273. Reagan Jackson with Quenton Baker and Bettina Judd: Exploring Seattle's Evolution

What does it mean to bear witness to a city in flux, where the echoes of inequality, gentrification, and community resistance reverberate through its streets? Author and activist Reagan Jackson's collection of essays, Still True, poses this question and chronicles her journey into the world of journalism. Equal parts personal testament, structural interrogation, and social criticism, Jackson offers a profound reflection on the evolving landscape of Seattle. By illuminating the struggles and triumphs of marginalized communities, Jackson reinforces our collective resolve in the face of adversity. Jackson offers a glimpse into the interconnectedness of human experiences and the enduring quest for social justice. Join us for a discussion about Jackson's book and the ever-changing landscape of our city. Reagan Jackson believes in creating communities of belonging and the efficacy of critical thinking followed by action. She is a multi-genre writer (poet, novelist, award-winning journalist, children's book author), an artist, activist, and international educator with an abiding love of justice, spirituality, and traveling to new places. Reagan is passionate about providing young people with opportunities and support. To that end, she is the co-executive Director of Young Women Empowered and has taken over two hundred youth abroad to Japan, Guatemala, and Mexico respectively. She is the cohost and producer of the Deep End Friends Podcast. Quenton Baker is a poet, educator, and Cave Canem fellow. Their current focus is black interiority and the afterlife of slavery. Their work has appeared in The Offing, Jubilat, Prairie Schooner, The Rumpus, and elsewhere. They are a two-time Pushcart Prize nominee and the recipient of the 2018 Arts Innovator Award from Artist Trust. They were a 2019 Robert Rauschenberg Artist in Residence and a 2021 National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellow. They are the author of we pilot the blood (The 3rd Thing, 2021) and ballast (Haymarket Books, 2023). Bettina Judd is an interdisciplinary writer, artist, and performer whose research focus is on Black women's creative production and use of visual art, literature, and music to develop feminist thought. Her book Feelin: Creative Practice, Pleasure, and Black Feminist Thought (Northwestern University Press, December 2022) argues that Black women's creative production is feminist knowledge production produced by registers of affect she calls "feelin." She is currently Associate Professor of Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies at the University of Washington.  Buy the Book Still True: The Evolution of an Unexpected Journalist Third Place Books