It was sickle cell anemia that brought Chicago-born, Detroit-raised Tiffani Jackson to Illinois State University in Bloomington-Normal in 2017. Having endured some attacks, called pain crises, while attending Grambling State University, she made the decision to move closer to home.
With that, Louisiana lost a music technology major but Illinois gained a journalism major, a change in focus prompted by her professors’ suggestions. Jackson parlayed the new focus into creating Onyx Connect, a media source for the diverse population on and around campus.
During a semesterlong stint writing for ISU’s student-run news organization, the Vidette, Jackson began scrutinizing campus-area media outlets from the lens of having transferred from a historically Black college to a predominantly white institution.
