Top Stories
Stories in The Swamp that you’ll love, handpicked by our team.
Congressman John Lewis Dies at Age 80: His Life by the Numbers
Congressman John Robert Lewis, an American politician and civil rights leader died of Stage IV pancreatic cancer on Friday, July 17, 2020, at the age of 80. He made the announcement about the disease in a statement on December 29, 2019.
Margaret MinnicksPublished 10 months ago in The Swamp
Washington Redskins rebranding brings racism against Native Americans to the forefront
About five or six years ago, I mentioned to a family member that the name Washington Redskins was racist. He said he never thought of it that way and from that point, I began feeling uneasy whenever I saw the logo. I later spoke with my husband about it and said African Americans and Caucasians would never accept a team named “black skins” or “white skins”. I thought of the song from Disney cartoon version of Peter Pan, “ What makes the red man red?”
Cheryl E PrestonPublished 10 months ago in The Swamp
How the Underground Railroad Inspired a Throughline for My Dystopian Sci-FI Story
Two years ago, I ventured into the world of freelance content writing fulltime. I uprooted my life in Seattle and moved to a beautiful place on the Long Beach Peninsula in Washington, where I could live frugally, make art, and write.
Sharon WilfongPublished 10 months ago in The Swamp
STOP Making Breonna Taylor's Death into a Meme | Here is What You Can Do to Actually Help Arresting the Cops that Killed Her.
*100% of the earnings from reads on this article will be donated to the Loveland Foundation (read more about the organization at the end).
malin evitaPublished 10 months ago in The Swamp
Where's the Money?
Back in October 2019, a video posted by an old school friend popped up on my Instagram feed. In this video, he was sat on the shoulders of another friend, leading chants in Lebanese asking, ‘Where’s the money?’, surrounded by a crowded street of protestors in London who were holding up Lebanese flags and banners. This school friend was Joseph El Kadi, a 23-year-old Lebanese student who is currently undertaking a PhD at the University of Cambridge. My interest peaked when I saw the video, but with the pressures of work taking a toll and the lack of media attention surrounding the issues in Lebanon, I liked the video, pushed my interest in the video to the back of my mind, and kept scrolling.
Nuriya ShoroPublished 11 months ago in The Swamp
Dear Fellow White Women: Want to Smash the Patriarchy? Stand Against Racism
When Emma Stone, at the 2018 Oscars, referred to the Best Director nominees as 'these four men and Greta Gerwig', she was met with a mixture of praise and heavy criticism- and it wasn't from misgoynists. Sure, the actress was right to call out the ridiculously low number of female nominees- but she was swiftly criticised for ignoring the fact that "these four men" included a Latino man (Guillermo Del Toro) and a black one (Jordan Peele). Men of colour, as Stone's critcs pointed out, don't exactly get everything handed to them. Why should they- along with women of colour- celebrate one wealthy white woman for cheering on another wealthy white women, ignoring their experiences, and calling it feminism? (Plus, no-one's forgotten Aloha.)
Emma CurzonPublished 11 months ago in The Swamp
Why Everyone Should Read "A Piece of Cake" by Cupcake Brown
TRIGGER WARNING: the following review discusses some graphic and severe elements of Cupcake Brown's memoir, "A Piece of Cake." While some details may be disturbing, it is important to talk about them, as they pertain to systemic injustice we the people are trying to overcome. Thank you.
Kathryn MilewskiPublished 11 months ago in The Swamp
A Podcast Like No Other
Why did the US assassinate Qasem Soleimani in early January this year? “Well”, explains Aimen Dean on the 'Conflicted' podcast, “because he never wrote anything down”. The military leader was so paranoid about espionage that he kept all of his plans, contacts and intel in his head. Killing him was not just a show of strength by America, but a tactical ploy. It essentially “re-formated the hard drive of the Quds force”.
Bob's picksPublished 11 months ago in The Swamp
Juneteenth: 12 Things You Might Not Know
Juneteenth is very significant. Unfortunately, a lot of people don't know much about the important date in the history of African-Americans. Listed below are 12 things that are significant.
Margaret MinnicksPublished 11 months ago in The SwampIt's just human rights.
Our most important focus right now is to dismantle the racism underlying our society, within our authorities and fight for the Black Lives Matter movement.
Yasmin BhadPublished 11 months ago in The Swamp
A Landmark Win for the LGBTQ+ Community
In a 6-3 ruling, the Supreme Court ruled that LGBTQ+ people are protected from workplace discrimination under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, also known as Title VII. This comes days after the Trump administration rolled back protections from LGBTQ+ people, where health care providers can refuse to treat them because of their religious beliefs. This is a huge win for us, but our work is not done yet. In the midst of a pandemic, today’s historic ruling is a step forward.
Mark Wesley PritchardPublished 11 months ago in The Swamp13 Things I Learned from the Documentary ‘13th’
As I continue to educate myself on racism in America, I watched to highly recommended documentary “13th”. The 13th Amendment of the Constitution states "Neither slavery or involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for a crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States or any place subject to their jurisdiction." essentially meaning slavery is illegal, but prisoners can be treated as slaves. This documentary was incredibly informative and compelling to say the least. I've compiled notes I took while watching the film in an attempt to stay engaged and hold myself accountable for my education on the matter and created a list of 13 important lessons or information nuggets from the film to extend that information to others and have an easily accessible format for myself for future reference.
Shae MorenoPublished 11 months ago in The Swamp
