New Orleans

Peoples Coalition Helps Elect New Orleans Progressive Prosecutor

On December 5, 2020, New Orleans elected its first ever progressive District Attorney.  Jason Williams, who was a criminal defense lawyer for over 20 years before being elected, replaced former DA Leon Cannizzaro, described by New Orleans papers as a traditional tough on crime prosecutor.  An unprecedented coalition of grassroots justice organizations came together over […]

Black Civil Rights Lawyer in New Orleans Fights Back Against Exploitative Media Organization

In January, a news organization called The Conversation announced they were spearheading a much needed dialogue about race. But, ironically, they began this project by stealing the words and ideas of a Black organizer. The Canadian bureau of The Conversation declared a new podcast called “Don’t Call Me Resilient” that would actively grapple with the difficulty of discussing racism. In their […]

Past Time to Remember Thousands Displaced and Left Behind by Hurricanes Laura and Delta

Four-and-a-half months after two hurricanes ripped apart Louisiana, tens of thousands of people are still suffering.   While the national election has absorbed the attention of the nation, thousands of people are still not back in their homes.  Many have had to move a half dozen times.  Some are living in tents.  It is past time […]

Who Answers When a National Crisis Comes Calling?

I define a “national crisis” as a calamitous event that imperils the overall well-being of the nation’s citizenry. For America, I suppose there could be several answers depending on the crisis: The President, the National Guard, the military, the Department of Homeland Security. In this article I am going to focus on some instances where the President’s answer was not the right one, and end with a President giving the right answer.

The Great Divide: The Filthy Rich and the Rest of Us in Times of Calamity

Now that the corona virus is making its rounds it seems a good time to illustrate the great divide between calamities’ effects on the filthy rich (aka the power elite) and the rest of humanity. With perhaps one exception to be identified near the end of this piece, the difference has endured down through history because the worse aspects of human nature never seem to change.

New Orleans Mayor Orders Halt to Gun and Booze Sales in Response to Coronavirus; Second Amendment Group Threatens to Sue

The Second Amendment Foundation warned Mayor Cantrell against prohibiting the sale of firearms, and advised her that a disease does not suspend any part of the Bill of Rights. The Second Amendment Foundation sued the city when the mayor confiscated firearms from law-abiding citizens during Hurricane Katrina.

Charter Schools: School Choice in New Orleans Means No Choices for Parents

One of the many tired claims of “free-market” loving, pro-consumerist millionaires and billionaires behind nonprofit and for-profit charter schools is that charter schools “empower parents” to “choose” which school to send their child to. Charter schools, according to the top one percent, should be one of many options available to families. Taking social responsibility to invest in, defend, and strengthen real public schools that have been around for more than a century and a half is not part of the agenda of major owners of capital.