WASHINGTON —The U.S. Supreme Court today agreed to review the case of Robinson v. Callais, which could determine how congressional maps are drawn in Louisiana. The court will now consider whether Louisiana violated the U.S. Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause when the state legislature redrew Louisiana’s congressional map in January 2024, after a federal court found the state’s 2022 map violated the Voting Rights Act (VRA). The court may also determine how much latitude state lawmakers have in considering politics or other legislative preferences when they draw districts to comply with the VRA.  “We look forward to continuing to defend the rights of Black voters to elect their candidates of choice,” said Stuart Naifeh, redistricting manager for the Legal Defense Fund (LDF). “Just in 2023, the Supreme Court recognized the ongoing vitality and necessity of the Voting Rights Act to protect voters of color from dilution of their votes in state redistricting decisions. Black voters have an unprecedented opportunity to make their voices heard in this year’s congressional elections because multiple federal courts, in our Robinson v. Landry litigation, applied that ruling and invalidated the state’s 2022 congressional map. Federal law requires Louisiana to have a fair map that reflects the power and voice of the state’s Black communities. The state recognized as much when it adopted a new map with a second majority-Black district in January. Now the Supreme Court must do the same.”...

Many Louisiana voters will be heading to a different location to cast their vote on November 5 after dozens of polling places changed across the state. Twenty parishes had polling location switches for the upcoming 2024 election. Residents casting their votes on election day are always assigned to a specific location. At the polls, Louisiana voters will have the opportunity to weigh in the presidential election, along with several other local races, and decide on a statewide constitutional amendment.  Early voting, which always takes place at a limited number of locations in each parish, ended on Oct. 29.  Use the searchable database below to see if your polling location has changed. You can search below by your precinct number or the name of your last known polling place. Did you recently move or just need to look up your polling place? Search for it on the Secretary of State’s office here....

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Details of Gov. Jeff Landry’s tax overhaul plan continued to trickle out at a House Ways and Means Committee on Tuesday. It was the first time the tax-writing committee had met since the governor sent lawmakers a package of 10 bills outlining his goals. The Times-Picayune | Baton Rouge Advocate’s Alyse Pfeil reports that the plan calls for giving teachers a “permanent” pay raise through a constitutional change where the state would pay off debt in the teachers’ retirement system and require local school districts to use the resulting savings to finance salary increases. [Revenue Secretary Richard] Nelson said about $2 billion currently saved in constitutionally protected educational trust funds would go toward paying down the high-interest debt — known as unfunded accrued liability or UAL — that is owed to the Teacher’s Retirement System of Louisiana. This $2 billion debt payment would create savings of about $300 million annually, he said....

The chief proponent of Gov. Jeff Landry’s plan to revise Louisiana’s tax structure is touting what he considers some of its more progressive aspects, but some critics say the plan overall would benefit the wealthy at the expense of regular Louisiana taxpayers.  Louisiana’s richest residents would pay a larger share of the state’s income tax under the proposal, state Revenue Secretary Richard Nelson said, but the overall amount would still be less than what they currently pay. It’s among the specifics Nelson laid out Tuesday to the members of the House Ways & Means Committee, where all tax measures originate in the Legislature.  “That’s part of the motivation for making these changes,” Nelson told committee members.   Under Landry’s proposal, the richest 10% of Louisiana taxpayers will pay 61% of all the state’s income tax revenue. They currently pay about 55%, Nelson said. Additionally, the poorest 20% of taxpayers in the...

SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – The 2024 presidential election is fast approaching and there are important deadlines you need to be aware of if you’re planning to cast your vote in Louisiana. Billy Anderson with the Power Coalition for Equity and Justice joined our morning team in the studio to talk about why it’s important to exercise your right to vote. Here’s what he had to say: What are the key deadlines voters should be aware of, especially with elections coming up? Deadline to register by mail or in person is October 7th. Deadline to register online is Oct 15. State data shows increase in Louisiana registered voters  What options are there for those who can’t vote in person on election day? You have the option to vote absentee ballot by requesting it from the Secretary of State office or you can early vote between October 18th and the 29th. The deadline to request an absentee...

