Year In Review 2020: On being Black in a world of White Supremacy

2020 has been a turbulent period beyond the conventional methods of description. In terms of COVID-years, the past 12 months have had the glacial progress and weight of 12 regular human years. Each month brought a new chapter of events for the public to process, which required an expanded vocabulary to explain the news and a library of images to show the extent of what was happening. It was a very dangerous year for photojournalism with a pandemic and civil unrest. To be embedded in the heart of events as they unfolded required physical stamina, professional skill, and a...

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Reggie Jackson: The major lesson I learned from 2020 is that racism continues to kill

“In recent decades, there has been remarkable growth in scientific research examining the multiple ways in which racism can adversely affect health. This interest has been driven in part by the striking persistence of racial/ethnic inequities in health and the empirical evidence that indicates that socioeconomic factors alone do not account for racial/ethnic inequities in health. Racism is considered a fundamental cause of adverse health outcomes for racial/ethnic minorities and racial/ethnic inequities in health.” – Racism and Health: Evidence and Needed Research Study (2019) It did not take the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor or Ahmaud Arbery for...

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Dear Mr. President-Elect: A wishlist for Joe Biden from Milwaukee’s Black community

To begin with, congratulations on your overwhelming victory in the popular vote. I would like to present to you my wishlist for your first term as President. This list may not necessarily match your priorities but that doesn’t really matter. The list is in someways quite selfish I must admit. But since it is a wishlist it can be unaligned with what you may wish for. They are not necessarily in order by priority. One last thing. This is not an exhaustive list. I will send an update after your first 100 days. NUMBER ONE: Tell less lies to...

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A White Utopia: How a segregated Milwaukee created the arrogance of suburbia

Utopia: an imaginary island described in Sir Thomas More’s book “Utopia” (1516) as enjoying perfection in law, politics, etc.; an ideal place or state.; any visionary system of political or social perfection. I am often asked why Milwaukee’s suburbs are so segregated. People then ask a follow up question. What can we do about it? The answers to both questions are complicated yet at the same time simple. Suburbia was built as a place for White people to escape central cities. Why do I say White people you may ask. Well it is clear from studying the history of suburbs,...

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The shame of the GOP: A blind loyalty to Tyranny

The past four years have been the darkest in the history of the Republican Party. Now in the last days of Donald Trump, many in the party have laid waste to any vestiges of respect for the nation they claim to represent. In a last ditch effort to delegitimize the 2020 election, the party has supported baseless claims of a stolen election simply because they fear a backlash from the 74 million who voted for Trump and personal attacks by the President. It is political cowardice at a level unseen since 1876. Right wing radio host Rush Limbaugh said...

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Reggie Jackson: Documentation of my ancestors who were bequeathed in the will of our enslaver

I have spent the better part of the last twenty years of my life immersed in learning American history at a level that few would ever have the time or desire to delve into. People ask me how I talk about the ugly parts of American history without breaking down emotionally. What they don’t know is that I do break down emotionally. This journey, this path down the road of learning so that I can teach, is chock full of heartache. I love learning but I hate what I’ve learned. The story of America I was taught in school...

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