Top Stories
New stories you’ll love, handpicked for you by our team and updated daily.
The Officer Who Cried "Resisting"
Sixty years following the heinous torture and murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till, news broke in 2017 that Carolyn Bryant, the white woman who initially accused him of making advances at her, fabricated "the most sensational part of her testimony." The statement claiming he grabbed her waist and made verbal advances at her was "not true" according to Carolyn herself in an interview with historian Timothy Tyson.
By Ghezal Amiri6 years ago in The Swamp
My 5 Favorite African-American Movies
There has been outrage recently over the unwarranted police killing of George Floyd. #BlackLivesMatter has been trending, and many have taken to the streets to protest the injustices that African-Americans have faced with the police in recent years.
By Jonathan Sim6 years ago in Geeks
#blackouttuesday
What is #blackouttuesday and should I join? On June 2nd, a global decision to stop the show of social media and unite and support Black Lives Matter. The reason the hashtag is #blackouttuesday is to not swamp the #blacklivesmatter page and all the progress made to gather useful sources and people together. On Instagram, the majority of public and private pages for me turned to post a black square image representing support of the movement. The action has continued to unite small social groups and larger organisations. The widespread adoption of support and care is incomparable.
By Peter Mason6 years ago in The Swamp
Why Are We Still Talking About Racism In 2020?
In this modern day cultural atmosphere of straining race relations, political corruption, and flagrant social injustices, there are more examples police brutality, institutionalized racism, and domestic terrorism against black people in this country then I have fingers and toes to count. Law enforcement all across this country, not to mention the world, have been systemically abusing, terrorizing, and murdering unarmed and compliant black men, women, and children for decades, if not centuries and for the most part, white folks have stood by and watched silently. Some even refuse to watch in favor of ignoring these atrocities and sweeping them under the rug as it is their normal cultural habit. I must admit that we have had a few allies here and there throughout our struggles and protests over the years and decades, but the bulk of advocates, protesters, demonstrators, and spokespeople have all been black. And after the tragic murders of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. And Malik Al Shabazz (Malcolm X), the number of visible and vocal allies have significantly decreased over the years. And in the same space and time, the number of racist bigots and domestic terrorists have remained nearly the same. Some have chosen to go into hiding and not be as proactive and vocal about their unjustified and senseless hatred of black people, but they maintain their beliefs and attitudes as well as their continued traditions of passing those beliefs and attitudes down to their children. Parallel to that, you have another group of white people who believe in their innocence of racism. They will proudly and loudly proclaim that they “don't see color”, that they have plenty of “good black friends”, and that they have never treated a black badly. Yet these are the same people who remain absolutely silent when atrocities like Rodney King, Amadou Diallo, Abner Louima, Ayana Stanley, Tamar Rice, Trayvon Martin, Tamika Wilson, Michael Brown, Walter Scott, Eric Garner, Sandra Bland, and Breonna Taylor happen. In fact white people have been disturbingly silent about racism and absent from the aspect of the Civil Rights movement that deals with racial discrimination and bigotry. On the flip side, they seem to have hijacked the civil Rights movement, replaced black people and have been and continue to be very vocal and passionate about feminist and LGBT issues. What's so ironic about that is that there is an overwhelming abundance of black people who also support those issues.
By Monsoor Ali6 years ago in The Swamp
Say His Name
High off of our pain that we continue to be belittled as if our lives don’t matter. To march for our lives to be visibly as equal as the lives of those whose skin looks just like yours. There are whites protesting with us peacefully as there are white people tagging buildings and looting, but some are not even doing it in the name of George Floyd. To walk among roads to shout an innocent mans life that was taken, because he was seen as a threat, feeling the need to silence us when we have been silent for too long. When we live in a world that is unjust and bite our tongues as if it is okay, as if it is safer to be quiet but we still can die by your hands even when we are quiet. To hear my brothers and sisters crying out in pain because, us turning our backs and walking away was not enough for you. To see the media focus our story on people that allow you to believe we are vicious animals needing to be tamed. To feel the need to put extra force on black people because the color of our skin alone is threatening to you even as we lie on our backs to be detained. To hear them cry out “ I can’t breathe” and not be showed mercy.