On Thursday, September 19th, the Power Coalition for Equity and Justice is hosting a Mayoral and 6th Congressional District Candidate Forum in partnership with National Pan-Hellenic Council of GBR, Inc., National Pan-Hellenic Council of LSU, Inc., National Pan-Hellenic Council of SU, Inc., Coalition, and United Excel Social Justice Institute. The candidate forum will be taking place from 6-8 PM at United Christian Faith Ministries in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The Power Coalition hosts candidate forums in partnership with various organizations every election season. We believe it is of the utmost importance that constituents are informed about the candidates that they elect into office. All candidates within a race receive an invite to our forums, and have equal opportunity to address constituents on their platforms, and answer questions.  During the week of National Voter Registration Day, we believe that it is more important than ever for our communities to have access to...

SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) —During the upcoming Presidential election, people living in inner cities and urban areas may be able to walk to their polling location; however, people with disabilities and rural residents have an extra barrier: transportation.

The nonprofit organization Power Coalition will offer “Power Rides” to help transport rural, disabled, and people without a car to and from the polls.

“One of the major things we see is that people who live in rural communities don’t necessarily have access to their voting sites,” shares Billy Anderson of the Power Coalition’s Northwestern Louisiana chapter.

He says, “Folks who live in rural communities struggle with that. We also have a population in Shreveport, in north Louisiana, who don’t necessarily have cars to get to their polling location.”

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SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) —During the upcoming Presidential election, people living in inner cities and urban areas may be able to walk to their polling location; however, people with disabilities and rural residents have an extra barrier: transportation.

The nonprofit organization Power Coalition will offer “Power Rides” to help transport rural, disabled, and people without a car to and from the polls.

“One of the major things we see is that people who live in rural communities don’t necessarily have access to their voting sites,” shares Billy Anderson of the Power Coalition’s Northwestern Louisiana chapter.

He says, “Folks who live in rural communities struggle with that. We also have a population in Shreveport, in north Louisiana, who don’t necessarily have cars to get to their polling location.”

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Honorees for the 2024 class of CityBusiness Women of the Year & Nonprofit Organizations have been selected.

Women of the Year recognizes women from the area whose successes in business and contributions to the community have made them movers and shakers in the region. CityBusiness also recognizes nonprofit organizations that have gone above and beyond in serving the needs of local women and/or children.

This year’s Women of the Year honorees include Ashley K. Shelton and the Power Coalition for Equity and Justice.

All honorees will be celebrated from 4-6 p.m. Monday, November 4, at the New Orleans Museum of Art. Register for the event at https://web.cvent.com/event/15572975-ee82-40de-be89-55f6f6e16260/register. A publication profiling the honorees will be inserted into the November 15 issue of CityBusiness.

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SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS)—This Saturday, the Power Coalition, a nonprofit organization, will host a complimentary breakfast for the public and faith leaders to educate and empower voters for this upcoming presidential election.

Power Coalition details faith leaders are also eligible for a $2.5K ‘mini-grant’ to raise voter engagement.

“Our goal is to: one, feed people a delicious breakfast and two, educate the people of the upcoming election on November 5th,” shares Billy Anderson, Power Coalition for Equity and Justice’s Northern Louisiana Organizer.

Power Coalition says this presidential election is critical for Shreveport residents as they could be a part of the new majority-minority District 6.

Anderson shares that faith leaders and churches have played a pivotal role and have historically been the focal point for community voter engagement.

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NEW ORLEANS — Step Up Louisiana announced a “once in a generation” investment in grassroots organizing in the Deep South. The Fall for Liberation is an organizing drive that will train 50 Southeast Louisiana residents on community, labor and electoral organizing. With plans to knock on more than 100,000 doors and have thousands of conversations with workers and voters in our communities, the project has the potential to reshape upcoming elections in Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Jefferson Parish.

