By: Elai Levinson My journey with Louisiana Progress began during my freshman year at LSU. I had always been interested in politics, and had hoped to find work in the field at some point during my college years, but I never expected to have found meaningful political work so soon. I’m thankful it has been with this organization.  I came to LSU from out of state, without knowing anyone in Louisiana, and the culture shock was a difficult adjustment at first. I struggled to make friends and often felt homesick, but I looked forward to classes. I thought that if I kept myself occupied with cl ..read more

By: Merrilee Montgomery I joined Louisiana Progress as a College Fellow in the summer of 2021. During the 2021-2022 school year, leading up to the 2022 Legislative Session, I focused on super PAC campaign funding, legislator pay, and digital advertisements in election campaigns. When the Louisiana Progress College Fellows regrouped after the 2022 session, I was excited to be reassigned to study the role of money in the criminal justice system, after spending the previous year studying money in election campaigns.  During the Fall of 2022, I read many reports and news stories about the rol ..read more

By: Nathaniel Dela-Pena As I reflect on my work and Louisiana Progress’s work for the 2023 Louisiana legislative session, I believe this session has been grueling and difficult due to the increasing partisanship within the legislature. From unnecessarily vitriolic encounters between the right and left to a concerning fascination in joining the ongoing national culture wars, there are many reasons why one should look to the future with concern.  However, I am proud to work with a team that has tried to overcome this gloomy political environment. While the bill I have spent time researching ..read more

By: Jaidyn Nix Far too often, we see headlines about another Black or brown person who has been killed by an officer during a “routine” traffic stop. Philandro Castile, Duante Wright, Rayshard Brooks, and Robert Green. These are just a handful of names of people who have been killed during a traffic stop at the hands of police. This should not be the norm. These last couple of months I have been researching how traffic enforcement is administered in cities all over the nation. I have seen the good, the bad, and everything in between.  My question is why are these types of stops routine? I ..read more

By: Peter Robins-Brown Originally Published in Democracy Docket The Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA) might be the most consequential piece of legislation passed in the United States in the past 100 years. It’s certainly the most important civil rights legislation of the last century. Yet, next term, the six conservative justices on the U.S. Supreme Court could gut what remains of it when deciding a case out of Alabama, in a ruling that will almost certainly impact my home state of Louisiana and the future of the VRA itself. Amid a string of controversial rulings in June, the Court’s conservativ ..read more

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By: Peter Robins Brown Originally Published in Democracy Docket Most people who work on, or follow, civil rights issues in the U.S. woke up on Thursday, June 8, 2023, with a feeling of impending doom. That morning, the U.S. Supreme Court was expected to announce its ruling in the Allen v. Milligan case, which derived from a lawsuit challenging Alabama’s congressional map for diluting the voting power of Black voters in violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA), the law’s most critical remaining provision. The Court’s decision would determine whether the VRA, one of the most ..read more

By: Melissa Flournoy Originally published in The Advocate Common sense is in retreat at the Louisiana Legislature as too many legislators want to fight a culture war on women, transgender kids, truth and history. Efforts to eliminate access to reproductive health care including contraception and further outlawing abortion are attacks on women. If the Legislature is against abortion, it should fund access to contraception and health care. As a former state director of Planned Parenthood, I can tell you that Planned Parenthood in Louisiana has never performed an abortion. It is one of the most p ..read more

By: Charlie Stephens Originally published by The Reveille "It is a weak point in the theory of representative government as now organized and administered, that a large portion of the voting people are permanently disenfranchised." – President James Garfield Redistricting is the process by which our elected officials ensure their constituency is still adequately represented through previously-drawn electoral districts. However, as noted by President Garfield, the process is tainted with the promise of partisan gain and individual political advancement. The process of redistricting is already&n ..read more

By Melissa Flournoy Originally published in The Advocate Here we are in 2021, more than 30 years after the Roemer Revolution in 1987. Many of the young leaders of the “revolution” are grayer and less energetic, but still hopeful for Louisiana. At the service celebrating the life of former Governor Charles E. “Buddy” Roemer, III, Roemer was remembered an optimistic and energetic reformer. He started his political service as a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1973. Buddy really was an academic prodigy and an avid reader all his life. Roemer represented the best of Louisiana as a gradua ..read more