The One, Big, Beautiful Bill: The Slow and Steady Descent into a Hellscape of the American Democratic Project

My fifth-grade teacher steered me wrong. She taught us that when we vote, we should vote for what’s best for society and not what’s best for the individual. I remember her making a face afterward, a face that revealed that she was betraying her own beliefs by teaching us an ideal versus the reality of politics–that it is seldom for the betterment of the whole and often, solely used for the benefit of the individual. For the individual without real power, it convinces them that they have a semblance of it. For the individual with systemic power, it perpetuates their ability to operate under the guise of justice.

Ruth Jean-MarieJuly 17, 2025Comment

Passport Bros: Should They Just Go Extinct?

Following my recent piece, “Gringo, Go Home”, where I explain why I reclaim the term “gringophobic” based on my experience as a Black woman from Colombia, and the deep distrust I feel, particularly towards white people from the Global North, I'm writing now to digg deeper into toxic, deadly masculinity and global disparity. Some white men cross the border into countries of the Global South countless times, committing crimes each time, without ever being prosecuted. Meanwhile, there is the injustice of undocumented people being deported from Gringolandia without having committed any crime. In short, impunity has everything to do with masculinity and white privilege.

Sher HerreraJune 26, 2025 Comment

Juneteenth and the Radical Abolitionist Harriet Tubman

On April 27, 1860, Harriet Tubman, with a group of activist abolitionists, coordinated the rescue of Charles Nalle. A fugitive of slavery, Nalle made way from Virginia to Troy, New York, where federal marshals and police captured him. Tubman disguised herself as an elderly woman, and the back and forth between slave catchers and the Troy community included a gun battle and an escape by riverway. At the end of the events, Tubman and the community helped raise the funds to purchase and ensure Nalle’s freedom.

Lisa V. BettyJune 19, 2025Comment

Redefining Black Masculinity: From Oppression to Ownership

Black masculinity has been distorted, stereotyped, weaponized, and reduced to a toxic caricature. For much of my life, it wasn’t even a topic of open discussion. When it did surface, it was often used to justify harmful behavior, thinly veiled as tradition or survival.

Kirk BaltimoreJune 12, 2025Comment

A Case for Inaction: The Pitfalls of Good Intentions and the “Do Good” Industry

In a world where action is touted as virtuous and where idleness is considered the devil’s playground, it may seem counterproductive to do nothing, but sometimes it’s the best option. No action is better than uninformed action. Because, while good intentions may be a motivation for helping others, they cannot exist as the sole engine for “doing good”.

Ruth Jean-MarieJune 5, 2025Comment

I Have Enough Money Only To Die

I didn’t come from a “humble beginning,” nor do I consider my childhood privileged. Maybe a two-parent household holds weight in a Black family, but that leverage dissolves quickly when you factor in resentment, dissatisfaction, and emotional abuse. Still, one thing rings true across many Black households when it comes to passing down “gems” about success: You need to go to school to make something of yourself.

Kirk BaltimoreMay 29, 2025Comment

Are We Still Out-Organized?

We are not out-organized. And they are desperate, deprived, and doing the most diabolically evil.

We are experiencing and bearing witness to kidnapping, human trafficking, incarceration, detainment, “black sites”, concentration camps, and enforced statelessness. The most disturbing part of this nation’s history, coupled with the everyday realities of the US-Israel genocide of Gaza, is reverberating domestically throughout the United States. The “shame”, secrecy, and gaslighting of the US’s contemporary foreign policy and immigration policy of years ago no longer exist. From the United States to occupied Palestine, there are no secrets:

Guest WriterMay 22, 2025Comment

Predators in Charge: Politics, Power, and Prestige and Its Influence on Rape Culture

This piece will name many predators in power (whether politically or through money and fame). While I do not go into details of the crimes, I know just naming the person and what they were accused of can be triggering enough. Just gathering the pieces for this article was rough for me as a survivor of rape and sexual assaults so I wanted to name this for all of us. If you can, rage through this one with me and try not to skim—let us bear witness and think critically about the impacts of these very public atrocities on our legislation and our societies.

Alex FreeMay 15, 2025 Comment