Portland State Magazine Fall 2021

Alumni Life IMPORTANT WORK Mitchell S. Jackson talks about his Pulitzer win and PSU’s pivotal role in his journey WRITER AND PROFESSOR Mitchell S. Jackson ’99 MA ’02 was awarded the 2021 Pulitzer Prize in Feature Writing for his article “Twelve Min- utes and a Life.”The article, published in Run- ner’s World, looks at the life of Ahmaud “Maud” Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man who was shot and killed while jogging in Georgia. The piece, described by the Pulitzer Prize jury as “a deeply affecting account of the killing of Ahmaud Arbery that combined vivid writing, thorough reporting and personal experience to shed light on systemic racism in America,” features honest, tear-jerking anecdotes from Arbery’s family and friends, mixed with an account of the 12 minutes leading up to his murder on Feb. 23, 2020. Jackson says receiving the Pulitzer was surreal, but what made it all the more meaningful was the life he was honoring with his work. “I don’t want to just write,” he says. “I’m not writing for enter- tainment. If someone happens to be entertained, that’s fine, but to me, it’s [about] what kind of important work are you doing?” While researching the article, Jackson was impressed by how generous and forthcoming the people in Arbery’s life were.Their honesty allowed him to find not only Arbery’s heart, but the core of the issue at hand. “One thing I really tried to do with Ahmaud’s people was to let them know my intentions, and what I did not intend,” Jackson says. “I’m not out here trying to sensationalize your friend or your brother or your son. I am trying to understand who he was.” Much of Jackson’s writing aims to shed light on the Black experience, and he encourages everyone to take the time to learn what’s going on in their own backyard, not just what’s being talked about in the news. While the streets of Portland rightfully filled with protestors after George Floyd’s death, Jack- son notes, shootings continued without notice in “The Numbers,” neighborhoods east of Portland’s 82nd Avenue where many former residents of the historically Black Albina District now live. “I’ve had two or three friends that have had kids killed,” he says. “So I hope protesters also direct [that same kind of energy] at what’s happening here, because those people out in the Numbers getting shot and shooting people are the same people that were displaced from North- east. It’s part and parcel with what’s happening, CHARLOTTE M. WALES 34 // PORTLAND STATE MAGAZINE