What do you get when you mix a thin, pretty, young, celebrity model (from the Kardashian brood no less) with a corporatized imaginary protest? If you guessed trash, congratulations. That’s what...
We all watched last year as it became clear that an inexperienced, failure of a man would be following President Obama into the White House. As we struggled with that...
Culture / Entertainment / Race
by Jenn M. Jackson · Published March 23, 2017 · Last modified March 26, 2017
Professional athletics have long been riddled with controversy and scandal. But, there are some particularities facing Black professional athletes in the NFL and the NBA today that must be called...
I was born in 1984. While I wasn’t really allowed to watch popular television shows for almost a decade, I vividly remember seeing TLC’s “What About Your Friends” video on...
One of the most irritating byproducts of this new era of being “woke” is the increased numbers of people who read one Martin Luther King, Jr speech or saw one...
Parenting / Pop Culture / Reflections
by Jenn M. Jackson · Published March 1, 2017 · Last modified April 12, 2017
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a conflicted piece about NBC’s “This Is Us.” Befuddled by the dissonance I experienced between the show’s resounding praise and my own thoughts...
Culture / Entertainment / Race
by Jenn M. Jackson · Published February 27, 2017 · Last modified March 4, 2017
I have long been critical of national awards shows. I have also long been critical of the white gaze. I learned in my twenties that neither of them were for...
One of the most common refrains I hear from white readers of my work is, “I really liked this piece because it didn’t make me feel bad about being white.”...
Culture / Gender & Sexuality / Motivational / Race / Reflections
by Jenn M. Jackson · Published February 14, 2017
Growing up, my mother never had a shortage of Ebony and Essence magazines splayed across our coffee table, a fact that has shaped me into adulthood. When I was bored, I...
Today is February 1. Donald J. Trump took office 12 days ago. During that time, he has done everything in his power to exclude marginalized people, undermine civil rights, and...
You may have noticed over the past few weeks that we have been talking about some exciting new changes for Water Cooler Convos. Here is a brief summary of our...
by Jenn M. Jackson · Published January 23, 2017 · Last modified January 30, 2017
Growing up, one of the most consistent messages I got about women, specifically Black women, was that we were golddiggers. Concerns about women “always wanting something from a man,” and...
Public apologies are overrated. There was that time when Dr. Henry Louis Gates was arrested in his own home and demanded an apology for it only to have the Cambridge...
Why don’t you hand in papers in Ebonics since that is how you talk?” I remember someone asking me this in my early days of grad school. I then explained...
Culture / Gender & Sexuality / Pop Culture / Videos
by Jenn M. Jackson · Published January 13, 2017 · Last modified January 16, 2017
Y’all know that I have loved Serena Williams for ages. This is not to be questioned. And bae apparently wants me to love her even more after starring in a...
by Jenn M. Jackson · Published January 5, 2017 · Last modified January 6, 2017
I have been watching the nuclear fallout following gospel singer Pastor Kim Burrell’s viral video posted last Friday for almost a week. I have seen responses from others in the...
Let’s be honest, most of y’all couldn’t get with Serena or Ciara (or any level-headed woman) on your best day. And, yet, you stay pressed about who these women date,...
by Jenn M. Jackson · Published December 29, 2016 · Last modified December 30, 2016
Every year during this time, I share my goals for the upcoming year. I have had goals to be more discerning and recognizing my own worth. I have had goals to focus...
Culture / Entertainment / Race
by Jenn M. Jackson · Published December 28, 2016 · Last modified December 30, 2016
One of the disappointing things about being a Black consumer of popular culture is the number of problematic Black faves. From folx like Common to Pharrell to Raven-Symoné, there are many...
Culture / Entertainment / Lists / Podcasts / Race
by Jenn M. Jackson · Published December 18, 2016 · Last modified December 30, 2016
If some one had of told me fifteen years ago that most of my favorite journalists, talk radio personalities, and content producers would be other Black millennials, I would have...
Daren W. Jackson
Jenn M. Jackson
Staff
