Swan serves the Church of God in Christ as Assistant General Secretary and Director of Social Justice Ministry.

[1] Swan is also the National Chaplain of Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc. and the host of a radio talk show, The Spoken Word.

Swan has faced criticism including accusations of being a "rabble-rouser", who supports Black nationalism and having made racist, homophobic, and antisemitic comments.

[19] Swan outlined the priorities of the branch as taking a renewed focus on education, health, economic empowerment, political action and social justice advocacy.

Bradley made the call from the Public Safety office of Western New England University and mocked the burning of black churches in the south.

The call was made July 2, 1996, the day Swan was hosting a service to raise funds to assist southern churches that had been burned.

[22] Mayor Albano said that the call to Swan "borders on crisis" and announced the formation of a community coalition to deal with racial tensions.

[23] Responding to the dismissal of assault charges against white police officer, Jeffrey Asher, who was caught on video kicking a handcuffed Roy Parker in the head, Swan organized a rally attracting hundreds, that was held across from Springfield City Hall.

Swan refused and viewed the actions of the department as the latest in a series of harassing acts dating back to the racist telephone call received from Officer Joseph Bradley.

[40] Swan has worked with police departments and coordinated meetings at his church with witnesses to crimes in efforts to foster regular communication with law enforcement.

[47] Swan was the lead plaintiff in a 1996 federal lawsuit against the city of Springfield, MA seeking to declare the at large representation system unconstitutional on the grounds that it diluted the votes of African Americans, Latinos, and other communities of color.

[48] Referring to Springfield's at-large city council as a "bastion of privilege that systematically excludes residents from Springfield's poor and non-white neighborhoods," the Boston Globe brought national attention to Swan's efforts to replace the voting system in a featured article picturing Swan in front of his church.

Swan, on behalf of the plaintiffs, offered to drop the lawsuit if city councilors agree to honor the will of the electorate and implement the ward system.

[50] In January 1998 Mayor Michael Albano again filed legislation with the city council to change to a ward system but it twice rejected the proposal.

[52] Swan also requested assistance from the department in the federal lawsuit, alleging that the at-large system "was adopted and is being maintained purposefully to dilute, minimize and cancel out the voting strengths of blacks and Latinos.

"[53] Eventually, Mayor Charles V. Ryan and City Councilor Jose Tosado proposed a home-rule amendment that would expand the council to thirteen members including eight ward and five at large seats.

[55] The group cited multiple incidents and areas of noncompliance with the Federal Voting Rights Act and the Department of Justice's 2006 settlement order with the City of Springfield.

[57] Bishop Swan challenged the Mayor and police department regarding the murders of four black women in the Western Massachusetts region.

Under pressure from the community, Mayor Michael Albano authorized unlimited funds for overtime for police to solve the murders.

[58] Swan organized an effort to erect a stone monument honoring the life of the four victims and other women of color whose murders were unsolved.

[62] According to John-Paul Pagano, Swan has expressed support for Black Hebrew Israelite ideology, a movement which claims that groups of African Americans are actually the true Jewish people.

"[3] Swan also defended basketball player Kyrie Irving after he was suspended for posting the film Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America to his Twitter page.

"[64] After the Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges legalized same sex marriage across the United States, Swan held that gay struggles could not be compared to the history of the enslavement of blacks.

[2] Swan was quoted in 2015 as saying that he agreed "the church-run bakery down the street from his congregation should have the right to deny its services to a gay couple.

Senator and Governor from Kansas, said that Swan is among a growing number of African American leaders speaking out and "working to prevent promoters of same-sex marriage from hijacking the civil rights movement.

[70] During the 2023 Israel–Hamas War, Swan referred to Israel as a "white supremacist apartheid government" that is engaged in "murder, brutalization, and oppression of brown people in Gaza.

After his victory as the first African-American governor in the history of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Patrick selected Swan as one of the speakers at the Interfaith Prayer Service preceding his Inaugural.

"[74] Taking issue with her opponent Scott Brown's heavy focus on calling her Native American heritage into question, Swan announced his support for Warren.

[82] He was a speaker at the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington [83] Swan was appointed to the Massachusetts Hate Crimes Task Force by Governor Charlie Baker in 2022.

[85] Bishop Swan has received numerous awards lauding him for his work civil rights advocacy and race relations.