Reggie Jackson, Author at Milwaukee Independent

Wanted: A Vaccine to Cure White People’s Irrational Fear of Black People

Posted by Reggie Jackson | May 28, 2020 |

As we struggle to battle with a worldwide pandemic, racial issues from the past are creeping back into the forefront or our daily lives. The case of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia shows another senseless killing of an unarmed black person. In Central Park in New York a white woman uses her sense of privilege to call 911 on a black man who had the audacity to ask her to follow park rules by placing a leash on her dog. She claimed on the call that he threatened her. He films the incident on his cell phone, the video goes...

A response to questions about “The Myth of Anti-Whiteness”

Posted by Reggie Jackson | May 24, 2020 |

A reader of my recent column THE MYTH OF ANTI-WHITENESS: WHEN TELLING THE TRUTH IS MISCHARACTERIZED AS ATTACKING WHITES questioned my assertion about Germans and Italians not being placed in interment camps. They pointed out to me that anyone can Google about internment and discover that “some 600,000 Italians who were undocumented were detained, relocated, stripped of property, placed under curfew” among other things. I appreciate any critiques and decided to investigate claims of Italians and Germans being placed in internment camps in the United States. They were, but the numbers were very small and there is no real...

Just like for the construction of the Panama Canal, non-white lives are expendable again

Posted by Reggie Jackson | May 23, 2020 |

“A finer body of men has never been gathered by any nation than the men who have done the work of building the Panama Canal; the conditions under which they have lived and have done their work have been better than in any similar work ever undertaken in the tropics; they have all felt an eager pride in their work; and they have made not only America but the whole world their debtors by what they have accomplished.” – Theodore Roosevelt The arrogance of progress is expressed clearly by President Theodore Roosevelt in this quote. After thousands of men,...

The Myth of Anti-Whiteness: When telling the truth is mischaracterized as attacking whites

Posted by Reggie Jackson | May 18, 2020 |

“Institutional racism insidiously cloaks racial discrimination in the innocence of the accidental.” – Robert B. Baker, PhD “I love America more than any other country in this world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually.” – James Baldwin “From that moment on, I was no longer a liberal, a believer in the self-correcting character of American democracy. I was a radical, believing that something fundamental was wrong in this country–not just the existence of poverty amidst great wealth, not just the horrible treatment of black people, but something rotten at the root.”...

An open letter from the Novel Coronavirus to Humanity: Thank You!

Posted by Reggie Jackson | May 16, 2020 |

Dear humans, I must thank you on behalf of all coronaviruses around the world. You have made it so easy for us to do what we do. Although we are not living organisms by your definitions we can sure act with more concerted, complicity with our peers than you can. You are an easy target and your response to our attack upon you shows us that you are not a worthy adversary at this point. You have been warned of our coming for decades but you were too busy ignoring the messages to prepare for us. You’ve been more...

Reggie Jackson: From “Service workers” to “Essential workers” and the sad irony for poorly paid Americans

Posted by Reggie Jackson | May 14, 2020 |

“Senator Mitt Romney proposed a hazard pay raise of up to $12 an hour for essential workers such as health-care and grocery store employees facing greater risks during the coronavirus pandemic.” “15 gifts to give essential workers during the coronavirus pandemic” – USA Today As I see ads on TV celebrating our “essential workers” I’m somewhat amused. Amused not because they are funny, but amused because four months ago these workers were for the most part hidden in plain sight. They are the masses that keep our economy churning, many of them for poverty wages. In a way it...