Maya Gwynn
Maya with KVCR Public Media, I'm Maya Gwynn with Black Perspectives IE, a show where we learn about the amazing things members of the Black community are doing in the Inland Empire. My guest today is Dr Corey A. Jackson, Assemblymember 60th District. Thank you so much for being here today, Corey.
Dr. Corey A. Jackson
Glad to be here.
Maya Gwynn
Okay, so start at the beginning, before the assembly four, before bill signings, who's Corey Jackson as a kid, and what dreams did you have, and how close to that vision is what you're doing now?
Dr. Corey A. Jackson
Well, first, Corey Jackson is a homegrown kid growing up in Rialto, Colton, San Bernardino. Spent time in Chino and Ontario. All my childhood has been here in the Inland Empire, and from a young age, I really realized that I'm just not happy or feel fulfilled if I'm not serving in any way. So I spent a whole lot of time being mentored by a lot of folks. You know, I was raised like many of us growing up with a single mother, and so when I was on my way to school, she was coming in from the nightshift, and when it's time for me to go to bed, she was on her way out, right? And so I think for me is I was truly raised by a village, which also means I had the ability to volunteer a lot, and meet a lot of different people in the community. And luckily, I ran into the right people who gave me great opportunities to explore my talents, what I really wanted to do, what I was good at, challenges I needed to work on. It's great to be able to give back.
Maya Gwynn
Did you have like, a specific mentor, besides your mother, who really poured into you and was very intentional with wanting to be a part of your village?
Dr. Corey A. Jackson
Absolutely.It was at the time my freshman career exploration teacher Ernest Rhone. And Ernest Rhone is someone who is also a black male teacher at Rialto High School, and from the beginning, all I did was sports, freshman year, sophomore year, nothing but sports. But for the first time, someone pulled me aside and said, "Hey, I want you to try some other things, and encouraged me to run for the very first time, run for a campus wide office, which was to be the student member of the Rialto school board. But I did it, and I won, and I got to represent all the students in the school district because of it.
Maya Gwynn
With your academic background in social work, it gives you a unique lens on systems of care and support. How do you incorporate that perspective into addressing statewide and local issues like poverty, mental health and education, equity?
Dr. Corey A. Jackson
As a social worker, I'm also in charge of the budget subcommittee that has to deal with all the support programs in the state in terms of our social safety net, and so whether it's seniors or people with disabilities or foster care young people or those who are homeless or the immigrant population. The idea is that I have the ability to understand what those unique needs are, understand that there is not a cookie cutter approach to it, and also understand that there might be cultural nuances that need to be considered in order to ensure that they get the outcomes that they're looking for.
Maya Gwynn
One thing I was super impressed with you, one of your landmark pieces of legislation protects educational content with LGBTQ and racial history. Can you break down what Assembly Bill 1078 does in simple terms, and what changes now that it's an official law?
Dr. Corey A. Jackson
Well, first, I think the impetus of me really being very interested in this place was the summer of George Floyd, where we just began to see the band aid California was putting on the huge disparities between various groups of people, much of it along color lines. And so 1078 was really about number one, before I was even elected, Florida was already experimenting with these culture war narratives about the danger of these books that could be in your child's school. Now, growing up in the Inland Empire, and we know that a lot of this thought was the prevailing thought before the diversity began to happen, I knew at some point that the Inland Empire would try to do something like what Florida was doing. So I had introduced the bill in January, way before the Temecula, Murrietta, and Chino Valley districts began to do their own book banning work. And the idea is that the ability for people to tell their stories, to authentically tell their history, is not. Number one, a foundation of having the dignity and humanity as a human being. But then number two, being able to have your own story of resilience, your own story of who you are, so that when people tell you who you should be, you don't just fall for anything.
Maya Gwynn
And looking ahead, and so much of what you talked about does have to do with the future - What are some key priorities for the 60th Assembly District, and how can young people and community members get involved in shaping this vision with you?
Dr. Corey A. Jackson
The first thing, I believe, is number one, how do we get people out of a state of survival mode? How do we get people out of a state of crisis so that they can begin to have a foundation to be on a path to thrive? Your basic needs are being met. You are not worrying about, where I'm going to sleep, what I'm going to eat. Can I pay for this bill? And so the first thing that I think is important is, is to course correct the huge disservice that we're doing to the next generation. When I meet with young people, the first thing I do is I apologize to them, because we are the first generations who are not setting up the next generation to do better than what we've done, they're more likely will do worse than what we have done. So with that, I'm doing bills to making sure that housing is affordable enough so that they can buy the homes and the communities that they grew up in. If the Inland Empire is not affordable, there's nowhere else to go besides outside of California. So if we don't do something now, we're in big trouble. And then, how do we make sure that the next generation has a democracy to still live in? How do we make sure that they are still able to hear and learn their own stories and their own history? How do we make sure that those walls that were broken down in terms of discrimination, in terms of oppression? How do we make sure those walls are not erected again? The number one defense when all else fails is an educated and informed citizenry vote the way they need to vote to make the course correction.
Maya Gwynn
Well said. We're gonna move to our rapid fire portion. So just the first thing that pops in your head. So if your work had a theme song, what would it be?
Dr. Corey A. Jackson
"Try Jesus. No, don't try me."
Maya Gwynn
"...cuz I got hands." If you had to teach a master class or give a TED Talk in a random skill you have, serious or silly, what would it be?
Dr. Corey A. Jackson
I enjoy talking about social work and helping people.
Maya Gwynn
That'd be a great one. And as someone who's been in the IE for a while, what is your favorite IE restaurant or landmark?
Dr. Corey A. Jackson
It could probably be Lytle Creek. Mount Baldy. And of course, Mount Rubidoux.
Maya Gwynn
How can people support you and support your work?
Dr. Corey A. Jackson
I think the most important thing is just to sign up for our newsletter on my website for the State Assembly, contact my office. I'm always looking for homework to get to work on.
Maya Gwynn
Thank you again.
Dr. Corey A. Jackson
Thank you.
Maya Gwynn
My guest has been Dr. Corey A. Jackson, Assemblymember of the 60th district. Support for this segment comes from the Black Equity Fund at IECF, advancing racial equity, supporting long term investments in black led organizations in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Join us again next week for Black Perspectives IE. For KVCR Public Media, I'm Maya Gwynn. Thank you.
