Personal Essay Archives – Scalawag

'Impact of an Icon': Grieving Young Dolph in South Memphis

by Dorian Record June 22, 2022June 22, 2022

Up and coming rapper South Memphis Babyface reflects on losing Young Dolph, "somebody I looked up to, somebody that inspired the world."

Southern Politics

This couple wants you to know that conjugal visits are only legal in 4 states

by Steve Higginbotham & Jordana Rosenfeld June 21, 2022June 21, 2022

'I'll never have closure.' What TV gets wrong about having a dad in prison.

by Jordan Gass-Pooré June 20, 2022June 21, 2022

Mildred's Mississippi: 'Roll of Thunder' as a love letter home

by Adria R. Walker May 24, 2022May 23, 2022

in Grief

by Da'Shaun Harrison May 5, 2022May 5, 2022

'Left to hold my grief alone.' Grieving platonic love in a culture of romantic domination.

by Sherronda J. Brown April 7, 2022April 7, 2022

Losing Nanny, inheriting her home, and surviving the first year

by Maya Miller March 15, 2022March 25, 2022

Life and Death in Strawberry Land

by Autumn Fourkiller February 14, 2022March 15, 2022

In portraits and letters: 'Being free is not the same as freedom'

by Jason Kerzinski August 17, 2021August 30, 2021

The old devil and the new details

by Mab Segrest March 29, 2021April 29, 2021

In Appalachia, the face of addiction is white—and so is the story of recovery

by Crystal Good February 26, 2021April 6, 2021

When God Calls My Name

by Ashley M. Jones January 11, 2021October 4, 2021

Behind the scenes in Black Appalachia

by Crystal Good December 23, 2020December 23, 2020

Southern Politics

To shift the media narrative about the South, we have to rebuild it altogether

by Anoa Changa December 17, 2020December 17, 2020

Southern Politics

'If I asked my family to get rid of a bumper sticker, they would tell me to quit my job.'

by Iliana Hagenah December 17, 2020December 17, 2020

Southern Politics

I ran from my church after Trayvon Martin's murder—but not from my religion

by Courtney Napier December 17, 2020December 18, 2020

'I wanted to wear a purple ball gown with a crimson silk cape'

by Cynthia R. Greenlee November 3, 2020November 3, 2020

Letter from a New Normal: Finding hope in purgatory

by DANTE August 20, 2020March 15, 2022

As ICE travel bans target international students, communities resist through care

by Anastasia Kārkliņa July 17, 2020October 1, 2020

The Remedy: The Costello family's 'next-best thing' spaghetti sauce

by Mike Costello July 14, 2020November 19, 2020

The Remedy: Mrs. Betty's macaroni-and-cheese

by Cynthia R. Greenlee July 10, 2020November 19, 2020

The Remedy: Grandma Lacey's Cornbread

by Samantha Willis June 30, 2020November 19, 2020

A Love Letter to Black Queers in the Rural South

by Darius Scott May 12, 2020October 1, 2020

Losing Ground

by Alejandra Rosa February 10, 2020October 1, 2020

The Queer South: Where the past is not past, and the future is now

by Minnie Bruce Pratt January 27, 2020December 3, 2020

Arts & Soul, Race & Place

Our Toni

by W.J. Lofton December 11, 2019October 1, 2020

That's not actually true

by Kiese Laymon February 4, 2019October 1, 2020

Southern Politics

Telling tales: How the media fails Appalachia

by R. Garringer March 22, 2018December 3, 2020

A change in hurricane season

by Lizzy Hazeltine November 9, 2017October 1, 2020

My son's death could have been prevented under the Affordable Care Act

by Leslie Boyd July 23, 2017October 1, 2020