By UNpretentious6 years ago in The Swamp
All in the Name of Equality
Greetings, Vocal readers. Pride Month has finally arrived. In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, we have to remember that we’re still fighting for equality for all LGBT people. I know that marriage equality has been legalized for almost five years, but queer people are still being discriminated against and denied services. We have an election coming up in November and if President Trump doesn’t get re-elected, the next commander-in-chief has to be committed to fight for the rights of gay and lesbian people and condemn discrimination of all forms.
By Mark Wesley Pritchard 6 years ago in Humans
The American Spring
In the spring of 2010 the Middle East reached a tipping point. It was called the Arab spring. A decade later, we are in the midst of the American Spring. We are the country whose fuse is lit and ready to explode. With the stock market making COVID-era highs, the disconnect between reality on the street and the illusion created by printing money, lending at 0% interest rates and outright lies by the federal government, has now seeped into the psyche of the American people. The illusion that 40 million unemployed can be fooled by a check in the mail and bringing back sports is finally being shattered and the glass will cut deep across the political divide.
By Jeremy Frommer6 years ago in The Swamp
Introducing "The Alpha Queen's Talk"
Hey Gurlll & Welcome To The Safe Zone! The A.Q Talk Social Meet Ups "The Alpha Queens Talk" Is about women coming together and being able to build confidence in their life again through social networking with other like minded females and or concentrating on their physical/fitness journey. Through fun girly chats and networking, "The A.Q Talk" allows women to open up or simple listen, about how they overcame, overcoming or trying to start their journey to overcome what held/holds them back in life. We are here to help give that positive encouragement to help build confidence back into yourself again!
By Kriss Jordan6 years ago in Viva
The Best Ted Talks About Heartbreak, Grief and Loss
For those that have read my previous articles, know that this past few months hasn't been easy for me or my heart. During my time of grieving, I would often find myself googling what I should do and what other people have done to mend their broken hearts. Some of what I found was useful and some not so much. I'd loved watching and listening to Ted Talks, and fortunately, I found a number of them that were super helpful and made feel less alone in terms of the pain that I was going through. So if you're going through a heartbreak, I hope this list provides you some solace.
By Virag Dombay6 years ago in Humans
John Krasinski, SGN and the Fandom Ownership Illusion
"He has made money off his 'Good News' program while people are dying, laid off, can't get food, etc. Smart, John." Someone tweeted. "This is a sellout move made on the backs of fans who contributed almost all of his content, and he’s not even going to keep doing it..." writes another twitter user, "never forget the rich live in a completely different world and do NOT care about us."
By Ben McVittie6 years ago in Geeks
How To Blow up on Spotify
Hello my name is Trenten Priest, and today I’m going to tell you how I got my numbers up on Spotify. Now before you read this article know that when I wrote it I had 27 thousand monthly listeners .. well let’s see how much I have now? Search up “Trenten Priest” or click the embedded link below, check out my music, and give me a FOLLOW if the number is still around 25k, then maybe my method works? I think yes!
By Social Media Castle6 years ago in Beat
Lana Del Rey and White Clumsiness
I will start by saying that I absolutely love Lana. Discovering her discography in high school truly felt like an enlightenment, and her album Ultraviolence is, to this day, one of my favorite albums of all time. However, miss Lana dropped the ball a few days ago, severely. In an attempt to confront her critics and haters, she, in the eyes of many people, shaded a handful of female artists who are either Black, part Black, part of an ethnic minority or… Ariana Grande. While I don’t think her intention was to be racially insensitive, there were several missteps in her rant, and we will take a look at them in this piece.
By Allie Pauld6 years ago in The Swamp
The Perfect Order to Watch the Star Wars Movies
I have had Star Wars on the brain recently with Star Wars Day happening just a few weeks ago, and recently, it was the 40th anniversary of the release of The Empire Strikes Back, my all-time favorite Star Wars movie and one of my favorite films of all time.
By Jonathan Sim6 years ago in Futurism
The Flower That Will Flourish Forever | In Memoriam of Hana Kimura
It's been a day since I found out about the death of Hana Kimura. Some people may know her as the reality tv star from Terrace House but to me and many others, she was a talented pro-wrestler who had a big future ahead of her. She was undoubtedly one of my favorite wrestlers not just in Stardom, but in the whole pro-wrestling industry in general. The news of her passing and taking her own life has gutted me and made it difficult to breathe. Up until now, I am still in disbelief and cannot seem to wrap my head around the fact that she is gone.
By M. Danielle6 years ago in Unbalanced
