To Make New Orleans a Great City
by Jeff Thomas
There are some things black and white New Orleanians agree with. Others cause extreme disagreement. We can all agree that our streets are horrible. And that flooding has to be stopped. Crime is a bad thing. We need strong levees. Gumbo is a cold weather food. Good music is good for the soul. But if I start talking about the disparities that exist in our city, then we quickly get into bad juju land. Black men suffer from 50% unemployment in New Orleans because of discrimination. Education is not the great equalizer. Want proof? On average, black men with college degrees earn less than white men without even a high school diploma. Hard work is not a way for black people to pull themselves up. Proof? Black men earn 50% less than white men for the same work. In short, black people need more money to make our city great.
If you really want to make New Orleans a great place to live, then we have to be bold and flip the script. First things first. So, black people having more money is not a threat to anybody. And more money in the local economy is good for everybody. You see, crime and poverty are inextricably linked. And for the last 300 years, too many black people in New Orleans have been mired in poverty. But for too long too many white people have dismissed this as fake news. But facts are facts.
Housing Discrimination
One notion has to be understood. Being born white is an unearned advantage. This advantage is the result of government policies over the course of centuries. From slavery to Jim Crow to red lining, government policies have created income and opportunity advantages for white people. One stunning fact is that the average white person inherits just over $250,00 while the average black person inherits debt. The most pernicious policy is mortgage and housing discrimination. From rich to poor, the greatest single advantage white people have is wealth derived from home ownership. Most white people have passed generational wealth through property. While black people were denied mortgages, paid lower wages and have been forced to work harder just for self-preservation and sustenance, whites were able to create wealth through property ownership. These fixes would helpblack people make more money and make our city great.
National Level
Baby Bonds
The federal government would fund and invest in accounts for every child born in the US. This money would be available at 18 for every child to get an education, start a business or buy a house. This would provide some foundation from which all people could benefit.
State Level
Equal Pay
Not talking socialism, but if two people do the same job then the pay should be equal. Black men earn half of what white men earn for the same work and women only a third. We must eliminate these disparities by requiring equal pay.
City Level
Contracting
Half of all city contracts must be given to pre-qualified black businesses. This would make our city, state and country a better place to live for all
Jeff Thomas
Publisher • Opinion Columnist • Licensed General Contractor • Real Estate Appraiser • New Orleans
Jeff Thomas is the publisher of Black Source Media and one of New Orleans’ most direct voices on civic affairs, economic justice, and Louisiana politics. He writes from the intersection of experience and accountability — as a licensed general contractor,a tech company founder and executive with over 30 years experience, and a businessman who has worked across the city’s civic, media, and construction ecosystems for decades.
His Sunday column covers Louisiana legislative politics, insurance discrimination, housing policy, and the forces shaping Black community life in New Orleans and across the state. Thomas writes in the tradition of Black journalists who hold power accountable without apology — building arguments from data, delivering verdicts from evidence, and speaking to Black New Orleans with the directness the moment demands.
He is also the principal of EA Inspection Services, LLC, a government inspection services company. Black Source Media is his platform for the civic conversation New Orleans has needed and too rarely had.
Selected Articles by Jeff Thomas
Black Neighborhoods Pay the Highest Insurance Rates in Louisiana. Here’s What They Don’t Want You to Know.
They Didn’t Yell the N-Word. They Went to Law School, Bided Their Time, and Rewrote the Constitution Instead.
Vappie vs. Morrell: Why Does Justice Look Different in New Orleans?
The State Has the Money. New Orleans East Just Needs Them to Use It.
The Failure of Mitch Landrieu
Publisher — Black Source Media
Jeff Thomas
Publisher • Opinion Columnist • Licensed General Contractor • Real Estate Appraiser • New Orleans
Jeff Thomas is the publisher of Black Source Media and one of New Orleans’ most direct voices on civic affairs, economic justice, and Louisiana politics. He writes from the intersection of experience and accountability — as a licensed general contractor,a tech company founder and executive with over 30 years experience, and a businessman who has worked across the city’s civic, media, and construction ecosystems for decades.
His Sunday column covers Louisiana legislative politics, insurance discrimination, housing policy, and the forces shaping Black community life in New Orleans and across the state. Thomas writes in the tradition of Black journalists who hold power accountable without apology — building arguments from data, delivering verdicts from evidence, and speaking to Black New Orleans with the directness the moment demands.
He is also the principal of EA Inspection Services, LLC, a government inspection services company. Black Source Media is his platform for the civic conversation New Orleans has needed and too rarely had.
Selected Articles by Jeff Thomas
Black Neighborhoods Pay the Highest Insurance Rates in Louisiana. Here’s What They Don’t Want You to Know.
They Didn’t Yell the N-Word. They Went to Law School, Bided Their Time, and Rewrote the Constitution Instead.
Vappie vs. Morrell: Why Does Justice Look Different in New Orleans?
The State Has the Money. New Orleans East Just Needs Them to Use It.
The Failure of Mitch Landrieu
Jeff Thomas,
Grow up, put your big boy pants on. Life is hard! Why is it that only black people have a problem dealing with life and always have their hand out? Why is it that only black people are being held back, but anyone else, even people just arriving from third world countries come and succeed in life in America? When you admit your people have a problem and deal with the problem instead of blaming everyone else, then your group of people can make advancements. But until then, good luck! White people make more money for the same reason asians are not complaining about income inequality. Think harder, not just equally, you will get further.