activism
Grassroots campaigns have proven instrumental in bringing about political, social or environmental change; you've got to start somewhere-might as well start here.
I Speak Spanish Because This Is America
The problem with social media is that people give glimpses of themselves you'd prefer not to see. It's like living next to a neighbor who has a bay window in his bathroom and no curtains.
Walter RheinPublished 5 years ago in The SwampI Am a Proud American
I am a proud American whose ancestry is African. Particularly, the majority of my ethnicity is Cameroon, Congo, and Southern Bantu peoples.
Deirdre PippinsPublished 5 years ago in The SwampWhat It's Like Living as a Slaughtered, Lied to, and Persecuted People
Living as a Native American or First Nations person, depending on which side of the border you are on, is not really that amazing. You hear people talk about casinos, money the government supposedly gives you, and lots of other silly things, but never really anything good. With each shift in the government, there are some truths that remain and a feeling that never goes away. In this article I'm going to explore how I, coming from a Rez, feel and think.
Jessica RifflePublished 5 years ago in The SwampIs It Time for the Church to Take on Climate Change?
I have a couple of pastor friends that I usually chat with, when I see them down at the local coffee shop. On one occasion, one of them pulled me aside to ask me a question.
Walter RheinPublished 5 years ago in The SwampThe Not-So-Woke Black Girl
By the title, you can assume one of two things: either I spend a majority of the day sleeping as a Black girl or I’m not as informed (or knowledgeable) of my culture as a Black girl. If you guessed the latter, you’re right. If you guessed the other, you aren’t entirely wrong, but for the purpose of this article, I will be talking about my knowledge (or the lack thereof) of my ethnic background and my personal struggles associated with it.
Erika HunterPublished 5 years ago in The SwampWhat Is Natural? The Environment Is Now Political
What is not natural? The environment is now political. Evolution does not stop. The ecology of planet Earth is rightly a topic of vigorous discussion; great claims are made that the world will end if we do not reverse modern industrial practices and stop the use of “fossil” fuels. There is often, in the media reporting of scientific claims, confusion between fact and opinion, the borders between actual, scientific evidence-based knowledge and an expectation based on a theoretic extrapolation of unverified data. These concepts get very blurred in the media. Modern popular journalism and, especially, the unrestrained social media posts do not expect the reader to actually think about what is being claimed. Persuasion without being restrained by truth is the accepted norm. The various “causes” from climate change, from air quality to social degradation to species extinction, get all interwoven in a confused tapestry of ideologies. Many of the slogan uttering advocates of social change claim we must get back to nature to save the world. Politics with all its mix and ideology and deceit, with its greed and its ability to distort truth to suit a leaders stance, has taken over all debates about environmental issues. So, let us attempt to express some rational thoughts.
Peter RosePublished 5 years ago in The SwampSave Lives—Requesting that All Police Departments Have Domestic Violence Units
So, I Finally Did the Thing. The thing I kind of said I would never do. I got “political.” If you can call it that, which I myself do not. I made my first petition to ask for change that I think could save the lives of many women that would likely otherwise end up dead. I am really hoping this thing works. Here it is:
Samantha ClarkePublished 5 years ago in The SwampChildren's Homes, Foster Care, and the Social Care System. Creating Already Damaged Children into Even More Damaged Adults
After hearing Alex Wheatle's story about his time in a Lambeth children's home in the 1970s, he wrote a book called Brixton Rock, where he told his heart-breaking childhood in a care home where he was racially, sexually, and physically abused my the staff member's at the care home.
Trina DawesPublished 5 years ago in The SwampPatriarchy
Lyrical laws respond to clinical hate and we’ve all been subdued to believe this is fate. With corruption and lies, they’ve streamlined our lives.
Anna Nei MossPublished 5 years ago in The SwampStand, and Be True
TRIGGER WARNING: Mentions of gun violence, concentration camps, mental illness, sexual assault, torture, inhumane conditions.
Paige GraffunderPublished 5 years ago in The SwampIn a Perfect World
There are so many things I could address with the problems we currently see in today's society. While social class, gender, and race are their own category, I feel they all can be put under one word: discrimination. While this country may have moved three steps up during the 1960s, we have certainly moved two steps back. To me the main problems with society now is still that difference makes one unequal. Whether it be sexuality, the sex you identify yourself as, the pronouns we use, the cultures we see, and the colors that come with it, everyone is not equal. At least not in this country anymore. I want to focus on two main categories, race and transgender individuals.
Madison RheamPublished 5 years ago in The SwampShaun King and 'The North Star'
Does everyone know what The North Star is? It was a newspaper founded by freedman Frederick Douglas. It was an abolitionist newspaper started in Rochester, New York in 1847. Writer, Shaun King, has revived The North Star. Shaun King cites current news outlets that don’t fight against social injustice and the problems economic and social inequality create for people of color as one reason he writes at The North Star.