All over the nation, civil unrest rings out. On May 31, 2020, the city of Lake Charles, Louisiana, took to the streets to protest the killing of George Floyd at the hand of law enforcement. On October 3, 2020, the NFAC, Not F***** Around Coalition, an all-black armed militia, stood in solidarity with the citizen of Lafayette, Louisiana, in protest of the shooting death of Trayford Pellerin on August 22, 2020, by the Lafayette police department. Lake Charles activist and former Congressional candidate Verone Thomas stood with NFAC, Grandmaster Jay, and other activists and community leaders to address the protestors, media, and spectators. Thomas stressed the importance of blacks, not only registering but getting out to vote. He also emphasized supporting black candidates and those who can better represent the black community.
In 2018, Verone Thomas ran as a Democrat for the U.S. House in Louisiana’s 3rd Congressional District election. Thomas lost to the incumbent, Clay Higgins (R). Thomas later changed his original agenda and began focusing on criminal justice reform and its effects on the black community. Namely, non- unanimous jury convictions. He successfully helped to get this issue on the 2018 ballot. Under the changed statute, a jury verdict of 10-2 or 11-1 would no longer suffice to convict a defendant. On April 20, 2020, the Supreme Court ruled to banned non-unanimous jury verdicts in cases involving serious crimes. Along with The Promise of Justice Initiative, Thomas began to focus on getting the criminal law retroactive and releasing people who fell under this type of sentencing released.
Thomas is working to bring reform to a system that still operates under Jim Crow laws. Of these Jim Crow laws, the first sentence of the Thirteenth Amendment of the United Constitution gives the United States theright to justify slavery. There are over 63,000 people incarcerated in Louisiana. In 2014 a report showed the Black: White ratio as 4.0, with an alarming increase in the years since.
The infamous Angola State Penitentiary, population of approxiametley of 6300, was once a slave plantation. The large fields are worked by many of the inmates, comprised of mostly black males. Men forced to work on a former plantation field is just one of Thomas’s issues in his quest for criminal justice reform.
On November 7, 2020, the Associated Press confirmed the election results. The 46th President of the United States is Joe Biden, who has the first black female, Kamala Harris, as the Vice President. What will this new chapter in American history mean for the nation, and what will it mean for Louisiana and the fight for criminal justice reform?
2020 has definitely seen its share of major issues. From a global pandemic, hightened racial tensions, more killings of blacks at the hands of police, the 2020 presidential election, and for Louisiana an unprecedented rash of hurricanes and tropical storms.
NFAC’s founder and leader, Grandmaster Jay, said he then made a decision to visit Lafayette because “we have a problem.”
Photo Credits: Tracy E. Antoine Father of slain Victor White holds his son’s picture.
Not only did Grandmaster Jay address Congressman Higgins, outrageous remarks but he was accompanied by hundreds of members of the NFAC to “stand in solidarity with the sisters and brothers of Lafayette.”
Verone Thomas, a Louisiana activist also attended the march and spoke to the crowd about exercising their right to vote as well as educating themselves, so that they can work to get more African Americans on the ballot. I caught up with Mr. Thomas via phone and he had this to say,
Photo Credit: Tracy E. Antoine Crowd at march holding signs.
A life long resident of the area, Cassandra Demouchet, along with her fiancé and their ten kids, ranging from age 15 years old to their one-year-old, said, “I am mesmerized by the amount of structure, discipline, and restraint the NFAC display. Im excited that my kids could see something like this, besides just in the movies.”
Horace Cheffin, who also attended the march said, “I have never been to a protest, so my friend asked me if I wanted to go, and we took that 3 hour drive. I wanted to see first hand how things really go down and how the media tries to make it into something else.” Cheffin goes on to say, “The overall protest was needed because it’s time to take a stand against injustice.”
Photo Credits: Tracy E. Antoine Crowd of peaceful protesters.
Although, some white citizens also felt the need to attend the march, armed, the protest remained peaceful.
Photo Credits: Tracy E. Antoine Crowd at Parc Sans Souci in Lafayette, LA
Verone Thomas and Grandmaster Jay (John Jay Fitzgerald Johnson) ran together on the presidential ballot in 2016 and have begun preparations to run again during the 2024 presidential election.
