By Sunita Sohrabji Contributing Writer (Ethnic Media Services) — St. James Parish, Louisiana is one of a handful of ‘free towns,’ communities built in the late 1800s by former slaves. “My ancestors are buried here,” environmental justice activist Sharon Lavigne told Ethnic Media Services. “I have the names of my families who were laid to rest here,” she said, noting the rich historical legacy of her home town. Lavigne is the founder of Rise St. James, and a 2021 winner of the Goldman Environmental Prize. On April 17, Lavigne was named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People. Cancer ..read more

By Wesley Muller Contributing Writer (lailluminator.com) — Entergy Louisiana’s plan to upgrade its power transmission and distribution systems will cost customers $1.9 billion and include over 2,100 grid-hardening projects to strengthen electrical infrastructure across the state, though only a small fraction involve burying power lines underground. The Louisiana Public Service Commission, in a 3-2 vote Friday, April 19 with Republican members prevailing, approved Entergy Louisiana’s spending proposal for the first phase of its “Future Ready Resilience Plan.” The vote allows Entergy to charge ..read more

By Lizzie Presser ProPublica Federal lawmakers introduced a legislative package on Tuesday (April 23) that would expand heirs’ property owners’ access to disaster relief and provide assistance in clearing titles. Heirs’ property refers to land that has been passed down informally within families; without clear titles, owners can be ineligible for government aid and their land vulnerable to forced sales. Rep. Lizzie Fletcher, a Democrat from Texas, decided to introduce legislation after reading a ProPublica-New Yorker investigation on the legal and financial risks of holding land as heirs’ prop ..read more

By Fritz Esker Contributing Writer On the night of April 23, Dillard University held The Lighting of the Rosa Freeman Keller Avenue of the Oaks to honor and remember Keller’s legacy both with the university and as a social justice activist. Born in 1911 to a Coca-Cola executive, Keller’s life of activism included work on the New Orleans Young Christian Women’s Association’s Board of Directors. During her time there, Keller, who was white, became more acutely aware of racial discrimination. Her marriage to a Jewish man as World War II raged around the globe also opened her eyes to prejudices fa ..read more

By Ryan Whirty Contributing Writer The glaring spotlight of truth is that the New Orleans in part rejected the Negro football stars. The players found on the street that someone had told a false statement [about racism in New Orleans] that they were not welcomed. So, the Negro football stars simply agreed to pack up their bags and leave, rather than to submit to discrimination and insulting conditions. In January 1965, Jim Hall, the legendary and pugnacious sports editor of The Louisiana Weekly, wrote a column that predicted a death knell for any possibility that New Orleans might become a spo ..read more

By Julie O’Donoghue Contributing Writer (lailluminator.com) — The Louisiana House of Representatives voted to approve a nearly $48 billion state budget plan last Thursday (April 25) that cuts public school teacher compensation, even after several legislators vowed to make the educators’ previous pay hike permanent this year. The plan also does not specify that the teacher stipend funding needs to be distributed evenly to all public school teachers, as it has been in the past. School districts would have the flexibility to decide whether to give some teachers more money than others within their ..read more

By Stacy M. Brown Contributing Writer (NNPA Newswire) — U.S. Coast Guard Capt. Zeita Merchant has made history as the first Black female admiral in the service’s 233-year history. Admiral Merchant, previously the commander of Sector New York, will now lead the Coast Guard Personnel Service Center in Washington, D.C., where she will oversee recruitment and scholarships. Merchant said she initially joined the Coast Guard with the intention of financing her medical school education. “I always had this passion for service, but I never thought it would be in the form of military service. I really f ..read more

By Bobbi-Jeanne Misick Contributing Writer (Veritenews.org) — Incidents of intimate partner violence cost Louisianians $10.1 billion in 2022, according to a new report from Tulane University’s Newcomb Institute. The authors of the report, released on April 16 tallied the estimated costs of medical treatment, lost wages, criminal legal system costs and state-funded support programming for female victims and survivors of intimate partner violence. The multibillion-dollar cost of domestic violence in the state falls upon individual survivors, victims and their families, employers and the state’s ..read more

By Makenna Mincey Contributing Writer As part of a celebration of Francophone culture, South Louisiana’s French-speaking Pointe-Au-Chien Indian Tribe have become the subject of a photo documentary project showcasing their lives, heritage and culture. Photographed and curated by photographers Audoin de Vergnette and Wayan Barre, the exhibit, “Mon Coeur est dans la terre de Ma Famille,” is on display at the Alliance Française of New Orleans (AFNO) until June. The exhibit – a set of vibrant and reverential images depicting the community’s youth and elders, landscapes and waterways, and daily life ..read more

By Hazel Trice Edney (TriceEdneyWire.com) – The recent growth in natural gas usage has generally been seen as a positive development for the Louisiana economy, but Black Louisianans know that the growth in this industry has frequently led to negative impacts for Black communities. This is why it’s particularly concerning that new developments in the fossil fuel pipeline industry may lead to even fewer protections for communities of color around Louisiana. The most recent concerns stem from the construction of the Louisiana Energy Gateway pipeline by Williams, an Oklahoma-based energy company ..read more