Op-Eds

House Bill 800: Why Senators Should Not Sell Louisiana (Or Any Other State) To Big Business

House Bill 800: Why Senators Should Not Sell Louisiana (Or Any Other State) To Big Business

By Ashley Shelton in Newsone
The State Constitution of Louisiana is not perfect; no state constitution is. But that doesn’t mean state constitutions should be ...
Mardi Gras is Revolutionary

Mardi Gras is Revolutionary

By Deon Haywood, Verite News
As the executive director of Women With A Vision—an organization that has worked at the intersections of HIV/AIDS, reproductive justice, the ...
Black Leaders In Louisiana Make It Clear: Climate And Racial Justice Go Hand-In-Hand

Black Leaders In Louisiana Make It Clear: Climate And Racial Justice Go Hand-In-Hand

Climate action must be intersectional, writes Ashley Shelton, CEO of the Power Coalition for Equity & Justice. by Ashley Shelton ...
We Stand With The Tennessee Three

We Stand With The Tennessee Three

By Ashley Shelton
In response to the Tennessee Legislature's continued lack of principled action, the Power Coalition for Equity and Justice and our ...
Anti-Protest Laws Are Not About Safety, They Are About Silencing Dissent

Anti-Protest Laws Are Not About Safety, They Are About Silencing Dissent

We must not allow our movements for justice to be silenced by laws that criminalize dissent. At least 42 people ...
A Win for Caddo Voters

A Win for Caddo Voters

by Billy Anderson
Nearly 30,000 Caddo Parish residents voted early in 2020. During that critical election, many voters endured long lines that wrapped ...
Black Voters Are Fighting Racial Gerrymandering in Louisiana

Black Voters Are Fighting Racial Gerrymandering in Louisiana

By Ashley K. Shelton for Truthout
Black women are uniquely saddled with student loan debt. by Ashley Shelton in Truthout From record inflation to attacks on ...
OP-ED: President Biden’s Student Loan Forgiveness Is Important, But More Must Be Done For Black Women

OP-ED: President Biden’s Student Loan Forgiveness Is Important, But More Must Be Done For Black Women

By Ashley K. Shelton for NewsOne
Black women are uniquely saddled with student loan debt. by Ashley Shelton in NewsOne President Joe Biden recently announced plans to cancel ...
OP-ED: This Hurricane Season, Disaster Recovery Must Be Equitable And Just

OP-ED: This Hurricane Season, Disaster Recovery Must Be Equitable And Just

By Chrishelle Palay for NewsOne
Few people recognize the trauma that can arise from living through a natural disaster that is worsened by climate change ...
FEMA Isn’t the Only Solution to Climate Disaster. Government Must Fund Mutual Aid.

FEMA Isn’t the Only Solution to Climate Disaster. Government Must Fund Mutual Aid.

By Ashley K. Shelton for Truthout
June 1 marks the start of hurricane and wildfire season. This is a time when many wait with bated breath, ...
Beyond Earth Day: More Must be Done to Address Environmental Racism

Beyond Earth Day: More Must be Done to Address Environmental Racism

By Joy and Jo Banner
Earth Day has passed but the need to continue the fight for environmental justice remains. We started our organization, the ...
The Fight for Our Schools Is Not Over

The Fight for Our Schools Is Not Over

By Kaitlyn Joshua for the Bayou Progressive
by Kaitlyn Joshua for the Bayou Progressive In case you hadn’t heard yet, on Thursday, April 7, the East Baton ...
Why Voters Have the Right to a Real Chance at Representation

Why Voters Have the Right to a Real Chance at Representation

By Robert Collins for Word in Black
The lawful and efficient exercise of Democracy in the United States depends on voters being able to freely choose their ...
Redistricting Tactics Threaten to Suppress Black Representation in Louisiana

Redistricting Tactics Threaten to Suppress Black Representation in Louisiana

By Janea Jamison, Program Director
By Ashley Shelton Originally published in Truthout.org The Louisiana Senate recently continued the state’s long history of racial oppression by ...
Every Voice Matters: Why Redistricting Is Important

Every Voice Matters: Why Redistricting Is Important

By Ashley K. Shelton, Founder and President
Ashley Shelton, Executive Director of the Power Coalition of Equity & Justice, discusses redistricting in Louisiana. By Ashley K. Shelton ...
Disaster Recovery: A System That Continues to Fail Its People

Disaster Recovery: A System That Continues to Fail Its People

By Janea Jamison, Program Director
OPINION: It is imperative that groups seeking to offer humanitarian relief direct funds to grassroots groups who are clNonprofits and ...
On Hurricane Ida, COVID-19, and trauma: Resilience cannot be a permanent state

On Hurricane Ida, COVID-19, and trauma: Resilience cannot be a permanent state

By Ashley K. Shelton, Founder and President
Today, one day after the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, I cannot help but reflect as Ida ravishes our state. This ...
An Election Day line at Eleanor McMain Secondary School in New Orleans Nov. 3, 2020. (Photo by Jarvis DeBerry)

Louisiana has a voting access problem; expanding the number of voting days could help

By Valencia Richardson and Candice Battiste
Louisiana has a voting access problem, particularly in areas where Black voters reside. But one bill before the Louisiana Legislature, HB ...
Will Sutton: Hurricane Zeta disrupted voting, and we should find a way to make votes count

Will Sutton: Hurricane Zeta disrupted voting, and we should find a way to make votes count

By Will Sutton, Nola.com
WEST MONROE, LA. (KTVE/KARD)– Candice Battiste with Power Coalition Equity and Justice said this year’s early voter turnout was record ...
Voting clouded by mystery for now

Voting clouded by mystery for now

By Jeremy Alford, The Daily Advertiser
In between hurricanes over the past week or so, and in the wake of the national conventions for the Democratic ...
Mark Ballard: My wife Donna Britt has ALS. This is the complex process she must follow to vote.

