Cuba has interested me since fourth grade. I’m a Floridian. My first boyfriend was half-Cuban. He never wanted to talk about Cuba or the individualized and collective circumstances that led to his mother fleeing to Florida. And with the American economic embargo spanning several decades, Cuba has often seemed closest to and farthest from the… Continue reading I Spent Spring Break in Pre-Embargo Lift Cuba
Category: Academia
A Non-consensual Toad & Consensual Realizations
I will finish reading in the library, I thought. Rolling my backpack outside, a to-do reel displayed cerebrally. Blissfully unaware, I was. Came back for my lunch, laptop bag and purse. He appeared. Young Leap of the Prince Charming Clique. A toad almost the size of my iPhone decided to be a Monday morning blessing—and… Continue reading A Non-consensual Toad & Consensual Realizations
On Dreads & Why You Can’t Send a Girl Who Knows Who She is Home
“They didn’t like my dreads,” Tiana Parker, a 7-year-old black girl said. “They” are her former school, Deborah Brown Community School. Officials told Parker’s dad, Terrence, that she wasn’t presentable because of her hair. According to the community school, “hairstyles such as dreadlocks, afros, mohawks, and other faddish styles are unacceptable.” And chastising little girls… Continue reading On Dreads & Why You Can’t Send a Girl Who Knows Who She is Home
My 1st Year of Law School Was Just Like Being in a Moshpit
Moshpits aren’t my thing. On a holiday break from college, my friends and I attended a rock show. We didn’t know much about the bands. Tickets were affordable. We were bored. So it goes. Bury Your Dead (BYD). A normal person unfamiliar with the night’s lineup would have made contextual leaps based on the band’s… Continue reading My 1st Year of Law School Was Just Like Being in a Moshpit
Embrace summertime, not pervasive personal questions
As the sun beams, wind blows, tan lines surface and memories accumulate, remember caution, especially when addressing recent graduates and upwardly mobile peeps. Some stuff is not your business. This is a mighty revelation for some because nosy people feel entitled to everyone’s business. Because other people’s business underscores universal issues, right? Your finances, proclivities… Continue reading Embrace summertime, not pervasive personal questions
Ego Trips, epiphanies and intellectualism with Nikki Giovanni
When public figures present their humanity to crowds it is that much easier to understand why people love them. This could not have been more apparent than when Nikki Giovanni made an appearance in my hometown, Jacksonville, Fla., last night. It was an honor not only to see her encourage and empower a mostly Black… Continue reading Ego Trips, epiphanies and intellectualism with Nikki Giovanni
President Obama ministered to my spirit in last night’s State of the Union address when he said, “Higher education cannot be a luxury.”
Despite education’s liberating properties, it struggles to endure.
It gets gutted in budgets. In the face of unsettling economic times, it is undermined.
In an age of overly relying on standardized tests and normative assessments, it is confined to a box that many would rather skip altogether in pursuit of scant odds at becoming a star.
When knee-high to a grasshopper, many of us were taught that knowledge is power.
While pedagogical progress is hardly limited to classrooms, desks, chalkboards and Smart Boards, “book smarts” frequently contribute to the lives of people across the globe.
Education orders thoughts, increases knowledge, and illuminates cultural similarities and dissimilarities. But, it also swags out pockets, opportunities and lifestyles—when done properly.
Recent Census Bureau data reports that a master’s degree renders $1.3 million more during a lifetime than a high school diploma. A bachelor’s degree tends to add nearly $1 million more in lifetime earnings for an individual.
Certainly people nab high paying jobs without additional degrees. Some build fruitful lives for themselves and their families.
But, the president would not have ascended to his position of power without the world-class education that he received. Numerous others have similar stories.
As a recent graduate in a funky economy I am aware of pessimistic reports, and unfavorable odds; however, I come from long lines of educated people on both sides of my family.
Plus, we grind. Challenging work is often more exhilarating than exhausting.
It will be interesting to see how the political season inspires more conversations about the validity of degrees and the need for knowing.
I am ready to take notes.
Imani J. Jackson, JD, LLM 