The Parade Is Over. Now What Does New Orleans Actually Build?

Every Carnival season, this city gets the world’s attention. Every Ash Wednesday, it squanders it. Dr. Norman Francis spent 47 years proving there’s another way. The question is whether New…

The Professional Class Pipeline: How HBCUs Quietly Power Black America

Historically Black Colleges and Universities represent roughly 3% of American colleges and universities. Yet they produce nearly 20% of Black college graduates nationwide. That output is not accidental. HBCUs were…

Dr. Norman C. Francis: The Man Who Built a Medical Pipeline and Reshaped New Orleans

Dr. Norman C. Francis was not simply a university president. He was an architect of Black excellence, an economic builder, a civic strategist, and arguably the most consequential figure in…

Hate on a Mardi Gras Float: New Orleans Must Draw a Line Now

TL;DR During Mardi Gras, a Krewe of Tucks member displayed a Black girl doll hanging by beads. In a city with deep roots in Black culture and a painful history…

Stop Claiming Mardi Gras Ground Like You Own It: The Illegal Practice Destroying New Orleans Tradition

The neutral ground doesn’t belong to you. Not because you got there first. Not because you drove in from Metairie with wooden stakes and caution tape. And not because you’ve…

Black Mardi Gras Traditions: The Soul of New Orleans Carnival

By Jeff Thomas | March 2, 2025 TL;DRBlack Mardi Gras is not an alternative to Carnival—it is its cultural backbone. Forged through exclusion, Black New Orleanians built traditions rooted in…

Two Years, Two Deaths: Why Minnesota Finally Broke America’s Silence

These were not the first shootings involving federal immigration agents. Over the past two years, there have been multiple use-of-force incidents during immigration operations. Some ended in death. Many ended…

Why Smart People Are Losing Power Over Trump—And How to Get It Back

Let’s clear something up before the noise takes over. American politics has entered an era where emotion moves faster than analysis. And that’s a problem. Almost every day, I hear…

Shooting Inside Historic Dooky Chase Restaurant Shocks New Orleans Ahead of MLK Day

A shooting occurred inside Dooky Chase Restaurant in New Orleans last week, shocking the city and violating one of the most historically significant sites of the Civil Rights Movement just…

The Fix-It Box: Helena Moreno’s Mandate—and Her Dilemma

Helena Moreno didn’t run to be a visionary mayor.She ran to be a competent one. That distinction matters. It defines both her greatest strength and her biggest constraint. Moreno steps…