Drawing inspiration from the Civil Rights Movement’s Freedom Summer, the Fall for Liberation seeks to build on the legacy of other movements like the Fight for $15 that have used a large-scale investment in organizing capacity to win rights and raises for working class Louisianans. Despite the victories of these movements, Black Louisianans live 8% shorter lives than white Louisianans, and Black residents in communities with industrial plants experience seven to 21 times more toxic air emissions than similar communities with more white residents. Seventy-six percent of students at F-rated schools are Black, while only seven percent are white.

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Leaders of nonprofits Women with a Vision and the Power Coalition on Monday started the week by cutting the ribbon on a brand-new voter engagement center in New Orleans’ Central City neighborhood.

The center, next door to WWAV’s office, has four round tables with purple and green velvet chairs, as well as plush window seating and countertop space in front of a wall of greenery. The nonprofits plan to use the space to have open office hours, where people can stop by and ask any questions they may have about voting this fall.

It also will be a place that groups and residents can use to host voting events, even if that’s just some friends getting together.

“There are so many misconceptions about who can vote, when you vote, what to do to vote and how to get engaged, and some people feel a lot of shame about not knowing that,” WWAV Executive Director Deon Haywood told Gambit. “We just wanted to create a space where people felt like they can get anything they needed around voting.”

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Louisiana Secretary of State Nancy Landry has released guidance on a new law that requires organizers to register with her office before conducting a voter registration drive.

House Bill 506, sponsored by Rep. Polly Thomas, R-Metairie, takes effect Thursday and mandates that anyone wishing to conduct a voter registration drive sign up with the Secretary of State. 

The law is expected to mostly affect voter advocacy groups and other non-governmental organizations such as the Urban League and Power Coalition for Equity and Justice.

Landry’s rules include:

• Anyone conducting fully electronic drives that use only the secretary of state’s voter portal at GeauxVote.com to register voters will not be required to register their drives.
• Organizers can sign up either in-person at the Secretary of State’s office in Baton Rouge or their parish registrar of voters. Online registration is available by emailing outreach@sos.la.gov. The sign-up involves filling out a “Voter Registration Drive Contact Form,” which is available on the secretary’s website. 
• Anyone conducting a registration drive must submit all completed voter registration applications to their parish registrar of voters either within 30 days of their completion or no later than the close of registration for the next election, whichever comes first.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Black voters asked the Supreme Court to take up a case to determine whether Louisiana will maintain the map enacted by the state legislature this year, which includes two majority-Black districts, following the 2024 elections.  The appeal in Robinson v. Callais comes after the Court granted an emergency stay in May, pausing a district court’s decision to overturn the map, and allowing it to go into effect for the 2024 elections. The question remains whether the map will stand for the remainder of the decade until the next redistricting process.

Louisiana’s current congressional map was drawn in direct response to a separate lawsuit, Robinson v. Landry. There, a federal court found that the state’s map passed in 2022, which included only one majority-Black district, likely violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA). The same Black voters and civic organizations who filed today with the Supreme Court are responsible for that landmark win, which has been sustained on appeal.

“In January, the Louisiana Legislature finally did what it should have done in 2022: pass a fair map that reflects the diversity of the great state of Louisiana,” said Stuart Naifeh, redistricting manager for the Legal Defense Fund. “It was wrong for the lower court to disrupt the state’s effort to do the right thing and throw the 2024 election into chaos. The Supreme Court set that right for this election cycle by allowing, and as our filing explains, federal law and the Constitution require that Louisiana maintain this new map until the next census.”  

“This year, Black voters in Louisiana will have an opportunity to elect their candidates of choice for two congressional seats—the same should be true moving forward,” said Ashley Shelton, president/CEO of Power Coalition for Equity and Justice. “The law, and basic principles of fairness, point in this direction. Black voters have mobilized since the beginning of the redistricting process in Louisiana. We will continue to mobilize to the polls. And we will continue to fight for fair maps until these cases are complete.”

