Maya Schenwar

Chicago

Editor-at-Large at Truthout

Director, Truthout Center for Grassroots Journalism. Co-editor, “We Grow the World Together.” Coauthor, "Prison by Any Other Name." @mayaschenwar.bsky.social

Articles

Liberal Faith in Checks and Balances Betrays Deeper Investment in Law and Order

1 month ago | truthout.org | Kelly Hayes |Jocelyn Martinez-Rosales |Maya Schenwar

As other branches of government fail to check the Trump administration, the balance of power shifts toward oligarchs.
Don’t Forget the History of COVID in Prison: An Interview With Victoria Law

Mar 17, 2025 | portside.org | Maya Schenwar

Don’t Forget the History of COVID in Prison: An Interview With Victoria Law Published March 17, 2025 March 11 marks the fifth anniversary of the day the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic, urging countries to “double down” on protective actions. But for incarcerated people, many of those protections remained out of reach. When COVID-19 hit the United States, the millions of people incarcerated here were dealt structural blows from every direction.
Don’t Forget the History of COVID in Prison: An Interview With Victoria Law

Mar 11, 2025 | truthout.org | Maya Schenwar

Part of the Series Despair and Disparity: The Uneven Burdens of COVID-19 March 11 marks the fifth anniversary of the day the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic, urging countries to “double down” on protective actions. But for incarcerated people, many of those protections remained out of reach. When COVID-19 hit the United States, the millions of people incarcerated here were dealt structural blows from every direction.
A call to media organizations: don’t back down in the face of Trump’s threats

Jan 22, 2025 | therealnews.com | Ziggy West Jeffery |Maya Schenwar |Negin Owliaei

This story originally appeared in Truthout on Jan. 20, 2025. It is shared here with permission. As Donald Trump is inaugurated a second time, independent media organizations are faced with urgent mandates: Tell the truth more loudly than ever before. Do that work even as our standard modes of distribution (such as social media platforms) are being manipulated and curtailed by forces of fascist repression and ruthless capitalism.
Media Organizations Must Fight Trump's Agenda In His Second Term

Jan 21, 2025 | progressivehub.net | Maya Schenwar |Negin Owliaei |Ziggy West Jeffery

By By Maya Schenwar, Negin Owliaei, and Ziggy West Jeffery, TruthoutDonald Trump is inaugurated a second time, independent media organizations are faced with urgent mandates: Tell the truth more loudly than ever before. Do that work even as our standard modes of distribution (such as social media platforms) are being manipulated and curtailed by forces of fascist repression and ruthless capitalism.
The SPRC online book club

Jan 20, 2025 | eventbrite.co.uk | Maya Schenwar |Kim Wilson

The SPRC online book clubAn opportunity to read recent writing about liberation and justice with like-minded people. Opening session – We Grow the World Together, 21st January6-7:30pmGMT/12-1:30pm CTAre relations between children and adults ‘political’? What can abolitionist thought tell us about making families? If you are interested in these and related questions, please come to the first SPRC online book group on 21st January.
Motherhood Made Me Even More of a Prison and Police Abolitionist

Jan 10, 2025 | themarshallproject.org | Maya Schenwar

When I found out I was pregnant, I wanted my sister Keeley to be one of the first to know. I knew her excitement would be over the top and uncontainable. So, right after I got the positive test result at five weeks, I sent Keeley a postcard. At the time, there was no online messaging service at the prison where she was incarcerated, and I thought mail was the perfect way to break the news.
The Right Has a 150-Page Battle Plan to Shut Down Progressive Civil Society

Nov 28, 2024 | znetwork.org | Negin Owliaei |Maya Schenwar

In the wake of Donald Trump’s election, after a campaign in which Trump threatened the press, the left and “the enemy within,” 204 Republicans and 15 Democrats in the House of Representatives decided to hand a gift to his incoming administration — one that could be used to squash any kind of dissent.
The Right Has a 150-Page Battle Plan to Shut Down Progressive Civil Society

Nov 27, 2024 | truthout.org | Negin Owliaei |Maya Schenwar

In the wake of Donald Trump’s election, after a campaign in which Trump threatened the press, the left and “the enemy within,” 204 Republicans and 15 Democrats in the House of Representatives decided to hand a gift to his incoming administration — one that could be used to squash any kind of dissent.
“An Imagination Party”: How My Toddler Fuels My Vision for Liberation

Nov 14, 2024 | truthout.org | Maya Schenwar

Part of the Series The Road to Abolition The following piece is an excerpt from the forthcoming anthology, We Grow the World Together: Parenting Toward Abolition, which I edited in collaboration with Kim Wilson. Our book explores the ways in which parenting, caregiving and struggles for liberation intertwine. In this cataclysmic moment of looming fascism, we have much to learn from people who are putting a politics of care into practice.