Mark Ballard: My wife Donna Britt has ALS. This is the complex process she must follow to vote.

By Mark Ballard for The Advocate
Like Louisiana Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin, every election day, my wife and I made a point of walking to ...
Guest column: Get involved in the census count, or we all pay a high price

Guest column: Get involved in the census count, or we all pay a high price

By Janea Jameson for The Advocate
On Aug. 3, the Census Bureau issued a statement saying, “We will end field data collection by September 30, 2020 ...
Viewpoint: Before Kamala Harris, a very long battle for women in politics

Viewpoint: Before Kamala Harris, a very long battle for women in politics

By Danae Columbus, NOLA Messenger
U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris’ selection as the 2020 Democratic vice presidential nominee — and potentially the most consequential vice president ...
Ashley Shelton and Candice Battiste: Now is the time to act on police reform

Ashley Shelton and Candice Battiste: Now is the time to act on police reform

Candice Battiste and Ashley Shelton, Special to The Times
Not long after George Floyd’s killing in Minneapolis, which sparked Black Lives Matter protests locally, nationally, and globally, the people ...
Commentary: Lawsuits rightly take aim at limits to mail balloting during pandemic

Commentary: Lawsuits rightly take aim at limits to mail balloting during pandemic

Gambit Commentary
When the League of Women Voters challenges a state’s election laws in federal court, claiming those laws violate fundamental constitutional ...
In Louisiana, and across the U.S., we are seeing a disproportionate number of Black people die from this virus. (Photo: Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

The Coronavirus Is Devastating Already Devastated Communities

By Ashley Shelton, Published by Common Dreams
The Coronavirus Is Devastating Already Devastated Communities The people and equity-centered recovery approach we are putting forward is intended to ...
United Way: Coronavius crisis makes equity and progress more important

United Way: Coronavius crisis makes equity and progress more important

BY KIM SPORT and CHARMAINE CACCIOPPI, The Advocate
United Way: Coronavius crisis makes equity and progress more important BY KIM SPORT and CHARMAINE CACCIOPPI MAY 4, 2020 - ...
Guest column: Start to plan for long-term vision of more just and prosperous Louisiana

Guest column: Start to plan for long-term vision of more just and prosperous Louisiana

By MELISSA S. FLOURNOY, The Advocate
Guest column: Start to plan for long-term vision of more just and prosperous Louisiana By MELISSA S. FLOURNOY APR 29, 2020 ...
I Never Planned to Be a Front-Line Worker at Dollar General

I Never Planned to Be a Front-Line Worker at Dollar General

By Kenya Slaughter, Op Ed for the New York Times, April 26, 2020
I Never Planned to Be a Front-Line Worker at Dollar General By Kenya Slaughter Ms. Slaughter works at Dollar General ...
Viewpoint: Mail-in ballots are essential for the safety of Louisiana voters

Viewpoint: Mail-in ballots are essential for the safety of Louisiana voters

By Danae Columbus, opinion columnist | Uptown Messenger
Who wants to potentially put themselves or their family members at risk by voting at a poll on upcoming election ...
Letters: Voters' commitment to Medicaid mean Louisiana is better off in crisis

Letters: Voters’ commitment to Medicaid mean Louisiana is better off in crisis

by Ashley Shelton, Published in The Advocate
Letters: Voters' commitment to Medicaid mean Louisiana is better off in crisis by Ashley Shelton, Executive Director for the Power ...
Letters: No way for an ordinary worker to win in today's system

Letters: No way for an ordinary worker to win in today’s system

BY CLARIONTA JONES, Published in The Advocate
Letters: No way for an ordinary worker to win in today's system BY CLARIONTA JONES MARCH 30, 2020 - 6:00 PM ...
Our Views: Looking for an easy way to contribute? Fill out that census questionnaire

Our Views: Looking for an easy way to contribute? Fill out that census questionnaire

Staff Editorial for The Advocate
Our Views: Looking for an easy way to contribute? Fill out that census questionnaire Staff Editorial for The Advocate By ...
Our Views: In 2020, let's all stand up and be counted

Our Views: In 2020, let’s all stand up and be counted

STAFF EDITORIAL, The Advocate
Our Views: In 2020, let's all stand up and be counted STAFF EDITORIAL |  JAN 1, 2020 - 6:00 AM ...
Families and Activism Drive Real Change in Louisiana

Families and Activism Drive Real Change in Louisiana

By Ashley Shelton, Equal Voice
Families and Activism Drive Real Change in Louisiana In an opinion essay, Ashley Shelton of the Power Coalition in Louisiana ...
Raise minimum wage, as the people want politicians to do

Raise minimum wage, as the people want politicians to do

BY ASHLEY SHELTON and MATT WOOD, Published in The Advocate
BY ASHLEY SHELTON and MATT WOOD The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed the Raise the Wage Act, which ...
Kyle Ardoin can be a leader in ensuring fair, impartial elections

Kyle Ardoin can be a leader in ensuring fair, impartial elections

Louisiana is making progress towards ensuring free and fair elections for all voters. In addition to taking steps towards replacing ...