Ashawnta Jackson
@heyjackson.bsky.social
Writer and record collector. Author of SOUL-FOLK (Bloomsbury) and a forthcoming book on Black-owned record labels (WW Norton, 2027)
www.heyjackson.net
www.heyjackson.net
Pinned
Ashawnta Jackson
@heyjackson.bsky.social
· Nov 19
I've wanted to explore the history of Black-owned record labels for a long time, and so I'm pretty excited to do it in book form. This is a history that starts way before Motown and continues far beyond it. It's full of characters, stories, weirdness and good music. Can't wait to share it
I meant to listen to Many Rivers to Cross over and over today but it wasn't the best day to bring myself to those particular depths. I went with Jimmy Cliff's version of Guns of Brixton instead Great cover, great voice. Thanks for the music, Jimmy youtu.be/x5YTKzVvTTM?...
Jimmy Cliff - Guns Of Brixton
YouTube video by Curb Stomp Radio
youtu.be
November 24, 2025 at 11:02 PM
I meant to listen to Many Rivers to Cross over and over today but it wasn't the best day to bring myself to those particular depths. I went with Jimmy Cliff's version of Guns of Brixton instead Great cover, great voice. Thanks for the music, Jimmy youtu.be/x5YTKzVvTTM?...
Here's where I admit that I don't know a thing about Harry Potter. Never read the books. Never saw the movies. I guess I always thought that they took place in ye olde times? I think that's because of the capes. The ye olde times are the 1990s??
Did you know that the HBO Harry Potter TV series has decided that a good use of its money is to make sure that they are using authentic 90s trains (because the enduring success of the books is their...period setting apparently?) but not to tie the cast, young and old, from doing other projects?
November 20, 2025 at 9:29 PM
Here's where I admit that I don't know a thing about Harry Potter. Never read the books. Never saw the movies. I guess I always thought that they took place in ye olde times? I think that's because of the capes. The ye olde times are the 1990s??
Reposted by Ashawnta Jackson
dora.nyc
this is OUTSTANDING. super navigatable directory for food distros, resources. and easy to remember because it’s like the explorer but also—
directory
of
resources &
aid
this is OUTSTANDING. super navigatable directory for food distros, resources. and easy to remember because it’s like the explorer but also—
directory
of
resources &
aid
NYC Directory Of Resources and Aid
A directory of aid resources in NYC
dora.nyc
November 8, 2025 at 7:37 PM
dora.nyc
this is OUTSTANDING. super navigatable directory for food distros, resources. and easy to remember because it’s like the explorer but also—
directory
of
resources &
aid
this is OUTSTANDING. super navigatable directory for food distros, resources. and easy to remember because it’s like the explorer but also—
directory
of
resources &
aid
ICYMI: I was interviewed by @natalieweiner.bsky.social at Don't Rock the Inbox about my book Soul-Folk (@3313books.bsky.social). Among the many, many things I hope you take away from it is that you need to listen to the Isley Brothers' Givin' It Back www.dontrocktheinbox.com/on-soul-folk...
On 'Soul-Folk', with author Ashawnta Jackson
These days, the too-often ignored history of Black artists making country music looks like positively well-trodden territory compared to the story of Black artists and folk. Enter Ashawnta Jackson's S...
www.dontrocktheinbox.com
October 29, 2025 at 5:15 PM
ICYMI: I was interviewed by @natalieweiner.bsky.social at Don't Rock the Inbox about my book Soul-Folk (@3313books.bsky.social). Among the many, many things I hope you take away from it is that you need to listen to the Isley Brothers' Givin' It Back www.dontrocktheinbox.com/on-soul-folk...
I absolutely loved talking with Natalie! Thank you so much for having me. And if you don't already, be sure to subscribe to Don't Rock The Inbox when you head over there!
it was so lovely to talk with @heyjackson.bsky.social about her wonderful book Soul-Folk for Don't Rock The Inbox. highly recommend it! www.dontrocktheinbox.com/on-soul-folk...