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A Louisiana voting rights advocacy group is touring the state this summer to register Black voters and educate residents on their voting rights in order to increase turnout in the 2024 elections.

In honor of the 1964 Freedom Summer voter registration drive, the Power Coalition for Equity and Justice is going to cities across Louisiana on a tour named after the historic civil rights era political action. The group is registering residents to vote in these cities and informing them on how to navigate potential barriers to vote. For instance, organizers have been teaching residents about a new state law going into effect Aug. 1, stipulating that only immediate family members or voter registrar employees will be able to assist with absentee ballots for more than one voter.

The tour also features information on polling locations and speakers from various social justice and social support organizations, such as the NAACP, Voice of the Experienced and Women with a Vision.

In addition to the presidential election, voters in Louisiana will decide in November on six congressional seats, a state Supreme Court judgeship and a ballot measure related to federal revenues from energy production. Ashley Shelton, founder and CEO of the Power Coalition, said her organization wants to make sure Louisiana voters know what is on the ballot.

“We need voters to make it down the ballot and understand the power they have to change not only their communities but the country,” Shelton said.

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The New Orleans City Council on Thursday voted to waive parking fees for the streets surrounding City Hall during early voting periods — in time for the presidential election this fall.

The state assigns registered voters a specific early voting location, and for many in New Orleans, that’s City Hall, which is located in the Central Business District with paid street parking. The city will put up signs that say the free short-term parking is for voters only.

Early voting for the presidential election runs 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 18-29, excluding both Sundays. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5.

Voting advocate and BikeNVote founder Morgan Walker brought the idea to the council to help make voting easier for people heading to City Hall.

Walker “actually brought this to my attention about how often people come to try to early vote at City Hall, but there’s no parking or it’s a difficulty for some to pay for the parking,” said Council President Helena Moreno at a council committee meeting Wednesday.

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A slew of laws quietly passed during the most recent Louisiana legislative session will make rules surrounding absentee voting more strict during the upcoming November election and beyond. 

The changes are most likely to impact voters with disabilities and could also affect Democrats, who are more likely to vote by mail than their Republican counterparts. 

Though Louisiana has a strong election security system, Louisiana Secretary of State Nancy Landry said the changes would “bring us closer to being ranked first in the nation for election integrity.”

But critics say the laws amount to voter suppression, and a lawsuit has been filed alleging the rules will harm disabled voters. Also of concern is how the changes will impact those assisting elderly or disabled voters in filling out their ballots.

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Black voters in Caddo Parish, Louisiana, were outraged when a state judge ruled last Decemberthat their favored candidate for sheriff, Henry Whitehorn, had to submit to a third election after he won a runoff by one vote and a recount confirmed his one-vote margin of victory.

Throwing out the election results particularly stung because Whitehorn would not only be the first Black sheriff in Caddo Parish, but one of only a handful of Black sheriffs in Louisiana history.

Whitehorn is a Black man with decades of Louisiana law enforcement experience, including 10 years as a U.S. marshal after President Barack Obama nominated him for the position. His challenger was a lawyer without law enforcement credentials.

“We were aghast that they wouldn’t uphold the recount,” said Billy Anderson, the North Louisiana organizer for the Power Coalition for Equity and Justice. “Sometimes an election can come down to race.”

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SHREVEPORT, La. – It’s a story KTBS 3 has been covering for weeks, water is to be shut off at the end of the month at the Pines, Villa Norte, and The Jolie apartments due to unpaid water bills, leaving hundreds of residents in search of a new home.

Recently the city scheduled additional meetings for relocation assistance.

Many residents came for relocation help with 9 days left to move out, leaving many still desperate for help.

“I recommend nobody will have to ever, ever live like this. You know, do the things that we’re going through. We are trying to do better. We just in a situation to what we cannot do better right now. We all have a cry right now for help,” said Tracey Collins, resident of The Jolie Apartments.

