Robert Jackson (’94) gives educators strategies to end mass incarceration

WKU alumnus, former NFL player, national speaker, author and consultant Robert Jackson (’94) is on a mission to inspire and instruct educators in an effort to put an end to mass incarceration.

Since he was a child, Jackson has been an entrepreneur. By the age of nine, he was renting his neighbor’s lawn mower and cutting grass for money, as well as delivering papers.

“Your success is dependent on your work ethic,” Jackson said in an interview. “The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.”

After high school, Jackson attended WKU, lettered all four years in both football and track, and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Technology. He then played professional football as a running back with the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings. After he was cut from the Vikings, Jackson began his teaching career in Indianapolis Public Schools.

With the desire to have a larger impact on education, he soon launched his own company, Robert Jackson Consulting, which provides workshops, keynote addresses and solutions for educators, administrators, parents and students. His company aims to fight mass incarceration and keep kids in school, using his workshops to bridge the cultural gap of the groups.

“God gave me a gift of inspiring people, so I use my gift to inspire and offer working strategies to my clients,” Jackson said.

With all of his success, Jackson still faces challenges, like collaborating with adults who are first unwilling to let go of their biases in their work with students of different races. 

“It’s also tough watching students give up and turn to suicide or crime as a solution for their issues,” Jackson said. “Some parents refuse to get help with their shortcomings and pass that dysfunction down to their children unnecessarily.”

Jackson wrote his first book, No More Excuses: Black Men Stand Up, using his own pain from never knowing his father, growing up in poverty and experiencing abuse as a child. He hopes to expand his business worldwide, hire more employees and help others in communities both nationally and internationally.

Today, Jackson makes his home in Indianapolis, Ind., with his wife Tajuana “TJ” Butler-Jackson and their three children. He is a member of the NFL Players Association, 100 Men of Indianapolis, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc., Bachelor Benedict Club and the National Alliance of Black School Educators.

To read more, visit his website at www.robertjacksonmotivates.com.