Professor.
Author.
Literary Citizen.
AS SEEN IN
Jenn M. Jackson (they/them) is a queer genderflux androgynous Black woman, an abolitionist, a lover of all Black people, and an Assistant Professor at Syracuse University in the Department of Political Science.
Jackson’s primary research is in Black Politics with a focus on racial threat and trauma, gender and sexuality, political behavior, and social movements. Jackson also holds affiliate positions in African American Studies, Women’s and Gender Studies, and LGBT Studies. They are a Senior Research Associate at The Campbell Public Affairs Institute at the Maxwell School at Syracuse University, as well.
Jackson is the author of the book BLACK WOMEN TAUGHT US (Random House Press, 2024). The book is an intimate intellectual and political history of Black women’s activism, movement organizing, and philosophical work that explores how women from Harriet Jacobs to Audre Lorde to the members of the Combahee River Collective, among others, have for centuries taught us how to fight for justice and radically reimagine a more just world for us all.
THE BOOK
Black Women
Taught Us
This is my offering. My love letter to them, and to us.
A reclamation of essential history and a hopeful gesture toward a better political future, this is what listening to Black women looks like—from a professor of political science and columnist for Teen Vogue.
Jenn M. Jackson, PhD, has been known to bring historical acuity to some of the most controversial topics in America today. Now, in their first book, Jackson applies their critical analysis to the questions that have long energized their work: Why has Black women’s freedom fighting been so overlooked throughout history, and what has our society lost because of our refusal to engage with our forestrugglers’ lessons?
Recent Essays
Culture Podcast
Jackson is co-host of the That Black Couple podcast, an honest look at Blackness, polyamory, and creativity in an anti-Black world.
Join Daren and Jenn for their bi-weekly podcast covering the complex ways that 40-something queer, Black millennials navigate polyamory, creative writing, and parenting.
They cover topics like toxic masculinity in relationships, race, gender, and parenting, millennial money issues, “pretty pregnancy” theories, and even navigating predominantly white workspaces as a young, radical person.
Media Co.
Jackson is the co-founder of Colored Convos Media, a media company centered on the fact that Black folks deserve support for our creative work.
The mission of Colored Convos Media is to create a generative and intentional space for Black and queer content creators to be paid to cultivate their writing and creative talents.
At CCM, we envision a writing and publishing world where our stories are no longer marginalized.
Follow the media company to learn about writing workshops, events, and opportunities.
Author Podcast
Jackson is the host and creator of We Published, Beloved!, a podcast that demystifies the publishing process with a focus on first-time Black and queer authors.
The publishing world is overwhelmingly white and the stories that we read reflect that reality. Because of this long-time trend, many new and upcoming Black and queer authors often feel shut out and excluded from the publishing process.
Follow the bi-weekly podcast for interviews with Black and queer authors about their publishing process and experiences.
Book Jenn to Speak
They are available to host talks and speaking engagements, panels, and conferences on race, gender, sexuality, social movements, and class issues, including:
- Intersectionality and new movements
- Understanding Black public opinion and young people’s politics
- Abolition theory and praxes
- Bringing social justice issues into curricula and coursework
- Writing at the intersections of identity