Economy & Class Archives – Scalawag

Stitching the Soil: The Freedom Quilting Bee and Black Land Sovereignty

by Steven Onofua April 29, 2026April 29, 2026

Freedom is dirt. Freedom is a foundation. Freedom is a sewing machine that purrs in a building you own, on land no one can take away from you.

SALT, SOIL, & SUPPER

Dirty Energy and the Lost Promise of the TVA

by Zeb Larson April 23, 2026April 23, 2026

SCALAWAG UPDATES

Mobtown Redux: Remembering Logan Hullinger

by Sherronda J. Brown and Da'Shaun L. Harrison March 10, 2026March 10, 2026

Five solutions that could help solve housing inequality

by URL Media March 3, 2026March 2, 2026

Baltimore

SALT, SOIL, & SUPPER

A frigid Baltimore storm highlights the cold shoulder from those in power

by Logan Hullinger February 3, 2026February 3, 2026

journalism

MEDIA, CULTURE, & MEANING

It's time for progressive philanthropy to commit to funding journalism

by Lara Witt and Maya Schenwar December 18, 2025December 18, 2025

Hacks: Surviving Gulf Texas’ Toxic Petrochemical Pollution

Hacks: Surviving Gulf Texas' Toxic Petrochemical Pollution

by Danielle Monique Brown November 11, 2025November 11, 2025

recipes

Recipes

by Sherronda J. Brown November 5, 2025November 5, 2025

MEDIA, CULTURE, & MEANING

Haints and Sinners: A Southern Gothic and Hoodoo Media List

by Sherronda J. Brown October 31, 2025October 31, 2025

Georgia’s prison system and the planned for-profit scheme to target the unhoused

Georgia's prison crisis is no accident

by Lucas Zane October 20, 2025October 21, 2025

Toxic Explosion at Louisiana Oil Plant Leaves Black Community Coated in Chemical Fallout

by Adam Mahoney October 9, 2025October 9, 2025

ICE and the military

ICE and the military use the same playbook—exploiting impoverished communities

by Samantha Hamilton and Alma Bowman August 26, 2025August 26, 2025

Molded in the Delta: The Mississippi Origins of Steve Muhammad

by Shanna B. Tiayon May 13, 2025May 13, 2025

Behind the Plants: Living in the Shadow of Industry on Cancer Alley

Behind the Plants: Living in the Shadow of Industry on Cancer Alley

by Wayan Barre April 17, 2025April 17, 2025

An Open Letter to Philanthropy from Visionary Freedom Fund Youth Organizers

POLITICS & THE PEOPLE

An Open Letter to Philanthropy from Visionary Freedom Fund Youth Organizers

by Visionary Freedom Fund April 16, 2025April 16, 2025

Cycling History: The Selma to Montgomery Bike Ride on the 60th Anniversary

by Angela Hollowell March 6, 2025April 9, 2025

Surviving Fascism: Lessons from Jim Crow

Surviving Fascism: Lessons from Jim Crow

by Joel Cook February 6, 2025February 6, 2025

Rest is Not Resistance

Rest is Not Resistance, and That is OK

by Trey Washington March 28, 2024November 19, 2024

Stranded New Orleans residents watch as a helicopter evacuates others near the Superdome sports stadium August 31, 2005. Authorities have begun evacuating thousands from the damaged Superdome where living conditions have worsened since Hurricane Katrina struck on August 29, 2005. REUTERS/Jason Reed JIR/JK - RP6DRMZYNMAC Insufficient government response to the Maui wildfires follows a pattern of state abandonment forged in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

From Katrina to Maui, Disaster Capitalism continues to exploit across many 'Souths'

by Cierra Chenier September 27, 2023September 27, 2023

Prison workers making uniforms at Lee Correctional Institution in Bishopville, South Carolina. (AP Photo/Meg Kinnard) Rehabilitation stops being a priority for officials when it conflicts with prison labor—abruptly shutting down programs, citing labor costs.

POLITICS & THE PEOPLE

The Profitable Prisoner

by Antoine Davis September 6, 2023September 5, 2023

"What Things Cost: An anthology for the people." Edited by Rebecca Gayle Howell, Ashley M. Jones and Emily J. Jalloul. Published by The University Press of Kentucky.

An anthology for people over capitalism

by Katherine Webb-Hehn July 19, 2023July 19, 2023

Periods in prison: The monthly struggle for sanitary products

'That's not how it works around here': When free-bleeding ain't free

by Heather Jarvis June 28, 2023September 27, 2023

Inside the struggle of farmers and industrial workers in Gaza as Palestinians face exposure to environmental racism under Israeli blockade.

How Palestinian farmers and clothing workers struggle under Israeli blockade

by Rami Almeghari June 23, 2023November 14, 2023

A visitor uses the video visitation system at the Fort Bend County Jail to speak with an inmate, in Richmond, Texas on May 5, 2015. Prisoners’ rights advocates were worried at the time that the growing use in of video technology to facilitate visits was part of a trend to eliminate the more traditional in-person visit. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) The hidden cost of 'free' tablets in prison

POLITICS & THE PEOPLE

The hidden cost of 'free' tablets in prison

by Ezzial Williams June 21, 2023September 27, 2023

Producing music from prison.

Young Tali is making music by any means necessary

by Zeb Larson June 13, 2023June 12, 2023

The headquarters of New Orleans Musicians Assistance Foundation, the nonprofit that operates the Musicians' Clinic. Every month, the Foundation pays Bethany Bultman and her husband Johann $4,094 in rent for its use of the building for its offices. Photo by Trenity Thomas for Scalawag.

POLITICS & THE PEOPLE

Plantation Politics: The New Orleans Musicians' Clinic's crisis of credibility

by Drew Hawkins June 1, 2023September 27, 2023

Forever New Orleans tourism campaign advertisements. Illustrations by Keysha Rivera.

Disaster capitalism, climate change, and the campaign to sell Black New Orleans

by Nicole Young May 31, 2023September 27, 2023

Pack City Hall: Rev. Keyanna Jones speaks while community members attend the city council meeting to protest against the controversial "Cop City" project, inside the city hall in Atlanta on May 15, 2023. REUTERS/Megan Varner.

POLITICS & THE PEOPLE

Out Loud on the Gate City Front

by Tea Troutman and Da'Shaun L. Harrison May 22, 2023May 22, 2023

We're Here: Florida's Queer Resistance. Exploring themes of LGBTQ+ activism and resilience in the face of adversity in drag.

We're Queer, 'We're Here,' and We're Fighting Back

by Sezin Koehler March 23, 2023November 21, 2023

Everything (Queer) Everywhere All At Once

by mónica teresa ortiz March 10, 2023December 1, 2023