NEW ORLEANS — Weeks before Mardi Gras, hundreds two-stepped and wobbled to the beat of a full jazz ensemble through the city’s historic French Quarter. Mixed among them were signs reading “Resist The Fossil Fuel Death Cycle” and “No More Blood For Oil And Gas.” Climate and environmental activists gathered to protest Louisiana’s newfound designation […]
Louisiana
Posted inPolitics & Policy, Voting
Black Louisianans Enter a New Political Era
Baton Rouge resident Ashley Shelton was overjoyed when she learned that, after a years-long legal battle, Black Louisianans have secured greater political representation. On Monday, Republican Gov. Jeff Landry signed into law a map that follows the math by adding a second majority-Black congressional district. Previously, Black Louisianans had a fair shot at electing their […]
Posted inAir Pollution, Environmental Justice, Partner Content
Public outcry against carbon capture in Louisiana growing
Communities across south Louisiana want to protect themselves from what they consider to be a risky and possibly dangerous prospect of having tons of carbon dioxide injected underground to reduce the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions. Carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) — capturing the planet-warming gas from industry and storing it permanently underground — has become […]
Posted inClimate Change, Environmental Justice
Black Louisianans Grapple With a Climate Change-Denying Governor-Elect
Every 100 minutes, a football field-sized piece of Louisianan land is swallowed by rising seas. But the state, the second-Blackest in America, recently elected a governor who says that climate change is a “hoax.” Just a year removed from Louisiana’s release of its first climate action plan, Black activists fear that Republican Gov.-elect Jeff Landry […]
Posted inElections, Politics & Policy
Black Voters Flex Political Power in Some Key States
Tyronne Walker is working overtime to let Black voters know what’s on the line in Louisiana. The Urban League of Louisiana and its partners recently hosted a statewide registration day for Black and brown voters. Walker told Capital B that he and his colleagues’ primary goal is “to position [Black communities] to show their collective […]
Posted inClimate Change, Environmental Justice
Is Your Neighborhood at Risk? New Climate Risk Map Breaks Down 184 Hazards by Community
Globally, this year’s hottest summer on record was deadly, and researchers estimate that numbers will continue to rise in the United States. But those deaths aren’t equally distributed, and the disparities result from hundreds of different social, economic, and health factors, which leave Black and Indigenous people most susceptible to extreme heat. A new mapping […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Juvenile Justice
Dozens of Black Children Are Enduring Dangerous Heat Behind Bars
Days after an emergency filing was made to remove juveniles from the Louisiana State Penitentiary because of potentially deadly heat conditions, the judge assigned to the case conducted a surprise visit to the facility. Although the judge’s findings have not been revealed yet, last week’s emergency federal court filing argued that dozens of mostly Black […]
Posted inEnvironmental Justice, Unsafe Water
Dirty Water, Distrust, and a Crisis
Black Americans struggling to live through a water crisis are urging the rest of the country to recast what is viewed as violence. “People just don’t get the big picture,” says Brooke Floyd, coordinator for the Jackson People’s Assembly, a social justice organization in Jackson, Mississippi. “There are a lot of things that are making […]
Posted inEnvironmental Justice, Unsafe Water
Record Investment Merely Scratches the Surface of Fixing Black America’s Water Crisis
Gwendolyn Reed-Davis recalls living without running water during the holiday season last year, merely months after a water crisis left Jackson, Mississippi, residents struggling to bathe, cook, and flush their toilets. The mother of 12 says the city’s years-long struggle has harmed public health and threatened the development of a whole generation of children. Since […]
Posted inCulture, History, Partner Content
Louisiana sisters fight to protect their community’s health and enslaved ancestors’ history
Originally published by The 19th We’re telling the untold stories of women, women of color and LGBTQ+ people. Sign up for our daily newsletter. WALLACE, La.— There are only a handful of homes situated on Alexis Court, but there are a whole lot of memories. At one end of the short street, facing the Mississippi […]