Lessons from Baton Rouge and Beyond

Let’s talk about dinosaurs. You remember them, right? Those ancient creatures that once roamed the Earth. For millions of years they reigned supreme and dominated the landscape. Now you can only find them in museums. Their displayed bones are all that’s left of their dynasty and lost era.

Maybe Governor Landry should suggest funding a museum for Black politicians in the upcoming Capitol budget. Their political power is vanishing. And if voting trends continue, Black political influence might be headed for extinction.

The Decline of Black Political Power

Don’t let Louisiana’s new Black congressional district fool you. Or the population increase among Black people that warranted it. Black voter turnout and political influence are declining.

Just look at the state’s leadership. Right now, as Will Sutton points out, there’s not one Black politician holding a statewide office in Louisiana. And even worse, three major cities with majority Black populations —East Baton Rouge, Shreveport, and Monroe—recently flipped from Black to white mayors.

Baton Rouge: A Surprising Loss

Baton Rouge saw the most surprising flip. Sharon Weston Broome was the city-parish’s two-term mayor. She made history as the first black woman to hold that office. Despite that, she lost her re-election runoff to Sid Edwards, a white Republican high-school football coach with zero political experience.

Why did Broome lose? Low turnout among black voters in the runoff. When Broome needed them most, Baton Rouge, a city with a Black population over 50% just didn’t show up for her.

Why Are Black Voters Staying Home?

Many people wonder why many Black voters didn’t show up for Broome or don’t show up for elections in general. The answer isn’t complicated. Too many just feel that voting doesn’t make a difference in their lives.

Look at Edwards’ campaign promises. He vowed to fix corruption, lower crime, create jobs, and improve poor neighborhoods. Sound familiar? Politicians — both Black and white—have been making these promises to black people for decades.

But if you ask many of those same voters what they’ve gotten in return for their votes, the answer will be the same ole neglected neighborhoods and lack of job opportunities.

This perception is why many Black voters joined 10-15 million other voters and stayed home for Kamala Harris’ bid for president.

Could New Orleans Be Next?

New Orleans might see the same low turnout for the upcoming mayor’s election. Mayor Cantrell’s tenure has been full of drama. The result is an erosion of public trust. And although crime rates have dropped, the city is still struggling.

Just look around. Neighborhoods are still blighted. Streets are still full of potholes. The cost of living keeps going up. And outside of tourism, there just still aren’t many other career opportunities for young black people without college degrees or specific skills. That all leads to discontent and frustration.

The last time the city had a mayor this controversial and a frustrated citizenry, Mitch Landrieu became the first white mayor to take office in over 30 years. Now, something similar may be happening.

Helena Moreno, while not white, has already emerged as a strong contender to succeed Cantrell. If she wins, New Orleans would join Baton Rouge, Shreveport, and Monroe as the fourth majority Black city to flip from a Black mayor to a non-black one.

Project 2025 NOLA

The Urgent Need for Change

These are tough times for Black politicians in Louisiana. It’s bad enough that they don’t hold any statewide offices, but now they’re losing mayoral positions as well. If they don’t start delivering results and rebuilding trust with Black voters, they could be headed the way of the dinosaur. But unlike the T-Rex, they could find themselves taken out by a meteorite of their own making.