Author: Reggie Jackson

“Racism is not easy to talk about in racially mixed company. It is often considered downright impolite to bring it up. Too many demons of guilt, resentment, and vulnerability are tied up in it. Unfortunately, it usually takes a racial eruption…to get Americans to acknowledge their racial differences in public and talk about them, at least for a while, before clamping the lid of denial back down.” – Clarence Page (1996) Just when people across the country were ready to claim America was willing to honestly “reckon” with racism, reality stepped in and said, “hold on a minute.” To...

“In total, for the nine-month period represented (July 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022), the Index lists 1,586 instances of individual books being banned, affecting 1,145 unique book titles. This encompasses different types of bans, including removals of books from school libraries, prohibitions in classrooms, or both, as well as books banned from circulation during investigations resulting from challenges from parents, educators, administrators, board members, or responses to laws passed by legislatures…The Index lists bans on 1,145 titles by 874 different authors, 198 illustrators, and 9 translators, impacting the literary, scholarly, and creative work of 1,081 people altogether. The...

I must acknowledge that the term “White Comfort bills” is not mine. I recently had the pleasure of meeting a brilliant scholar who made a point that resonated with me. As I have tried to say many times, the so-called “anti-CRT” bills really have nothing to do with critical race theory. She calls them “White Comfort bills.” I’m going to borrow her term because it perfectly articulates the essence of these new laws. If you read the text of the bills that are spreading exponentially across the country, one line you find in most of them is a line...

Nearly seventeen years ago my mentor Dr. James Cameron returned from a trip to the Senate chambers when they issued an apology for never passing an anti-lynching bill. As a lynching survivor and creator of America’s Black Holocaust Museum, he was center stage as the Senate did something to “make up” for never passing a federal law to make lynching a federal crime. That same year, 2005, I made the second of what would become three trips to Marion, Indiana, the site of the lynching Cameron survived on August 7, 1930. I visited the jail he was removed from...

First they came for the Blacks, and I did not speak out – because I was not Black. Then they came for the women, and I did not speak out — because I was not a woman. Then they came for the gays, and I did not speak out — because I was not gay. Then they came for me — and there was no one left to speak for me. This is a modern version of the famous lines by German Pastor Martin Niemöller. I changed the groups to represent current issues in America. Those who want to...

“Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive. My behavior at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable. Jokes at my expense are a part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally. I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness.” – Will Smith...