Photo Credits: Tracy E. Antoine Grandmaster Jay – NFAC
On August 31, 2020, SWLA Center for Health Services opened one half of its facility to become North Lake Charles’ “command center” in the aide and recovery efforts following Hurricane Laura. Running on one generator, the Executive Director, Dianna E. Ross, staff members, and a handful of volunteers began receiving and distributing donations to Lake Charles’s citizens.
Estimations that 97% of the city of Lake Charles had structural damage, while 100% of the city and surrounding area was without electricity, gas, and clean water. Internet and phone services were also ineffective.
PHOTO CREDIT: TRACY E. ANTOINE. A home in North Lake Charles after Hurricane Laura.
Ms. Ross explained that “everything” is needed. So, the donations and volunteers began to roll in. From all over the country, convoys of church and social organizations inundated SWLA Center for Health Services. They brought health and hygiene, food, water, ice, cleaning products, gift cards, free hot meals, and more.
On September 3, 2020, SWLA continued to have people show up with donations of personal necessities, food, and more. The residents line up to receive whatever aid, available.
On October 2, 2020, I returned to visit SWLA to see what had changed, if anything.
“Well we’re still doing distribution. Um, we have reduced our distribution to from six days a week. This week we went to four days a week. So, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday. Next week, we will be three days. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. Our hours are generally from 10 to 2. We try to start as close to two o’clock (*correction ten o’clock) as possible and then we go until we run out of supplies, which is generally around two o’clock.”
The lines are shorter, and supplies are minimal, compared to previous weeks. The row of supply tables is fewer. Yet, small hot meals, hygiene essentials, and water are still being handed out by fewer volunteers.
However, both sides of the clinic are opened, and they have resumed providing health and dental services. The daily supply donations distribution will end between October 4, 2020, and October 11, 2020.
PHOTO CREDIT: TRACY E. ANTOINE| SWLA CENTER FOR HEALTH SERVICES | 2000 OPELOUSAS STREET
In a report by KPLC TV, Frank Green, an Entergy Lineman, and Lake Charles resident explain that the catastrophic damage to Lake Charles’s north side’s transmission lines is the reason for the delayed restoration.
PHOTO CREDIT: TRACY E. ANTOINE. ELECTRICAL LINEMEN TEAMS PREPARE FOR THEIR SHIFT.
An update released by Entergy states that power to North Lake Charles will be fully restored by September 23, 2020, and the outlining towns, by September 30, 2020.
As of October 4th, 2020, the following infographic shows the number of outages in Lake Charles.
PHOTO CREDIT: ENTERGY.COM, RETRIEVED OCTOBER 2, 2020.
As the recovery effort continues, people are still in need of necessary personal supplies and meals. The elderly, the disabled, single parents, and other low-income households are still in need of rental and food assistance, home repairs loans and grants, and other services.
Abraham’s Tent was established in 1986 by the Roman Catholic Diocese (RCD) of Lake Charles to provide food for the elderly and homeless. In 1989, Pearl Cole, a former RCD secretary, became the Executive Director.
Since COVID-19 and the occupancy limit, Mrs. Pearl has had to reduce her staff of volunteers to less than half, but Abraham’s Tent still supplies up to 300 meals per day, Monday through Saturday.
A break-down of the daily routine that consists of prepping the food and seasonings, then cooking. When everything is cooked, the volunteers line up and begin preparing the first meals to go out. A driver then takes the first 80 meals prepared to Chateau Du Lac; a high rise assisted living community for the disabled and elderly.
Abraham’s Tent volunteers, along with Ms. Pearl, continue fixing 80 more meals to be picked up by the Lake Charles Police Jury and distributed to displaced individuals and families of COVID-19, that are now living in a local hotel and receiving state assistance. With so many homeless rate in the United States, providing over 90,000 meals a year
At around 11:00 am baskets of fruit, dry/non-perishable milk, and flower, are wheeled outside underneath the covered patio. As the people walk, ride bicycles, and get dropped off by the city bus, Ms. Pearl walks to the gate and unlocks it. She leads the crowd to the patio, as her staff help people with getting their plates and the other food products provided from 11:30 to 12:30.
