November 2017
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 5TH – Morning Service
How We Got Here
Lecture/Q & A by Reggie Jackson, ABHM Head Griot (Oral Historian)
Reggie explains the events in US history that have led to the racial divides and dilemmas we now experience across our nation – and how we can transform and heal our future. The talk is followed by a Q & A session.
Plymouth Church
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Not Open to the Public
About Reggie Jackson
Reggie Jackson first volunteered with America’s Black Holocaust Museum in 2002. A year later, he was appointed Head Griot (pronounced GREE-oh) and began training the new griots. By the time the bricks-and-mortar museum closed in June 2008, he had led hundreds of tours.
Reggie became a close friend and protegé of ABHM founder, Dr. James Cameron. Since Cameron’s death in 2006, Reggie has served as an expert on the life of this unsung civil rights hero and lynching survivor. He authored the Afterword of Dr. Cameron’s memoir, A Time of Terror: A Survivor’s Story, 3rd edition.
ABHM Head Griot Reggie Jackson speaks about American history.
After the building closed, Reggie joined a task force of community activists determined to keep Dr. Cameron’s museum and legacy alive. They formed the Dr. James Cameron Legacy Foundation and in 2012 began to operate America’s Black Holocaust Museum as a “museum without walls.”
Reggie served as the Cameron Legacy Foundation’s first board president until January 2017 and helped establish not only the online museum but also the popular Griots To Go Speakers Bureau.
In his role as ABHM’s Head Griot, Reggie has been a much sought-after speaker on Black Holocaust topics regionally and nationally for over a decade. He presents the untold and seldom-told stories in African-American history at schools, libraries, churches, and businesses – and conducts diversity and race relations training.
Mr. Jackson has also taught Contemporary Social Problems and Introduction to Sociology as an adjunct professor at Concordia University and worked as a special education teacher in Milwaukee middle schools.
Reggie is the 2015 winner of the Eliminating Racism Award from southeast Wisconsin’s YWCA, the 2016 Courageous Love Award from the First Unitarian Society of Milwaukee, and the 2017 Frank P. Zeidler Public Service Award from the City of Milwaukee. On November 9, 2017, the Legislature of the State of Wisconsin recognized his achievements in Joint Resolution 86.
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 9TH – 9:30-11:30am
The Message in the Message
Lecture/Q & A by Reggie Jackson, ABHM Head Griot (Oral Historian)
What is the message in a work of art? How can we “read” the image? Who is the messenger – and why does that matter? How can America’s Black Holocaust Museum help you read the message in works of art by or about African Americans?
This talk is part of a docent-led tour on History+Art for Milwaukee middle and high school students at the
Milwaukee Art Museum
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Not Open to the Public
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 9TH – 5:00-7:00pm
Liberty For All: African American Civil Liberties in Milwaukee
Lecture/Q & A by Reggie Jackson, ABHM Head Griot (Oral Historian)
Alverno College (see address on flier below)
Open to the Public
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 30TH – 10:00-11:30am
The Hidden History & Impact of Segregation in Milwaukee
Lecture/Q & A by Reggie Jackson, ABHM Head Griot (Oral Historian)
How did Milwaukee come to be the most segregated metro area in the nation?
It turns out that racial segregation is neither accidental nor “natural.”
Reggie Jackson, ABHM’s Head Griot (oral historian), gives the talk that has been packing venues from Shorewood to Waukesha to Milwaukee’s Southside.
His presentation is tailored to each neighborhood or city where he speaks.
Jackson examines the role played by national and local policies and social systems. These systems have promoted and maintained an artificial separation between white and black citizens – and other residents of color. Finally, he explains how segregation negatively impacts the economic and social well-being of all the residents of this region. The talk is followed by a Q & A session.
Ascension Lutheran Church
Milwaukee WI
Comments Are Welcome
Note: We moderate submissions in order to create a space for meaningful dialogue, a space where museum visitors – adults and youth –– can exchange informed, thoughtful, and relevant comments that add value to our exhibits.
Racial slurs, personal attacks, obscenity, profanity, and SHOUTING do not meet the above standard. Such comments are posted in the exhibit Hateful Speech. Commercial promotions, impersonations, and incoherent comments likewise fail to meet our goals, so will not be posted. Submissions longer than 120 words will be shortened.
See our full Comments Policy here.