A Word of Thanks to the Black Men Who Taught Me Self-Hate
There have been few constants in my life. But, as I was reflecting today, I remembered a daily, weekly, monthly occurrence throughout my childhood that often left me questioning my...
Author: Jenn M. Jackson
What if We Loved Black Women Like We Love Black Male Rapists?
When I was seventeen, I was groomed and preyed upon by a high school basketball coach. He told me to stop wearing panties if I wanted to get a ‘real...
The Supreme Court Has Been Killing the Game on Equality
After what seems like eons of terrible decisions from the Supreme Court of the United States, the past few weeks have offered a glimmer of hope amidst an otherwise abysmal narrative...
#WhoIsBurningBlackChurches, Black Twitter Demands Answers
Since the murderous acts of terror (which left nine Black people dead) at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina two weeks ago, six Black churches in the South have...
Bree Newsome, A Black Woman, Climbs a 30-foot Flag Pole, Still Can’t Be Seen
This morning, Bree Newsome climbed a 30-foot flagpole in Columbia, South Carolina. I repeat. Bree Newsome climbed a 30-foot flagpole. I repeat. Bree Newsome. Again. Bree. Newsome. Some of y’all...
Video: President Obama’s “Amazing Grace” Eulogy for the Emanuel Nine
It’s not every day that a sitting president sings to congregants of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. But, in honor of the nine people killed last week in the Emanuel AME...
Racist Flags, President Obama’s N-Word, and White Race Confusion
During my first quarter of grad school, I read some powerful words about the interaction between antiracism and antiracialism. These words resonated with me mainly because I frequently saw many...
I Have No Words for Tamir Rice.
“Can I have that toy shooter Mommy?” “No.” “Why?” “Because you’re Black.” While many little boys run through streets, backyards, and playgrounds with toy guns, my sons don’t. Seeing White boys...
Scared From Within and Scared From Without
When I was 15 years old, I had what any level-headed person would call a stalker. Let’s just call him “Mike”. He was at least ten years older than me...
Being Respectable Won’t Keep You From Being Labeled the ‘Angry Black Woman’
I guess Shonda Rhimes didn’t get the memo. She was the latest victim in bigoted white America’s endeavor to undermine successful black people. And she certainly won’t be the last.
On Black Humanity and the ‘White Gaze’
“Is it because I’m black?” This is the question we often ask ourselves when the taxi won’t stop or the other pedestrian on the sidewalk won’t smile back or when...
When You ‘Mistake’ Me for the Other Black Woman at Work…
Being a six-foot-four inch tall black woman often precludes me from being mistaken for other people. Growing up, I was almost never told “Hey, you look just like my friend,”...
Racism Doesn’t Work Both Ways and Neither Does Cultural Appropriation
Sometimes people ask me really moronic questions. One that I get all the time is, “But, but, on your blog, aren’t you racist against white people though? Because you say...
White Fear: The Single Greatest Killer of Black People in the US
While writing a piece yesterday about John Crawford – the 22-year-old killed in Walmart for playing with a toy gun – I became aware of another story of ‘homicide by...
John Crawford Tragically Killed ‘Shopping While Black’ And Holding a Toy Gun
When 22-year-old John Crawford III went to a local Walmart in Beavercreek, Ohio Tuesday to pick up S’mores ingredients for his family’s cookout, he probably didn’t think he needed to...
Miscarrying While Black in a Pre-Obamacare Era
It goes without saying that miscarriages are difficult to endure. They wear heavily on expectant mothers whose hopes commonly end both abruptly and painfully. Feelings of disappointment, guilt, and fear...