Abraham’s Tent relies on the community’s donations, with some families from the community, contributing monthly and yearly. Twice a year annual food drives are held. The Forêt family, long time parishioners of RCD, will have their annual, “Clean out the Freezer,” food drive on September 20th. Due to COVID-19 and, recently, Hurricane Laura, KPLC TV’s annual “Pack the Tent,” has not yet been scheduled.
When asked if how COVID-19 has affected Abraham’s Tent, Ms. Pearl explains that the reduction in help was a small issue, but the most significant thing was trying to buy food and supplies, with per-person limits on most item purchases. Overall, Ms. Pearl said, “we’ve been blessed to still be able to provide for the community.”
For more information about donations and services, you can reach Ms. Pearl at (337)721-7211.
Abraham’s Tent is located at 2424 Fruge Street, Lake Charles, Louisiana 70601
Not only are Tiny Homes popping up everywhere, from HGTV to YouTube, but also are DIY’s they include building to revamping tiny manufactured homes and/or recreational vehicles (RV’s). COVID-19, economic crisis, high mortgages, and over-crowded cities have made many yearn for the simpler things in life. So, being one of those people, I purchased a small RV camper. It’s a little fixer-upper, but that too is part of the appeal. Out of this purchase came the idea to do a Do-It-Yourself on how I transformed a 2002 Trail Cruiser, 18- foot RV.
The transformation of the RV started with a good cleaning and then painting. Installing the self-adhesive wallpaper, in the kitchen area and in the sleeping quarters, and adding a string of lights and a few textbooks came next. The front wall painted, and the floors tiled throughout. Unique memorabilia, such as pictures, pillows, a sage basket, and a New Orleans Saint’s wreath is placed throughout the small space. However, it is spacious enough for one to two people. The next step was to paint the walls of the sleeping quarters after the painted dried I began putting the cloudy blue-sky wallpaper on the ceiling and on the wall. There are a few more small repairs, but overall it cost roughly $500 to make it my own.
There are many reasons this DIY was created. The main being, as the world changes and new journalist are finding their platform, the work is everywhere. Budding journalists should try to incorporate travel into their craft, at least the first year unless they live near busy cities or travel at a moment’s notice.
Tiny homes are on a slow increase, but with the continued COVID-19, overpopulation, and people who prefer living off-grid, it is only a matter of time before this number climbs.
While the nation continues to see a high number of COVID-19 cases, they also are preparing for the new school year. The Calcasieu parish school year will begin on August 24, 2020, announced the Calcasieu Parish School Board (CPSB). Last week during a meeting held by the Louisiana State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE), additional regulations and mandates were shared for school districts to follow for the 2020-2021 school year. The Governor notified families that some changes had been implemented, as detailed in the state’s Return to School Plan.
While many families have opted for homeschooling, some will be sending their children back to the brick and mortar schooling. For the first time in American history, there will be a much small number of students and faculty in traditional schools and more learning via facetime apps, virtual assignments, and more. Although each school has provided the current supply list, sales for school supplies for 2020 -2021, are significantly lower than sales from previous years.
Two different trips to a popular retailer stored show that although the stores remain full of shoppers, not many are purchasing school supplies.
Little girl sits alone in a classroom, looking out of the window.
The questions about the safety of the students returning to school and the quality of education for those staying home are still and remain under debate until after the school year begins. Smaller classrooms, with more distance between each student, as well as the mask mandate is only part of the plan to the reopening. Sports programs have also changed and will include only the players and necessary coaching and faculty present during scheduled games.
“One of the biggest challenges for the 2020-2021 school year will be ensuring that all students receive an equitable, not just equal education during a pandemic. This has been and will continue to be a super challenging time for educators trying to ensure that all students receive the all-around education due them to become successful, sustain citizens while keeping themselves and those deserving students safe. More than ever before all stakeholders must work together for all our future,” said retired educator of over twenty years, Ms. Patricia Clarence.
