[1] Jackson was born in Detroit and received her BFA from Parsons School of Design in 1979 and her MFA from Cornell University in 1988.
[2] She is currently an associate professor of drawing and painting at the Lamar Dodd School of Art at the University of Georgia.
[2] Jackson's paintings draw on her own life experience as well as broader issues of social justice.
[2] Her influences span a broad range of styles including surrealism and African American literature.
[3] More personally, Jackson draws inspiration from family tragedies, including losing her cousin to violence in Detroit, which is commemorated in the painting Little Girl Blue.