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About Panama Jackson

Panama Jackson is a columnist at theGrio and host of the award-winning podcast, "Dear Culture" on theGrio Black Podcast Network. He writes very Black things, drinks very brown liquors, and is pretty fly for a light guy. His biggest accomplishment to date coincides with his Blackest accomplishment to date in that he received a phone call from Oprah Winfrey after she read one of his pieces (biggest) but he didn't answer the phone because the caller ID said "Unknown" (Blackest).

All Articles

February 5, 2023

Apparently, I am currently ‘I listen to the ‘Watercolors’ station on satellite radio on purpose’ years old, and I think I’m rather enjoying this evolution

The cool sounds of smooth jazz used to drive me insane, and yet now, I find myself turning to Watercolors…
January 31, 2023

‘Dear Culture’ Presents ‘Tru-ish Black Stories’ for Black History Month

The podcast will focus on black stories examining significant moments in Black history that may or may not have actually…
A man holds a young girl as she leans backwards
January 29, 2023

My daughter just turned 14—that means we have four years before college. Where did the time go?

My daughter is a semester away from high school which basically means we’re 15 minutes away from college, and I’m…
January 27, 2023

I’m a sneakerhead who hasn’t bought a pair of shoes in a month, and I’m not sure how I feel about it

My recent boredom with sneaker releases has, so far, turned my 2023 into a new sneakerless new year. At least…
January 25, 2023

The roadblock that is writer’s block

Every so often, you find that you can’t think of a single thing to write about — that’s where I…
Rapper Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, thegrio.com, BMF
January 20, 2023

Do you feel old yet? 50 Cent’s classic single ‘In Da Club’ is now 20 years old

The MC’s game-changing record was released in 2003, causing legions of people to ask the age-old question: Do you feel…
Singer Erykah Badu performs onstage
January 18, 2023

I feel about Erykah Badu’s ‘Mama’s Gun’ the way everybody else seems to feel about Lauryn Hill’s ‘The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill’

Erykah Badu’s second album hits me in such a way thematically and content-wise that I still feel it’s one of…
January 15, 2023

I’ve reached the point of spending lots of money on shoes my boys will destroy on day 1. Send help.

My boys both care and don’t care about the shoes they have on their feet, which puts a hurting on…
January 12, 2023

I found my old iPod — it’s like listening to a time capsule from 2009

I found my iPod; it represents a look into my musical tastes from a version of myself from almost 15…
January 8, 2023

Charmaine Wilkerson’s best-selling book ‘Black Cake’ is a stark reminder of how important sharing family history can be

"Black Cake" is a story about identity and family that shed a light on just how much information about family…
January 5, 2023

De La Soul’s early albums hitting streaming services is a huge win for hip-hop … and me, myself and I couldn’t be happier about it

De La Soul's albums are set to hit streaming services in March, filling a void missing from every single ’90s…
January 2, 2023

10 thoughts about one of my favorite followups ever, ‘The Best Man: The Final Chapters’

The miniseries gave us a look into the adult lives of characters we met 20-plus years ago in the 1999…
LEGO bricks
December 28, 2022

This holiday season, I learned to not only ask my kids WHAT they wanted for Christmas but WHY?

My son taught me a frustrating and expensive lesson on Christmas Day using a Lego set..with a smile on his…
A family celebrates Kwanzaa
December 26, 2022

A short, but sweet Kwanzaa jams playlist for me and you, yo’ mama and yo’ cousin, too

While there are plenty of Kwanzaa-specific bops out there at your disposal, here are some jams in the spirit of…
A family sits on a couch with a bowl of popcorn, smiling
December 24, 2022

5 holiday movies you can watch as a family on Christmas Day (if you’re so inclined)

There’s nothing like sitting around the television after opening presents to watch other people do the same thing.
holiday season
December 18, 2022

I won’t be sending my mother or grandmother Christmas cards this year, and it nearly made me cry at Target

I’m still finding new ways in which the grief of losing my mother and grandmother manages to rear its head. 
December 14, 2022

RSVP — the R&B group comprised of Ray J, Sammie, Bobby Valentino and Pleasure P — might be the most fun supergroup of all time

I don’t know about you, but I couldn’t be more excited about this unpredictable collection of folks who decided to…
December 13, 2022

Revisiting Common’s ‘Electric Circus’ 20 years later — arguably his most polarizing album

I did not like Common’s fifth album when it was released in 2002; will listening with 2022 ears change my…
December 9, 2022

‘Queen Sugar’ was the gift that kept on giving and now that it’s over, I’m thankful for every single person who brought it to life

The Ava DuVernay-helmed show was original in every way, showing a version of Black life not typically seen on television.
Head coach Deion Sanders of the Jackson State Tigers
December 6, 2022

7 thoughts about Deion ‘Coach Prime’ Sanders leaving Jackson State University and the million discussions it spawned

When Deion Sanders decided to leave the HBCU for the University of Colorado, he exposed significant cultural divisions in the…