Returning to Baker’s campus in May for his Golden Alumni Reunion, Pulitzer Prize winner Harold Jackson reflected on his Baker experience and how it laid the foundation for a distinguished 45-year-career as a newspaper writer and editor.
When he arrived at Baker University in the early 1970s, Harold Jackson, ’75, was looking for a small college far from his Alabama roots—and he found much more than that. “Somehow I saw a catalog about Baker . . . and I found my place here,” he said.
At Baker he met his wife, Denice (Pledger) Jackson, ’76. As a member of the student organization Mungano, he found both community and purpose, participating in activism that extended beyond Baldwin City. Writing for the Baker Orange, he covered topics like the Vietnam War, civil rights, and environmental issues, using his platform to raise awareness and challenge his peers to engage with the world beyond campus.
These experiences set the stage for a distinguished journalism career that includes the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists Trailblazer Award and the Journalist of the Year Award from the National Association of Black Journalists. In 1991while working for the Birmingham News, he and two other journalists received a Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing.
Jackson recently published a memoir, Under the Sun: A Black Journalist’s Journey. “I tell people that this is a story about my life and about my career, but I also say it’s a story about life, death, religion, and love.” It began as a tribute to his brother Calvin, who died of AIDS, and evolved into a broader narrative encompassing family history, politics, health care, and being Black in a predominantly white profession. From his childhood in the segregated South to his role as editorial page editor in persuading the Philadelphia Inquirer to endorse Barack Obama for president, the book spans decades of American history through a deeply human lens.
During his visit to campus, Jackson commented on how the university’s small, diverse community continues to offer students the chance to grow intellectually and personally. His advice to Baker students is simple: “Take advantage of [the community] to learn something about other people, concepts, ideas, and use that to make yourself a better person.”
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