On 'Soul-Folk', with author Ashawnta Jackson
These days, the too-often ignored history of Black artists making country music looks like positively well-trodden territory compared to the story of Black artists and folk. Enter Ashawnta Jackson's S...
www.dontrocktheinbox.com
October 28, 2025 at 3:47 PM
I absolutely loved talking with Natalie! Thank you so much for having me. And if you don't already, be sure to subscribe to Don't Rock The Inbox when you head over there!
Reposted by Ashawnta Jackson
Cambridge and Boston folks,
Steve McQueen is 2025-26 Norton Professor of Poetry
Norton Lecture 2 of 6: Small Axe is TODAY
Discussants: Tracey Scoffield, Producer;
Hazel V. Carby, Yale University
Moderator: Ashley Clark, Criterion
Tickets free mahindrahumanities.harvard.edu/steve-mcquee...
🎬
Steve McQueen is 2025-26 Norton Professor of Poetry
Norton Lecture 2 of 6: Small Axe is TODAY
Discussants: Tracey Scoffield, Producer;
Hazel V. Carby, Yale University
Moderator: Ashley Clark, Criterion
Tickets free mahindrahumanities.harvard.edu/steve-mcquee...
🎬
Steve McQueen is coming to talk 'Small Axe.' Here are his insights before Harvard hears them. - Cambridge Day
The Harvard Film Archive is running free screenings of English filmmaker Steve McQueen's “Small Axe” series, celebrating his appointment as Harvard's Charles Eliot Norton professor of poetry. We spoke...
www.cambridgeday.com
October 21, 2025 at 5:54 PM
Cambridge and Boston folks,
Steve McQueen is 2025-26 Norton Professor of Poetry
Norton Lecture 2 of 6: Small Axe is TODAY
Discussants: Tracey Scoffield, Producer;
Hazel V. Carby, Yale University
Moderator: Ashley Clark, Criterion
Tickets free mahindrahumanities.harvard.edu/steve-mcquee...
🎬
Steve McQueen is 2025-26 Norton Professor of Poetry
Norton Lecture 2 of 6: Small Axe is TODAY
Discussants: Tracey Scoffield, Producer;
Hazel V. Carby, Yale University
Moderator: Ashley Clark, Criterion
Tickets free mahindrahumanities.harvard.edu/steve-mcquee...
🎬
Reposted by Ashawnta Jackson
Ten years after losing a close friend to suicide, Desmond Carter turned pain into purpose.
Through his group Mental Health is Real Wealth, he’s giving men a space to be honest and unguarded.
My latest story explores how Carter’s work helps men heal.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Through his group Mental Health is Real Wealth, he’s giving men a space to be honest and unguarded.
My latest story explores how Carter’s work helps men heal.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Mental Health Is Real Wealth: how Black men prioritize healing in a Los Angeles community
The bi-monthly group gives Black men a safe space to share, reflect and support each other
www.theguardian.com
October 20, 2025 at 10:15 PM
Ten years after losing a close friend to suicide, Desmond Carter turned pain into purpose.
Through his group Mental Health is Real Wealth, he’s giving men a space to be honest and unguarded.
My latest story explores how Carter’s work helps men heal.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Through his group Mental Health is Real Wealth, he’s giving men a space to be honest and unguarded.
My latest story explores how Carter’s work helps men heal.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Reposted by Ashawnta Jackson
A good time to re-read this Lucille Clifton poem, always a good time.
September 30, 2025 at 3:50 PM
A good time to re-read this Lucille Clifton poem, always a good time.
Reposted by Ashawnta Jackson
I debated writing this. It can feel tempting, upon encountering yet another instance of this administration’s racism, to let it be. How many ways can you say the same thing over and over again? And yet we have to write it down, if for nothing else, so those who come after us know we were against it.
Actually, Slavery Was Very Bad
The president’s latest criticism of museums is a thinly veiled attempt to erase Black history.
www.theatlantic.com
August 22, 2025 at 4:20 PM
I debated writing this. It can feel tempting, upon encountering yet another instance of this administration’s racism, to let it be. How many ways can you say the same thing over and over again? And yet we have to write it down, if for nothing else, so those who come after us know we were against it.
