Reagan Jackson

Reagan Jackson is a writer, artist, activist, international educator and award winning journalist. She's been a regular contributor to the Seattle Globalist since 2013. Her self published works include two children's books (Coco LaSwish: A Fish from a Different Rainbow and Coco LaSwish: When Rainbows Go Blue) and three collections of poetry (God, Hair, Love, and America, Love and Guatemala, and Summoning Unicorns). To find out more check her out at www.rejjarts.com.
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More than 10 ethnicities are represented in one of FOCS' Southend newborn mom groups. (Photo courtesy of FOCS)

Young families of color de-gentrifying South Seattle?

by Reagan Jackson
Hillman City has hardly garnered the reputation of being a hotbed for community in the recent past. But change is coming.
Dec 29, 2014

#BlackLivesMatter at a crossroads

by Reagan Jackson
Despite being theoretically protected by the constitution and by our laws, if I were shot today by the very people we are supposed to entrust to uphold justice, it is likely that my death would be meaningless, just something that happened that no one would have to take accountability for.
Dec 26, 2014
Dancers perform a traditional Peruvian number last December at Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute. (Photo by Aida Solomon)

De Inga y Mandiga rising in Seattle

by Reagan Jackson
It’s that time of year again. The leaves that fall have fallen, downtown is wrapped in lights and El Centro de la Raza is selling Christmas trees. For many, now is a time for family, food and holiday traditions. For artist and anthropologist Monica Rojas, it’s a time for music, education and celebration with the […]
Dec 10, 2014
Nomadness travelers in Pushkar, India earlier this year. (Photo courtesy of Nomadness)

Nomadness: The new tribe changing the face of travel

by Reagan Jackson
Meet Evita Robinson, the woman behind the movement shattering the myth that people of color don’t travel.
Dec 4, 2014
Dear White People review

Dear White People: Why I still watch every movie about black people

by Reagan Jackson
I left "Dear White People" feeling sad because it’s 2014 and I am still excited to see a movie about black people.
Oct 31, 2014
Promotional material for an International Studies Abroad program in Spain reflects the demographics that dominate study abroad overall.

Why I started a study abroad program for People of Color

by Reagan Jackson
The two most influential forces in my life have been writing and travel. Growing up I always wanted to see the world (any place outside of Wisconsin would do). Just before I turned seventeen, my mother took me Senegal.
Oct 27, 2014
Residents of Ferguson, MO took to the streets in August after unarmed teenager Mike Brown was shot by police. (Photo by Jamelle Bouie)

The ‘black prophetic fire’ behind Cornel West’s Ferguson arrest

by Reagan Jackson
Following a sold out event in Seattle last week, Cornel West was arrested this morning in Ferguson.
Oct 13, 2014
Jocelyn (Joys) Morenno leads a Zumba class in Veracruz, Mexico. (Photo from ZumbaMexico)

For travelers, Zumba is a chance to dance with the locals

by Reagan Jackson
From Mexico to Moscow, the Latin-music-based fitness program Zumba has danced it's way to a global empire.
Sep 25, 2014

Seattle photographer issues a new kind of passport

by Reagan Jackson
A new interactive art installation invites people to consider ways race, nationality, gender and other boxes are used to limit and divide people.
Sep 11, 2014
Sandy Malegon is crowned Queen of the 2014 Afro-Mexican Carnival. (Photo by Reagan Jackson)

Soup or Salad: Afro-American cultural erasure in the U.S. and Mexico

by Reagan Jackson
What’s worse, to lose your life because you're seen as a threat, or to lose your identity to no longer be threatening?
Aug 22, 2014
Olmec heads on display at the Anthropology Museum in Veracruz are often referenced as evidence of a pre-Columbian connection between Africa and Mexico because of their African features, but most anthropologists dismiss the connection. (Photo by Reagan Jackson)

Explorations in Blackness: Where are all the Afro Mexicans?

by Reagan Jackson
What do Kid Cudi, Lupita Nyong'o and Stacy Dash have in common? They all identify as Afro-Mexican. But as columnist Reagan Jackson discovered, finding people who identify that way in Mexico isn't so easy.
Aug 7, 2014
Media portrayals of the hood got you shook? (Still from Boyz n the Hood)

Who’s afraid of Rainier Beach?

by Reagan Jackson
What makes it the hood? Crime? Poverty? Or just fewer white folks?
Jul 3, 2014
Children's Alliance (Image courtesy Meizhu Lui)

Breaking down barriers to racial equity — starting with children

by Reagan Jackson
The first steps toward ensuring success for children of color are some uncomfortable conversations about racial inequailty
Jun 17, 2014
Walmart employees in Brazil demonstrate in support of Bangladeshi workers killed in a collapse at a factory making apparel for the retail giant. (Photo courtesy Uni Global Alliance at Walmart)

As Walmart grows globally, so does worker resistance

by Reagan Jackson
Did you know that Walmart is the world’s largest retailer, with more than 10,000 stores in dozens of countries, and the third largest employer in the world overall (behind only the U.S. Department of Defense and The Chinese Army)?
May 29, 2014
The World Dance Party held at the Filipino Community Center in November. (Photo by Steven Zhang)

Globalize your groove at the World Dance Party

by Reagan Jackson
When a friend invited me to the World Dance Party a couple weeks ago, my first thought was, "Is this going to be a bunch of hippie white people dancing off-beat to Putamayo CDs?"
May 12, 2014
(Photo courtesy PramilaJayapal.com)

Pramila Jayapal racking up endorsements for State Senate run

by Reagan Jackson
Just months after Democrat Adam Kline announced his plans to leave the State Senate, Pramila Jayapal has emerged as the candidate to beat in an already crowded race for the 37th District seat. Jayapal — longtime resident of the Southend district — is most widely known as the founder and former executive director of OneAmerica, the […]
Apr 23, 2014
A mural of Angela Davis at the Abode of Chaos Museum in France. (Photo by Thierry Ehrmann)

Featured Event: Angela Davis talks mass incarceration at Evergreen

by Reagan Jackson
This Saturday, April 19, at Evergreen State College in Olympia, the Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice is hosting Peace Works 2014, a daylong conference leading up to a keynote conversation titled Yet Again as Captives: Mass Incarceration in the U.S. & Palestine. Angela Davis and Noura Erakat will be this year’s keynote speakers. 
Apr 18, 2014
An unidentified detainee at the Northwest Detention Center in 2008. (Photo by Alex Stonehill)

National Poetry Month: Send us your poem about immigration

by Reagan Jackson
April is National Poetry Month, and while there are many ways to celebrate, one I enjoy is participating in the 30/30. Writing 30 poems in 30 days, one a day, like a vitamin to stimulate the creative juices in your soul… or to taunt and frustrate you mercilessly, depending on the day. Sometimes you need a […]
Apr 14, 2014
City Councilmember Kshama Sawant speaks at a March 15th rally for a $15 minimum wage. (Photo by Shannon Kringen)

Is the fight for a $15 minimum wage a women’s issue?

by Reagan Jackson
I never considered the Fight for 15 to be a “woman’s issue.” Then just days before International Women’s Day and a full week before the National Fight for 15 day of action earlier this month, I found myself at Gethsemane Lutheran Church in the presence of a diverse group of women activists that made me think […]
Mar 29, 2014

Seattle freeze thawing in Rainier Beach

by Reagan Jackson
Are the waterslides and free internet access of the Rainier Beach Community Center a magical antidote to the Seattle Freeze?
Mar 11, 2014