Around 60 people showed up to Friday’s relocation meetings, 30 of them have found new homes.

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SHREVEPORT, La. (KSLA) — Displaced residents of three Shreveport apartment complexes met with city officials during emergency relocation assistance meetings Tuesday (May 21) evening.

In just 10 days, water service will be discontinued at The Jolie, Villa Norte and Pines apartments. That has hundreds of residents searching for a place to live.

“We’re asking for help. We’re needing help tremendously right now. We’re needing help bad,” said Tracey Collins, a resident of The Jolie Apartments.

Dozens of Shreveport families are searching for a new place to call home after receiving notice that their utilities would be disconnected at the end of the month. 

“So now I have no air in my apartment unit; I have no running water in my apartment unit,” Collins said.

But for some residents at The Jolie, they were given no notice and already are experiencing utility shutoffs.

“I have four kids in my apartment that are in heat. My thermostat is on 81º,” Collins said. “I have no running water. I have to get out and Doordash every day to make sure I can get enough water to flush.”

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SHREVEPORT, La. (KSLA) – An emergency program has been announced to assist residents who will be displaced when utilities are cut off at two apartment complexes in Shreveport.

On May 15, the City of Shreveport announced an Emergency Apartment Relocation Assistance Program for the residents of two apartments, Jolie and Villa Norte. The program has been introduced following the announcement that utilities will be cut off at both apartment complexes on May 31 due to unpaid bills.

Multiple apartment complexes will soon have their water turned off due to lack of payments.

The program aims to provide necessary aid and resources to support the residents.

Both meetings regarding the program will be held on May 17.

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On May 15th 2024, the US Supreme Court made history by reinstating Louisiana’s new congressional map voted in by the Louisiana legislature and fought for by activists throughout the state, including the Power Coalition for Equity and Justice. The state of Louisiana now has a congressional map that contains a second Black-majority district that will be in effect in time for the November general election.  The court voted to grant a stay in Robinson V. Callias, after a district court made a decision to strike down the congressional map introduced by SB8 in January. The court ruled that the maps were “an impermissible racial gerrymander in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment”. The panel was made up of three judges, and the authors of the majority opinion were appointed by former President Donald Trump.  SB8 was created in response to Robinson V. Landry, where the 2022...

The Supreme Court on Wednesday temporarily reinstated a congressional map in Louisiana that includes a second majority-Black district, increasing the likelihood that Democrats could gain a House seat from the state in the November election.

The move could be particularly significant in an election cycle in which the balance of power in the House is likely to be determined by a handful of races.

The order was unsigned, as is the Supreme Court’s custom in ruling on emergency applications. It came in response to a challenge to a lower-court decision that had blocked the map drawn by Louisiana’s Republican-controlled Legislature, deeming it a racial gerrymander.

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WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Wednesday paved the way for Louisiana to use a congressional map in this year’s election that includes two majority-Black districts.

The court granted emergency requests filed by an unlikely alliance of Republican state officials and civil rights groups, who were united in asking the high court to block a lower court ruling that invalidated the most recently drawn map. State officials had said they needed to have the map finalized by Wednesday to meet bureaucratic deadlines and avoid “disarray.”

The court’s three liberal justices dissented, with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson writing that the state still had time to draw a map that would address the various legal questions that have been raised. The court has a 6-3 conservative majority.

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SHREVEPORT, La. (KSLA) – An emergency program has been announced to assist residents who will be displaced when utilities are cut off at two apartment complexes in Shreveport.

On May 15, the City of Shreveport announced an Emergency Apartment Relocation Assistance Program for the residents of two apartments, Jolie and Villa Norte. The program has been introduced following the announcement that utilities will be cut off at both apartment complexes on May 31 due to unpaid bills.

Multiple apartment complexes will soon have their water turned off due to lack of payments.

The program aims to provide necessary aid and resources to support the residents.

Both meetings regarding the program will be held on May 17.

...

