Dr. Regina Jennings holding up a photo of a panther. (Photo provided by Jennings)

Is the objectification of Black women in television a happenstance? Do school closures happen at random? Are the tragic reports emerging from the Epstein files an unheard evil? 

According to local Dr. Regina Jennings, the answer would probably be no. And she argues the reasons are connected — by design, not coincidence. And how does she know? Because she read so.

“Know your history, people!” is a recurring phrase you’ll hear throughout Jennings’ weekly YouTube broadcast, Readings with Regina. Through these virtual radical readings, she strives to make information more accessible so people, particularly young Black folks, know their past to understand the present.

Assata: An Autobiography, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, and Dessa Rose are just three books you may find her using to do so — and charismatically.

For her, teachings are tools that underscore the idea that knowledge is power. But in recent times, Jennings, a professor, has had to ask what happens when the knowledge slips?

“I personally noticed that the intellectual level of youth was going down,” she said, reflecting on the “past 15 years or so.”

While Jennings noted that the students are bright, she says they weren’t set up for success before they reached her classroom.

She said, “These Black students were telling me, ‘I didn’t have to write an essay in high school’… These kids have never had a writing assignment… that stayed with me.”

Her experience may reflect a larger trend in the United States, as American students’ reading levels have fallen to their lowest point since testing began in 1992. The Philadelphia Workforce Investment Board says two-thirds of adults in the city are low-literate, meaning they lack basic skills.

Jennings may feel these kinds of gaps more intensely than others. Now in her 70s, she remembers the absence of education, especially that centered on Black history and experience. Contrarily, she remembers the enlightenment she received by reading texts like The Autobiography of Malcolm X, changing her life’s trajectory.

Jennings remembers points in life where literacy proved pivotal. It became required during her time as an original member of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense in Oakland. Literacy, for her and others of that generation, was a great means to secure liberation.

“Nobody gave us Black studies, okay? That wasn’t a gift. That was fought for,” the professor reminisced.

In her day, the things that are common for us in the present were not always common for all. That’s how typing became a source of mobility and opportunity throughout her life, she says. Taught by her mother, she says the skill landed her jobs at the Urban League of Philadelphia and under Black Panther Communications Secretary Kathleen Cleaver.

These experiences, past and present, helped Jennings think deeply about what legacy she wanted to leave as she grows older and wiser. “And that’s why I created Readings with Regina,” she said.

Recognizing the climate, Jennings sees a place for her readings, now more than ever, as the need for more civic power whelms.

“Our people are in trouble. There is an assault on our literature and our history!” she declared.

PEN America reported a sharp rise in book bans, with more than 36% of all titles banned during the 2023–24 school year featuring characters or authors of color, disproportionately targeting Black stories.

Paired alongside her radical texts are often images that come with or are adjacent to the subject. Not a fan of censoring the real experiences of Black people, that may mean seeing extreme incidents of lynching, overwhelming imagery for some.

But to Jennings, it’s critical to see the whole story, not just the parts that make you feel good. She sees that even within tragedy, there lie other arcs of joy and resistance waiting to be seen and have a line drawn from one dot to another.

“There were Black men who escaped lynching,” she roared. “[Enslavers] were always worried about insurrection. So what does that mean? We did not just sit back, as many people think.”

 “Where there was horror, there was also beauty,” Jennings told GIH.

The full story also means uplifting hidden figures in Black history.

“To show Black people many of the heroes they’ve never even thought about or know about… I’m trying to give them a balance that is truthful in our history.”

Softening imagery and narrative, for Jennings, is plain dehumanization. Tracing history to the country’s origins, she relates the dehumanization of Black people and experiences in media to The Three-Fifths Clause of the Constitution (1788).

The clause dictated that an enslaved Black person only counted as three-fifths of a person for congressional representation and taxation.

These are the dots she seeks to connect for folks as they engage with Readings with Regina every Thursday afternoon. And even if you miss a live airing, the session is always available on her page for you to view at your pace and pleasure.

More than anything, Jennings hopes the platform she’s created lets young Black people know they’re not alone, their emotions are valid, and “that they are not powerless.”

She encourages folks to share the 30-minute sessions with their children and grandchildren, and make themselves available to learn and grow together. 

Rasheed Z. Ajamu is Germantown Info Hub‘s engagement reporter. Their work blends service journalism with a place-based lens, tracking how local policy, development, arts + culture, and neighborhood institutions shape neighbors’ everyday lives. They’re also invested in community archiving and public media projects that help neighbors preserve and share Germantown stories.