Author: Reggie Jackson

The myth of white privilege clouds reality of white entitlement

“Things were getting out of hand in the skirmishes between the alt-right and what I would describe as the outside agitators who wanted to encourage violence.” – David J. Toscano, Virginia House of Delegates Democratic Leader Let’s stop calling it white privilege and call it what it really is, white entitlement. I’ve grown tired of people going on and on about so-called white privilege. The dictionary definition of privilege states that it is “a right, immunity, or benefit enjoyed only by a person beyond the advantages of most.” What many call white privilege is not some kind of right...

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The meaning of Independence Day for Milwaukee’s people of color

Two hundred and forty-one years ago, a select group of leaders in the British North American colonies decided to break ranks and form their own independent nation. It was bold, unexpected and not well received in England. On July 4th the nation will celebrate this monumental occasion as the birthday of the United States of America. One hundred fifty-two years ago on a hot summer day, word of the Emancipation Proclamation made it to Galveston, Texas. June 19th of 1865 was two and a half years after Lincoln’s broad proclamation freeing the enslaved population in America. The city of...

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A question of violence over Milwaukee’s Memorial Day

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...

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The American style of truth and reconciliation

One of the issues that has divided our nation and made it very difficult to discuss race relations has been an ugly history of racial violence against African Americans. These overt, blatant acts of violence were widespread throughout the country. They included mob beatings, lynchings, and the destruction of black communities. On February 25, Milwaukee-based America’s Black Holocaust Museum (ABHM) will host its annual Founder’s Day event at Centennial Hall. The program is titled Lets Face It: How Communities Remember and Repair Racial Trauma. The institution, founded by lynching survivor Dr. James Cameron, is both a history museum and...

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A journey along the boundaries of racial division

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...

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Reggie Jackson: What the election says about who we are

“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...

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