I grew up in a tiny town but knew the big city was for me because of Sesame Street. We didn't have buses (except for school buses. the bus stop was the end of my driveway) but I couldn't wait to ride one because of this song. A bus! To the zoo! Yay for public transportation! youtu.be/mMgqQkZtjyY?...
August 2, 2025 at 6:57 PM
I grew up in a tiny town but knew the big city was for me because of Sesame Street. We didn't have buses (except for school buses. the bus stop was the end of my driveway) but I couldn't wait to ride one because of this song. A bus! To the zoo! Yay for public transportation! youtu.be/mMgqQkZtjyY?...
I know that you can't generally tell goodness/badness just by looking, but it's really something that every person currently making life miserable looks like a villain trying to shut down a community center. And if 80s movies taught me anything, it's being able to spot those folks from a mile away
August 2, 2025 at 6:00 PM
I know that you can't generally tell goodness/badness just by looking, but it's really something that every person currently making life miserable looks like a villain trying to shut down a community center. And if 80s movies taught me anything, it's being able to spot those folks from a mile away
I'm looking to speak with a Detroit historian (early-mid 20th century, particularly Black history). Bonus if you know a lot about music. I had someone lined up, but that fell through. We wouldn't need to talk very long unless we end up bonding over Frank Wilson's Look Out Your Window, then who knows
July 31, 2025 at 6:52 PM
I'm looking to speak with a Detroit historian (early-mid 20th century, particularly Black history). Bonus if you know a lot about music. I had someone lined up, but that fell through. We wouldn't need to talk very long unless we end up bonding over Frank Wilson's Look Out Your Window, then who knows
Reposted by Ashawnta Jackson
Even if you can’t give… do me a solid
Repost & reply
Repost & reply
July 28, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Even if you can’t give… do me a solid
Repost & reply
Repost & reply
Shameless self-promo, but check out my book if you're looking to read about race, folk music & the complications of genre. And during this sale, it's only $13.37. Not bad. The price, not the book. But the book's alright too. At least that's what my friends tell me www.bloomsbury.com/us/soulfolk-...
July 28, 2025 at 5:08 PM
Shameless self-promo, but check out my book if you're looking to read about race, folk music & the complications of genre. And during this sale, it's only $13.37. Not bad. The price, not the book. But the book's alright too. At least that's what my friends tell me www.bloomsbury.com/us/soulfolk-...
Reposted by Ashawnta Jackson
Posting this again because it’s hot as HELL in NYC today.
To find a cooling center in #NYC: finder.nyc.gov/coolingcente...
NYC Cool Options
Find childcare providers in NYC
finder.nyc.gov
July 8, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Posting this again because it’s hot as HELL in NYC today.
Reposted by Ashawnta Jackson
Two can play this game. A Muslim woman was attacked on the subway for being Muslim. What are you doing to ensure the safety of Muslim New Yorkers?
Protestors are being attacked by police for executing first amendment righta contesting US policy in Gaza. How are you ensuring their safety?
Protestors are being attacked by police for executing first amendment righta contesting US policy in Gaza. How are you ensuring their safety?
My statement after meeting with @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social:
June 28, 2025 at 7:31 PM
Two can play this game. A Muslim woman was attacked on the subway for being Muslim. What are you doing to ensure the safety of Muslim New Yorkers?
Protestors are being attacked by police for executing first amendment righta contesting US policy in Gaza. How are you ensuring their safety?
Protestors are being attacked by police for executing first amendment righta contesting US policy in Gaza. How are you ensuring their safety?
Reposted by Ashawnta Jackson
I can't tell if it's because I'm too NYC focused but does it feel like the news cycle spent more time crashing out on the fact that NYC picked a brown Muslim dude as is primary candidate then it did on a right wing extremist who shot 2 Minnesota legislators killing one, her husband and dog?
June 28, 2025 at 1:28 PM
I can't tell if it's because I'm too NYC focused but does it feel like the news cycle spent more time crashing out on the fact that NYC picked a brown Muslim dude as is primary candidate then it did on a right wing extremist who shot 2 Minnesota legislators killing one, her husband and dog?
