Maurice Jackson

Maurice Jackson is an Associate Professor in the Department of History and the Department of African American Studies at Georgetown University, and he also holds an affiliation as an Affiliated Professor of Music (Jazz). His academic work centers on African American history and cultural studies, with significant contributions to understanding Atlantic abolitionism, Washington, D.C. heritage, and jazz traditions.

Professor Jackson's research spans African American Social and Intellectual History, Atlantic History, Global Cities, Jazz and Cultural History, and Washington, D.C. History. His scholarly output includes the monograph Let This Voice Be Heard: Anthony Benezet, Father of Atlantic Abolitionism, co-edited volumes African-Americans and the Haitian Revolution and Quakers and their Allies in the Abolitionist Cause, 1754-1808, and the cultural history DC Jazz: Stories of Jazz Music in Washington, DC. He has also authored liner notes for jazz recordings by Charlie Haden and Hank Jones, demonstrating interdisciplinary reach.

Among his recognitions, Jackson was inducted into the Washington, D.C. Hall of Fame in 2009. He has held substantial public service roles including service on the Georgetown University Slavery Working Group and appointment as Inaugural Chair of the DC Commission on African American Affairs (2013-2016), where he presented the influential report “An Analysis: African American Employment, Population & Housing Trends in Washington, D.C.” to city leadership in 2017.

Prior to academia, Jackson worked as a longshoreman, shipyard rigger, construction worker, and community organizer. He has lectured internationally in France, Turkey, Italy, Puerto Rico, and Qatar, and is currently completing Halfway to Freedom: The Struggles and Strivings of African American in Washington, DC for Duke University Press, with forthcoming works We Knew No Other Way: The Many-Sided Struggle for Freedom and Black Radicalism: A Very Short Introduction.