A newly drawn congressional map in Louisiana was struck down on Tuesday by a panel of federal judges who found that the new boundaries, which form a second majority Black district in the state, amounted to an “impermissible racial gerrymander” that violated the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

The 2-to-1 ruling now leaves uncertain which boundaries will be used in the November elections, which are just six months away and could play a critical role in determining the balance of power in the House of Representatives.

Critics warned that the decision could have broader implications on voting rights. Eric H. Holder Jr., the former U.S. attorney general and current chairman of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, said the “ideological nature of the decision could not be more clear.”

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The State Constitution of Louisiana is not perfect; no state constitution is. But that doesn’t mean state constitutions should be tossed aside or arbitrarily opened with no clarity on the rationale for doing so. It takes time to craft a governing document, and it takes time to protect the individual liberties and basic rights of all. But in seeking to host a constitutional convention, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry is undermining democracy and putting Louisianians at risk.

Under House Bill 800, legislators would convene on May 20, write a new state constitution by June 15 and put it on the ballot during the 2024 presidential election. This narrow window would make it hard for Louisianians to understand the process, offer input, or ensure that their rights are protected. The convention itself, and the short timeline for it, would also compromise local governments and institutions.

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In our movement for a just democracy, we often affirm that data and technology, in the hands of oppressed communities, can help liberate us. The life and legacy of Ida B. Wells-Barnett provides compelling evidence of this truth.  Born Ida Bell Wells in Holly Springs, Mississippi in 1862 and often writing under the pseudonym, “Lola” throughout her career, Wells’ legacy as a courageous reporter and activist has made her a symbol of justice journalism, Black resistance, and Black feminist organizing.  Her work also proved that data is more accurate when collected and driven by communities, making her a trailblazing data specialist and storyteller. ...

BIlly Anderson, North Louisiana Organizer for the Power Coalition for Equity and Justice discusses the 3 Bond Proposals before Shreveport Voters. Election Day is Saturday, April 27....

SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS)—The recently passed Louisiana Congressional district map is being debated in federal court after opponents filed a lawsuit calling it unconstitutional.

Plaintiffs said they brought the lawsuit because they believe the map was drawn unconstitutionally, with race being a prominent factor.

The newly drawn map passed in the 2024 Special Legislative Session, created a second Black majority out of Louisiana’s six districts to comply with the Voting Rights Act. Because 1/3 of voters in Louisiana are Black, the Act requires that the district be drawn to reflect that representation.

Jared Evans, Senior Policy counsel for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, argues that the goal of the plaintiffs is to “have a district with one majority Black district and five majority White that elect White republicans.”

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SHREVEPORT, La. (KSLA) — The trial over a lawsuit attempting to overthrow Louisiana’s new congressional map will continue Wednesday (April 10).

The hearing before a three-judge panel is being held in Shreveport. It began Monday and could last at least one more day.

Earlier this year, Louisiana lawmakers were tasked with making the map after a judge said a previous one violated the Voting Rights Act. The judge said Louisiana must have two majority-minority districts since one-third of its population is African-American. The previous map had one such district.

Under the latest map, the new 6th Congressional District extends from southern Caddo Parish through Natchitoches and Alexandria to Baton Rouge. The new boundaries jeopardize Republican Congressman Garret Graves’ place in Congress.

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The trial to decide the fate of Louisiana’s congressional representation continued in Shreveport on Tuesday, as the court heard further testimony from elected officials and demographics experts.

The trial is the result of a federal lawsuit filed by a group of Louisiana residents that argued that the congressional map supported by Gov. Jeff Landry and approved by the state Legislature in January amounted to an unconstitutional “racial gerrymander.” The map, introduced in Senate Bill 8, created a new majority Black congressional district stretching diagonally across the state to encompass the large Black communities in and around Shreveport, Alexandria, Lafayette and Baton Rouge. 