I have a few, but I'll go with this one:
Mama Said Knock You Out— LL Cool J
Trip to Your Heart— Sly & the Family Stone
youtu.be/vimZj8HW0Kg?...
youtu.be/XgmvPNef4Lk?...
Mama Said Knock You Out— LL Cool J
Trip to Your Heart— Sly & the Family Stone
youtu.be/vimZj8HW0Kg?...
youtu.be/XgmvPNef4Lk?...
June 28, 2025 at 6:29 PM
I have a few, but I'll go with this one:
Mama Said Knock You Out— LL Cool J
Trip to Your Heart— Sly & the Family Stone
youtu.be/vimZj8HW0Kg?...
youtu.be/XgmvPNef4Lk?...
Mama Said Knock You Out— LL Cool J
Trip to Your Heart— Sly & the Family Stone
youtu.be/vimZj8HW0Kg?...
youtu.be/XgmvPNef4Lk?...
Reposted by Ashawnta Jackson
I updated this piece from February with new guidance on what workers and owners can do if ICE shows up at your restaurant www.eater.com/24364171/ice...
What Should You Do if ICE Comes to Your Restaurant?
We spoke to legal experts about what restaurant owners and workers can do to protect themselves from immigration raids
www.eater.com
June 23, 2025 at 2:14 PM
I updated this piece from February with new guidance on what workers and owners can do if ICE shows up at your restaurant www.eater.com/24364171/ice...
A perfect summer song youtu.be/SSBWiFGzsyU?...
June 20, 2025 at 7:29 PM
A perfect summer song youtu.be/SSBWiFGzsyU?...
Cheating in the Next Room- ZZ Hill youtu.be/OSq68u6fh80?...
June 18, 2025 at 8:15 PM
Cheating in the Next Room- ZZ Hill youtu.be/OSq68u6fh80?...
Reposted by Ashawnta Jackson
trans kids deserve so much more than what this wretched world has to offer
June 18, 2025 at 7:20 PM
trans kids deserve so much more than what this wretched world has to offer
Reposted by Ashawnta Jackson
For the people who continue to say that fighting back "will just make them escalate more." more than what? More than arresting elected officials? More than showing up masked with no ID to grab elementary school kids? So afraid of what they MIGHT do that you let them run wild NOW.
June 12, 2025 at 7:08 PM
For the people who continue to say that fighting back "will just make them escalate more." more than what? More than arresting elected officials? More than showing up masked with no ID to grab elementary school kids? So afraid of what they MIGHT do that you let them run wild NOW.
Adventures in research. Digging into the Debut Records archives. The research is almost always more fun than the writing
![Typed letter from lawyers to bassist Charles Mingus reading, in part "Dear Mr. Mingus, our firm would appreciate it greatly if you not announce to our friends and business associates plus others in various walks of like that we are stealing your money from royalties and other assets. [...] We hope you respond with the same vigor to this urgent matter as you did in publishing the rumor that we were thieves."](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:rw4a5xtamcyc6p4iiepzmnxr/bafkreifarwa6wuoan46ppjhaptuanwl2tcrsfgdvbcb5it4ghepj2icwfu@jpeg)
June 12, 2025 at 7:06 PM
Adventures in research. Digging into the Debut Records archives. The research is almost always more fun than the writing
Reposted by Ashawnta Jackson
I spent the past month interviewing ex-employees and customers of Vinyl Me, Please, trying to understand how the beloved record club collapsed in a haze of greed, hubris, and alleged corporate malfeasance. My piece was just published over at @stereogum.bsky.social.
The Rise, Fall, And Uncertain Future Of Vinyl Me, Please, The Little Record Club That Could
For years, Vinyl Me, Please was the little record club that could. How did it all go so wrong? And can it be saved?
www.stereogum.com
June 9, 2025 at 5:33 PM
I spent the past month interviewing ex-employees and customers of Vinyl Me, Please, trying to understand how the beloved record club collapsed in a haze of greed, hubris, and alleged corporate malfeasance. My piece was just published over at @stereogum.bsky.social.