By Endya Gillard The city of New Orleans experienced high crime rates this year in 2022. The crime rates began rising in 2020 given the hardships of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the New Orleans Police Department has experienced a shortage of police officers ever since. This year New Orleans became the top city with the highest murder rate per capita. Many New Orleans residents said they fear living in the city because the crime is spiraling out of control. “The police are limited because of the consent decree. They cannot…
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Baton Rouge College Football Historic game has epic tailgate
By Faith LeMelle Louisiana State University hosted the Southern University of Louisiana for the first time in over one hundred years. But this event was not just about football. It was about the unity of the residents of Baton Rouge at Tiger Stadium on Sept. 9. “This game is an amazing opportunity to gather as a community and celebrate!” the mayor of Baton Rouge, Sharon Weston Broome tweeted on Sept. 6. Both campuses are nearly ten miles apart and each has competitive athletic programs. Both schools have Division 1 programs…
Read MoreFather Figures Play Important Role in African American Community
By Kristian Graves The positive recognition of fathers in youth, families, and neighborhoods can result in stronger African American families and a stronger youth. Jasmin Thames, a student, entrepreneur, and full-time mother cherishes the value of a strong African American family. She contributes the impact of a relationship with her father to her successes. “I was always close with my father as a child; I was the youngest and a daddy’s girl,” Thames said. “I am now a mother of 1, who wanted nothing more than a relationship between my…
Read MoreBlack entrepreneurs find ways to thrive in niche markets
By Chyna Valentine African Americans have powered through hundreds of years of disadvantage, segregation, and unequal treatment to become successful in their respective fields. Entrepreneurship is a field of work in which people of color are just starting to get a foothold. “Being black has impacted my business in many ways, Good and Bad,” said Brandon Valentine, owner of Prince Charles Lemonade. “Bad in the way of working hard to prove to the world that we can produce products in a fashion that can rival or surpass any other race…
Read MoreNyx Parade embroiled in racial controversy 
By Briana Griffith This year, the Nyx parade has the smallest number of members due to the controversy in 2020 with the founder Julie Lea, who posted “All Lives Matter” onto her Facebook page after George Floyd’s death. Many members of the racially diverse all-female krewes were outraged and blasted Lea for being insensitive. Lea tried to apologize but still refused to embrace the phrase “Black Lives Matter.” This caused the once largest parade with the largest group of members to quickly become the smallest with only an astounding two…
Read MoreMore Black women hold power in newsrooms. Trends can impact news coverage and representation.
By Brier Evans | Editor Black women make up roughly 3 percent of the total workforce of American newsrooms. And among U.S. newsroom leadership, Black women account for 3 percent of news executives, compared to white women, who account for 31.84 percent, according to the American Society of News Editors, in 2019. But since 2020, the news industry is slowly opening up to placing more Black women in charge of news operations. “You put a woman in charge of HR or public relations; that’s an old corporate hack,” said Nayyera…
Read MoreCandidates make final primary election push as early voting period opens
by Tamir Wright | Staff Writer Election season in New Orleans is in full swing one week out from the start of early voting, as dozens of candidates vying for positions in local, municipal, and statewide races. Among the many candidates across the ballots, voters will be electing the candidates for the office of mayor, city council, state representative, and sheriff. The upcoming mayoral race will have incumbent Mayor Latoya Cantrell seek to become the first woman to be re-elected to this position in the city’s history. Cantrell is running…
Read MoreHurricane Ida Update
Approximately seven weeks after Hurricane Ida, student director, Kai Davis gives an update on the recovery efforts in the northeast area of Slidell, Louisiana.
Read MoreResidents Still Struggle to Recover Weeks After Hurricane Ida
by Tyana Jackson | Staff Writer Almost a month after Hurricane Ida, one of the largest tropical cyclone storms to make landfall in Louisiana, residents are still struggling to return to normal. Several issues have frustrated post-storm recovery ranging from delayed trash disposal to lost wages, and damage to homes and businesses, due to the devasting effects of the storm across many parishes in Southeast Louisiana. New Orleans Mayor Latoya Cantrell said on Sept. 23 that post-storm clean-up and recovery remain a primary focus for her office. “To date ‘Operation…
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