Misha Jackson is in her fourth season as head coach of the Emory women’s basketball program, and in 2019, led the Eagles to their first NCAA tournament bid since her senior season as a player at Emory in 2013. She served as an assistant coach for the Eagles since 2013-14 and was named interim head coach in October 2017 before being officially named head coach in March 2018. Jackson earned first team All-Association honors and honorable mention All-America honors as a senior.
The UAA “Conversations About Race and Racism” series seeks to lift the voices of people of color and recognize the challenges faced in both athletics and academics at the collegiate level. By sharing personal stories, we hope to elevate the conversation about race to raise awareness and bring about change.
“Speaking So Well”
Jackson acknowledges that she has been in some privileged environments in her life, shielding her from experiencing extreme racial bias. “I know there have been microaggressions that I may not have known about or understood when I was younger. One that I have faced throughout my life is people telling me that I speak so well,” she expressed. “Even when I was an assistant coach running camps or going to tournaments, parents would comment on how well I speak. My parents paid a lot of money for me to attend private schools from kindergarten through college. My mom would come unglued if I spoke poorly!”
She has seen it happen with Black student-athletes as well. “One of our players gave a senior speech. It was so moving and had everyone crying. Parents said that ‘she speaks so well,’” she recollected. “One time I was talking to (former assistant coach) Sammi (Goldsmith), who gave great campus tours, and asked her if anyone ever commented on how eloquently she spoke. No one ever did. People are expecting a different form of speech from me and are surprised that I went to a prestigious school. They don’t always directly say it, but you can see it from their reactions.”
Another affront she remembers clearly is from when she was applying to colleges. “Being in Georgia, I applied to UGA (University of Georgia) because that’s just what we did. The early decision/action form was so easy, so I filled it out quickly. A classmate asked me if I put my race down and when I said no, she said ‘You definitely would have gotten in.’ That made no sense to me. I had a 4.0 grade point average in all these AP (advanced placement) classes. I knew I would get in,” she communicated. “It is those microaggressions that I find offensive. What you are really saying is that you are surprised I am educated or not speaking Ebonics… that I sound like you. Breaking down many microaggressions, what people mean is that white is educated and Black is not.”
Being in Accepting Places
“I think sports helps people understand one another more. I have always been a part of diverse teams so I have never felt out of place in athletics, particularly basketball,” she remarked. “There are times I sit and think about it like when I am the only Black person in the room. I often deal more with being the youngest person in the room, becoming a head coach at a young age. A lot of people have assumed I am a basketball player, but I have attributed that to being 6’ tall. I don’t know if a 6’ white woman gets the same comments.”
She disclosed that she has wondered if her experiences have been that different than others or if she has just not experienced the issues. “I am either naïve or I just haven’t felt that disadvantaged. Those are the times I really begin soul-searching. Have I been brainwashed or have I just always been at a great place?” Jackson wondered. “We have had a diverse roster and coaching staff throughout my time at Emory. It was the same way for me in high school. I had a Black head coach at a predominantly white institution that had a an extremely diverse roster.”
Advice for Other Black Coaches
“You have to be good, but as Dawn Staley (University of South Carolina head coach who last April became the first person to win the Naismith Award both as a player and a coach) points out, sometimes you have to perform extra well to let an employer know to take a chance on someone who others may consider a risk,” she articulated. “You may have to be overqualified and have extra pressure. I have Black friends with master’s degrees who feel they need to get a doctorate to get opportunities non-minorities may receive without a PhD.”
She stresses the importance of preparation. “You have to know what you are doing and you may need to know it a little better than some of your peers. Relatability is they key. If you are a person of color, you have to be able to relate to those at a PWI or you are seen as too different to them,” she stated. “You have to be prepared to handle those experiences. Particularly in college, students are experiencing things they never have. There is a large Jewish population at Emory and that was new to me having attended Catholic K-12 schools. Keep in mind that there will be things some students have never experienced. In some cases, that new experience may be you. Not everyone has had a Black coach or even a Black teammate.”
Role of Allies and Teams
“A great first step to being an ally is listening. Students at schools like Emory are so proactive and they want to take charge. Understanding that you will not be able to relate to someone else is hard to comprehend for some people. Human nature is to want to put yourself in someone else’s shoes, but in terms of race, that is not something you can fathom,” Jackson pointed out. “As a Black female, I do not understand what it is like to be a Black male. You have to accept that there are some things you can’t relate to. In that regard, listening and trying to understand are as far as you can go.”
She stresses that there are still important actions allies can take. “If you hear a teammate commit a microaggression, correct her. The way you correct is not to attack, but just to talk about it as if it may be something they didn’t know. I do think people are feeling more empowered to speak up now,” she described. “I have never corrected a recruit’s parent and challenged them at that moment — they went to school at a different time. I focus on the student’s point of view and what their college experience can be like.”
Jackson believes sports can be at the forefront of change. “Sports has a unique way of showing that when we get on the court, on the field, or in the pool, it doesn’t matter what color someone is. They are working at their crafts. Sports has the ability to show how different people can work together for a common goal and that is the beauty of athletics in a very public setting,” she narrated. “These things are happening in the workplace as well. We just aren’t seeing it the way we do with sports. We have a platform for sure. As a coach, I am not thinking about your race, only if you are not boxing out for a rebound.”
“Being an ally will mean different things to different people,” she concluded. “For some, it may be hearing me or someone else speak out that leads them to taking a step forward. For another person, it may be going to a rally for racial justice and just listening and observing. That might be all they need to get involved. We do that with anything else. We try a new restaurant and decide whether to go back there. Try new things around social justice and see where it leads you.”