Derrick Z. Jackson was a 2001 finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in commentary. A Boston Globe columnist since 1988, he is a two-time winner and three-time finalist for commentary awards from the National Education Writers Association and a 6-time winner and 15-time finalist for political and sports commentary from the National Association of Black Journalists. He was the 2003 recipient of Columbia University's "Let's Do It Better," commentary awards and a 2004 winner for commentary from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association. Jackson is also a three-time winner of the Sword of Hope commentary award from the New England Division of the American Cancer Society and a five-time winner of Unity journalism awards from Lincoln University in Missouri.

Prior to the Globe, Jackson won several awards at Newsday, including the 1985 Columbia University Meyer Berger Award for coverage of New York City and the 1979 award for feature writing from the Professional Basketball Writers Association. Jackson, born in 1955, is a native of Milwaukee, Wis., and is a 1976 graduate of the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee. Jackson was a Nieman Fellow in Journalism at Harvard University in 1984. He holds honorary degrees from the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Mass., Salem State College in Salem, Mass., and the human rights award from Curry College in Milton, Mass.

Jackson is also a photographer, with wildlife images being reprinted by the Audubon Society and Wilderness Society. His images of Barack Obama on the campaign trail were featured this summer at an art gallery on Martha's Vineyard.