THE JACKSONS
Julius and Julian Jackson join forces to provide crucial help, writes Kenneth Bouhairie
THERE’S an old Polish proverb that states, “An apron is just a cape put on backwards.” This adage can be applied to Julius “The Chef” Jackson and his colleagues at My Brother’s Workshop (MBW). Over the past month, he and his staff have been preparing meals for victims of Hurricane Irma in The Virgin Islands’ St. Thomas.
Jackson is better known for his other handicraft. The 30-year-old lightheavyweight was taught to box by father and trainer Julian “The Hawk” Jackson, the finest fighter to come out of St. Thomas and touted among the poundfor-pound hardest hitters in boxing history. His son represented St. Thomas during the 2008 Olympics and is 20-2 (16) as a professional.
That career is on pause after Irma swept through the island, killing 38 people.
“I was here with my dad, brothers and entire family, when Irma hit,” Jackson says. “St. Thomas is maybe 20 miles off the coast so we got the eye walls, which is the strongest segment of the hurricane. The winds were 160mph. It was crazy.”
Jackson was hired by MBW as manager and head chef of their bakery and café eight months ago. The non-profit organisation offers mentoring, paid job training, education, and job placement for troubled teens and young adults.
“When we found out that the hurricane was coming, head director Scott Bradley told us, ‘Listen, the community is going to need a place to get good food after we’re hit,’” Jackson says. “We needed to be that place.”
No amount of weather warnings could have prepared residents for Irma’s intensity. Jackson, fearing his own house couldn’t withstand the winds, relocated to his father’s home and took shelter in the basement.
“Man, the winds were shaking everything,” he recalls. “You couldn’t really see anything outside because the wind was pushing the rain so fast, it was like looking at a white wall.”
The Jacksons lost two bedrooms after windows shattered and created a vortex. They were among the fortunate.
“I have a lot of friends who don’t have homes right now,” Jackson says. “A lot of houses got destroyed. They are using some of our local schools as shelters to house people.”
Most of the 100,000 citizens in the U.S. Virgin Islands – comprised of St. Thomas, St. Croix and other smaller islands – have no drinkable water or power. Seventy per cent of the buildings are damaged.
MBW has raised over $200,000 thus far, nearly half of their goal of $500,000. They also distribute 1,200 meals daily, offering sandwiches, soups and full entrees. There are long lines as people order meals for themselves and families. MBW also travels cross island to dispense food to nursing homes, shelters and other organizations.
It’s a labour of love for Jackson, a proud St. Thomas citizen who developed a passion for cooking at age 10.
“I decided that my mom took too long making meals for us,” he says, laughing. “So, I needed to know how to do it myself. I cooked for my family first. I saw how much they loved the food – not only did I make them a meal that they needed, but they enjoyed it. I fell in love with that feeling of providing something
‘DAD TRIED TO MOVE A POLE BY HIMSELF. I LOVE HIS PASSION. IN HIS MIND HE’S STILL AN INVINCIBLE WORLD CHAMPION’
‘BOXING IS ON HOLD - MY HANDS ARE FOR REBUILDING’
and making them happy at the same time.”
Jackson graduated from culinary school in 2008, the same year he competed in the Olympics. He won 19 straight as a pro before suffering back-to-back defeats. He also served as Gennady Golovkin’s sparring partner up until the Canelo Alvarez bout. He returned to the ring last July, stopping Alvaro Morales in Mexico.
“I was getting ready to fight again in November in St. Maarten,” Jackson says. “That was going to be a main event, but they got flattened by the hurricane too.”
The hurricanes continue to batter the Caribbean. Hurricane Maria, another category-five storm, tore through the islands immediately after Irma. The most optimistic forecasts estimate it’ll be at least a year before St. Thomas returns to normalcy.
“It’s going to take a group effort,” Jackson says. “The day after the hurricane, my father, brother and myself went out to clear up the streets and check on neighbors. One person needed to get inside their house for supplies and stuff, but it was blocked by a light pole. So, Dad tries to move the pole out of the way by himself and throws out his shoulder. I love his passion. In his mind, he’s still an invincible world champion.”
That passion is embedded in the Jackson DNA. Asked whether he prefers boxing to cooking, Julius says he loves both equally, but notes that only one is beneficial presently.
“Boxing is on hold right now,” he says. “If I’m going to use my hands for anything, it’ll be for the health of this island and rebuilding my community. That is the focus. We need to take care of that above all things.”
If you’d like to contribute to the Hurricane Irma & Hurricane Maria relief efforts, you can do so online:
https://www.classy.org/campaign/ hurricane-irma-and-hurricane-mariarelief-efforts-mbw-style/c146866