PerspectivesNikesha Elise Williams Jacksonville Today Contributor
Nikesha Elise Williams is an Emmy-winning TV producer, an award-winning author, and host/producer of the Black & Published podcast. Her latest novel, Beyond Bourbon Street, was awarded Best Fiction by the Black Caucus of African-American Librarians in the 2021 Self-Published eBook Literary Awards, as well as the 2020 Outstanding Book Award from the National Association of Black Journalists. Nikesha’s debut novel Four Women received the 2018 NABJ Outstanding Literary Work Award and the Florida Authors and Publishers Association President’s Award for Adult Contemporary/Literary Fiction. Her bylines include The Washington Post, ESSENCE, and Vox. Nikesha lives in Jacksonville with her family.
Featured image for “OPINION | This American life”
September 13, 2023

OPINION | This American life

Though it it comes as an affront to the immoral imbalance of white supremacy, disenfranchisement and early death be damned.

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Featured image for “OPINION | This hate is ours to hold ”
August 28, 2023

OPINION | This hate is ours to hold 

I didn’t want to write this, but here I am using my words to process a pain that runs too deep in my bones, my bloodline, for me to ignore.

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Featured image for “OPINION | Resiliency begins with us ”
August 16, 2023

OPINION | Resiliency begins with us 

Will we look back and say we did our best on an individual level to fight climate change?

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Featured image for “OPINION | New African American history standards eschew context  ”
July 19, 2023

OPINION | New African American history standards eschew context  

The prevailing narrative of Florida’s new social studies standards, and in our country writ large, is that Black Americans are not “real” Americans.

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Featured image for “OPINION | Invest in safety, not police”
June 14, 2023

OPINION | Invest in safety, not police

We cannot police ourselves out of crime. The JSO budget has been at or above half-a-billion dollars for years, and the crime numbers remain high.

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Featured image for “OPINION | On the come up ”
May 17, 2023

OPINION | On the come up 

I criticize this bold new city of the South consistently, but I’m not above applauding when ovation is due. And, Jacksonville, ovation is due. 

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Featured image for “OPINION | The body is the crime scene”
April 19, 2023

OPINION | The body is the crime scene

Recent legislative measures target the very existence of marginalized groups.

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Featured image for “OPINION | Ring the alarm ”
April 5, 2023

OPINION | Ring the alarm 

Florida Republicans are stripping people of safety, bodily autonomy and dignity while masquerading as choice.

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Featured image for “OPINION | Don’t close your eyes”
March 22, 2023

OPINION | Don’t close your eyes

College DEI programs provide safe space and solace for those of us looking for community in a dominant culture that’s hostile to difference.

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Featured image for “OPINION | Look beyond the top of the ticket”
March 6, 2023

OPINION | Look beyond the top of the ticket

The real change lies in who’s elected to the down ballot races. We have 19 seats on our City Council, and only four incumbents are running unopposed or against a write-in candidate, guaranteeing their return to the Council.

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