Race & Culture

I’ve always been a fan of exploring the cultural aspect of the community and how race relations play a role in what we see play out in modern day America. I hope the exploration of these topics will lend itself to more nuanced discussions about America’s future. They are conversation that serve more of purpose when discussed, not buried.

Discriminatory practices like “Redlining” denied credit and home loans to residents based on race or ethnicity, among other factors. While discriminatory housing was found to be illegal after the Fair Housing Act of 1968, the impacts of housing segregation in New Orleans are felt in many ways. In our new series, “Follow the Line,” I explore how this policy led to generational turmoil, pushing against the narrative that what we see in present-day New Orleans is the result of our own action or in-action.

Crime is surging in New Orleans but it has happened before - and we've been able to beat it back. So, what can help now?

50 years ago the Black Panthers had a presence in the New Orleans community. More specifically, the Desire Housing Project, which at the time was America’s largest and poorest public housing community. Their presence, according to those who lived in the community at that time, was welcomed. But, their reputation of violence against police officers made them a threat to the New Orleans Police Department, leading to a 30-minute shootout in the Desire Projects and a week's long effort to stop the Panthers from gaining a stronghold on the Desire community.

The streets of Tremé are considered sacred ground to the culture bearers of New Orleans. Jazz musicians, poets, artists and craftsmen born in Tremé helped to make New Orleans the cultural mecca it is today. But those same culture bearers say the neighborhood that was once vibrant, energetic and filled with music has gone silent as Tremé is in trouble of losing that cultural identity.

VICTIMS OF PROGRESS PART 1: Sharon Lavigne's family has lived in St. James Parish for generations, but the growing petrochemical industry could bring that to an end. Thanks to a residential-industrial declaration, Districts 4 and 5 of St. James (where most African-Americans reside) have become the main targets by the corporations considered to be progressive to state leaders, but poisonous to its residents.

This story follows Sharon as she begins her fight against the industry that is transforming the landscape of her home. Hoping to save what’s left of St. James.

In Pt 2 of Victims of Progress, we ask who benefits from the growing petrochemical industry in St. James. Promises of jobs and security are made as a way to persuade locals who are against the industry but do those promises always follow through?


Legally speaking…what does it mean to be Black? And what does that mean for voting rights in Louisiana? Charisse Gibson explains the court case getting national attention.


Vernon Winslow's first radio job was to teach white disc jockeys to sound black so they could play black music since he wasn't allowed to be a DJ. That soon changed.