Finding Fertile Ground: Stories of Grit, Resilience, and Fertile Ground
Society & Culture
“I grew up in a way where I was determined that I would not allow myself to be judged by my skin color,” said Charles Jackson II about seeing George Floyd’s murder. “I wanted to present myself as a positive contributor to society, and I went out of my way to do that. And a lot of stuff that was going on in the Black community and even around me, I tried to black out.
:When I saw George Floyd and the manner in which he was killed, that was the first time in a long time that I had cried and felt such a wave of emotions, seeing somebody killed...I sat there and I cried, literally...because of everything I tried to suppress and block out, and all of the striving I had done just to make people see a Black man in a different light and hopefully spark change...it just came down on me...I cannot step out of my Black skin.”
..."I cannot escape all the negative associations with being a Black man regardless of how much I tried and all the effort I put in. And as I sat there and watched George Floyd’s incident, all of that just came out...and all the pressure and the weight I’ve been carrying...trying to be a positive contributor to society, but feeling like I had failed...hit me... I sat there as a 37-year-old man, sad for him and his family. But there was a lot of pain and regret and anguish that came out as I watched it.”
Charles grew up in Daytona Beach, in a rough part of town. He spent a lot of time outdoors, playing basketball. Charles was the first person in his family to graduate from high school and college.
After getting married, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps. After 10 years of active duty, he earned his bachelor’s degree in social and criminal justice. As a child, Charles wanted to become a police detective. He wanted to bridge the gap between the community and the police. Now he is eight classes away from earning his master’s in divinity.
Charles has ideas about police reform. When he was contemplating a career as a police officer, friends in law enforcement shared with him in confidence that some cops take the badge just so they can continue to oppress Black people.
“I would like to be one who could go in and challenge and teach...and then reform from that aspect...we all have that same heart beating in our bodies, that will allow us to have empathy for someone who doesn’t look like us and act like us,” said Charles. “We just need to break down some of those walls and some of that ignorance...so that we can actually start the change and see people differently.”
“Leadership is near and dear to me,” said Charles. He created the Relational Leadership Network to share tips for leaders, built on the premise that healthy relationships increase work productivity and boost the bottom line.
I had a wonderful time interviewing Charles, who I first met when he interviewed me about my article, “The Weapons of White Women’s Tears.”
I asked why he didn’t give one of his sons the name he shared with his father. As a child, he wanted to be just like his father, but when his dad cheated on his mom, he lost all respect for him. They reconciled before his dad passed away, but he regrets he didn’t do it earlier.
“The more we go through things, our resiliency level begins to rise,” Charles said. “As hard things come our way, we might take a stumble but we don’t get knocked down as far as we would have had we not continually gone through stuff and overcome it.”
On the last “Three Men of Color, Redefining Fatherhood” episode I interview Ken Harge, a Black man in Connecticut who is writing a symphony! After a falling-out with his parents, he has become a father figure to a young man through the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.
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