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When Marcus Jones and his business partner, Akunna Olumba, set out to open a pizzeria in Detroit, they spoke with banks about their green vision: solar panels on the roof, an energy-efficient tankless water heater and a rooftop system to capture storm water. “The lenders thought we were crazy,” Mr. Jones said. Traditional banks were skeptical that such investments would yield a return, and few had ever issued loans for clean energy or efficiency measures. They told the restaurateurs that it simply was not done. Instead, the pair connected with a so-called green bank, one of a growing number of entities that loan money to businesses and individuals for equipment or technology that reduces the pollution driving climate change....

Women of color leaders across the US South are bringing in wins big and small that propel us toward cleaner energy, build health and wealth in disinvested communities, and protect democratic rights for Black, Brown, Indigenous, Asian American and Pacific Islander, and other marginalized populations. These are just a few of the wins and the women behind them we’re celebrating this women’s month....

This month, we are shining a light on Ashley Shelton, the Founder, President & CEO of the Power Coalition, a statewide 501c3 table in Louisiana. The Power Coalition uses a broad-based strategy that combines community organizing, issue advocacy, and civic action, all while increasing the capacity of community organizations throughout the state to sustain and hold the work. Prior to founding the Power Coalition, Ashley was the Vice President of Programs at the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation (LDRF), now known as the Foundation for Louisiana. ...

SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS)—Local hair salon owners are partnered to host a Beauty, Barbers, and Ballots mixer. The event kicked off at Haze on Texas Street at 8 pm and went on until midnight. The event creators aimed to unite beauty professionals and enthusiasts to promote voter registration and participation and to get people out to party with a purpose....

Louisiana lawmakers have filed legislation that would make it harder to vote by mail, particularly for elderly shut-ins and people with disabilities, just as record numbers cast ballots Saturday on the first day of early voting in the state’s March 23 presidential primary election. Since Louisiana adopted early voting almost 20 years ago, it has steadily grown in popularity. The coronavirus pandemic created a surge in mail-in voting that continues to increase, according to Baton Rouge pollster John Couvillon.  Saturday saw a 17% increase in mail-in voting for the first day of early voting compared with the 2020 presidential primary. There was an even greater spike for In-person early voting, which was up 89% relative to four years ago, with six days remaining to cast a ballot ahead of time. ...

Early voting began Saturday morning, March 9, 2024, at Caddo Parish Registrar of Voters located at 525 Marshall Street in downtown Shreveport....

BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — The Presidential Preference Primary and Municipal Primary Election is set for Saturday, March 23 and while the voter registration deadline has passed, local organizations are working to get the community to take advantage of early voting. The Power Coalition of Equity and Justice in partnership with Geaux Ride Baton Rouge and Bike N Vote is making it their mission to get people to the polls with one of their signature events, biking to the polls....

As the executive director of Women With A Vision—an organization that has worked at the intersections of HIV/AIDS, reproductive justice, the criminalization of Black women and girls, and queer liberation for more than three decades—every day I see the ways oppressive systems leave too many fighting for survival.  Too often I hear the work of organizers and activists described in opposition. I have not spent over 30 years of my life in the fight for social justice to just see a world “without.” A world without racism or capitalism isn’t enough. We’re working to topple oppressive systems because we deserve so much more. The end of these systems is just the starting point. I’m looking toward a future filled with pleasure and joy and community, one where we are free to create art and dance and share our talents. I’m looking forward to a world that looks a little like Mardi...

BATON ROUGE, La. — In a victory for fair maps, a federal court today ruled in favor of Louisiana voters, agreeing that the current state House and Senate district maps violate Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.  The plaintiffs who challenged the state legislative maps — the Louisiana State Conference of the NAACP, Black Voters Matter Capacity Building Institute, and several individual voters — are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Louisiana, Legal Defense Fund (LDF), law firm Cozen O’ Connor, and Louisiana attorneys Ron Wilson and John Adcock.  In its decision, the court condemned the packing and cracking of Black communities within the maps, emphasizing the importance of upholding the principles of equal representation for all citizens.   In response to these findings, the court has mandated remedial measures to rectify the discriminatory boundaries, ensuring that future elections reflect the true diversity of the Louisiana population....

With a fair congressional map signed into law, advocates shift to making sure that residents understand the stakes of this year’s elections. 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 preferred candidate in only one of the Bayou State’s six congressional districts, even though Louisiana is 33% Black. “This whole story has been about the judges, the U.S. Supreme Court, the legislators, the governors. But, ultimately, the people are who got us here,” Shelton, the president and founder of the New Orleans-based nonprofit Power Coalition for Equity and Justice, which was a plaintiff in the case, told Capital B. “People power made this happen —...

After a 13 year process, the Louisiana Public Service Commission voted 3-2 to approve a Final Rule with a Third-Party Administrator (TPA) model to administer robust statewide energy efficiency programs.  Louisiana residents use at least 30% more electricity than the average American household, wasting millions of dollars a year on high utility bills. This is due in part to leaky, inefficient housing across the state. Now, after more than 13-years of regulatory proceedings, the Louisiana Public Service Commission (LPSC) has approved long-term energy efficiency programs for Louisianans that will scale up over the coming decade to save energy and money, improve health and safety, and invest millions of dollars in homes and small businesses.  Since 2009, The Alliance has participated in LPSC proceedings, advocating for strong efficiency programs that reduce costs for residents by increasing funding options that allow Louisianans to make home improvements to safeguard their homes from extreme weather. ​...

BATON ROUGE, La. – To meet customers’ needs for renewable energy, the Louisiana Public Service Commission approved the construction of facilities that would add approximately 225 megawatts of solar power to Entergy Louisiana’s generation portfolio. In 2023, the company sought Commission approval of two projects to source more solar energy – one in Iberville Parish that would account for approximately 175 megawatts, the other in Ouachita Parish that would be referred to as the Sterlington Solar Facility and account for an additional 49 megawatts. The Sterlington Solar Facility will be constructed adjacent to the site of one of Entergy Louisiana’s oldest power plants, symbolizing the modernization of the company’s generation fleet to more efficient, cleaner sources of power. The Sterlington Power Station was built and placed into operation in the 1920’s and initially produced around 25 megawatts of power....

Louisiana has a second majority Black congressional district for the first time in decades after Republican Gov. Jeff Landry signed off on a new map Monday passed by the Legislature during a Special Session last week. Lawmakers dismantled Republican U.S. Rep. Garret Graves’ 6th Congressional District to create the new majority Black district that includes parts of Shreveport, Alexandria, and Baton Rouge as the population centers, putting Graves’ political future in danger....

The Legislature passed a congressional map that creates a second majority-Black district while shielding the state’s most powerful conservatives in Washington from political jeopardy. Louisiana lawmakers on Friday approved a new congressional map that would create a second district with a majority of Black voters, after a federal court found that the existing map appeared to illegally undercut the power of Black voters in the state. Given that Black voters often back Democratic candidates in the state, the new map also increases the possibility of Democrats’ taking control of a second congressional seat in Louisiana....

BATON ROUGE, La. – A pivotal Mass Mobilization Event is set for Tuesday, January 16, 2024, at 8 a.m. at the Louisiana Capitol Park Museum. Organized by Power Coalition, this event is a critical response to the special legislative session called by Gov. Jeff Landry, symbolically starting on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, underscoring the ongoing struggle for racial equality and fair representation. Collaborators include NAACP LDF,SPLC, ACLU Louisiana, Step Up Louisiana, Bike N Vote, A Bella La Femme Society,A’sani Heartbeat Foundation, and Alabama Values. The event precedes the legislative session’s committee hearing and public testimony, starting with a training breakfast with legal experts Jared Evans and Victoria Wenger from the Legal Defense Fund.  Attendees will also receive additional education from the Power Coalition and other advocates regarding the ongoing fight for fair maps and how it’s connected to community issues.  The mass mobilization is designed to educate and prepare community members to use their voices during...