As the global confirmed COVID-19 cases reach a staggering 17,852,451, 4,646,691, one of those cases are in the U.S., while as of July 31, 2020, Calcasieu has reported 443 new cases and five new deaths.
Calcasieu Parish officials will closely monitor any outbreaks, once schools have reconvened, on August 24, 2020, making sure to make any necessary changes if and when the need arises
On May 31, 2020, amid the COVID-19 and social distancing, the Lake Charles’ Black Heritage Festival, several community activists, and citizens of all races, from Lake Charles, Louisiana, gathered together, signs in hands, masks on faces: to peacefully protest, yet another black man slain by police, in, what seems to be, the never-ending social injustice for people of color. Will we see equality, ever?
On May 25, 2020, George Floyd was detained by Derek Chauvin and two other Minneapolis police officers. Video quickly emerged, showing Floyd lying on his stomach with his arms cuffed behind his back. The video also shows Chauvin kneeling on the back of George’s neck for nearly nine minutes. During that time, Floyd stated that he could not breathe, but his plea fell on deaf ears.
Donald Thomas, a local business owner and community activist, who rallied along with the Lake Charles Black Heritage Festival, to organize the protest, spoke to KPLC News, the local news station, the day of the protest.
“Everyone is entitled to an equal, fair, and abundant life. If you’re taking that from someone, whether you’re taking their life, alienating their rights, making disadvantage, being prejudice, being racist, you’re wrong,” Thomas said.
Four weeks later, a more in-depth conversation with Thomas revealed who he is and why he felt “compelled” to organize the George Floyd protest.
“I run a marketing and promotions company, but as a way to give back to my community, I organize empowerment and motivational events for kids and economically challenged areas of our city. I organized the protest as an outlet for all the negativity that we’ve been seen on tv and all the challenges that 2020 has brought so far. I expressed to my fiancé how angry, depressed, and afraid I had been with everything, and she encouraged me to do something, so I did. Floyd explains. Where I grew up, there weren’t many things that other neighborhoods have access to. In the city where I live, certain groups are overlooked. It’s always been in my heart to make a difference and with God’s help and guidance, I’ve been able to. Whether it’s buying school clothes and supplies for kids or assisting people in opening businesses, or speaking on empowerment to encourage people, I feel it’s an honor and a responsibility.”
When asked, what advice (if any) does Thomas give to people of color, especially black males, about how to deal with the police, racial discrimination/racial profiling, and changing the narrative of how people of color are viewed?
“It’s hard to say because sometimes even when you comply you still die or get set up. I think initially you try to live to fight another day. I pray God protects us all, and I’m optimistic that change is on the way,” Thomas replied.
On June 6,I spoke to JeLeah Gallien, a 27-year-old black female, who attended the local protests, in Lake Charles and Lafayette on May 31, 2020. She was so passionate when I initially spoke to here at the Lake Charles protest, that there was a need to speak to her again about the second protest, she attended the same day. This conversation was to get a sense of how these protests affected JeLeah and the people of her generation.
“It was life-changing not only to see the cities unite for the global injustices and police brutality but also to see every race of people come together to fight against racism, she said. It was powerful. We chanted ‘Black Lives Matter. No justice, no peace!'”
JeLeah went on to recount the emotional, atmospheric climate.
“You could feel the pain and the hope for change, JeLeah stated. Lafayette and Lake Charles have had very great marches, that were peaceful yet, we still, in hopes, got our message across. In Lafayette, we walked a mile to the police and surrounded the station and demanded that our lives matter and that we want justice, she explained. It was a moment I’ll never forget.”
According to an interview with Lake Charles residents, Christopher and Candace Rideau, who were close friends of Floyd and spoke of the man they knew as a good man, father, and friend, in an interview with KPLC News. Candace recalls the day that George informed her and her husband, Chris, about the birth of Floyd’s daughter.
“He had the biggest smile on his face, um when he told us that JJ was born, which is his baby girl,” she said.
Chris goes on to say that “to make and understand, why and what we’ve been through when you know how to react. Putting your foot in someone else’s shoes really, will kind of help of where you come from.”
The Rideau’s told KPLC News that there was a quote Floyd always said, “I will touch the world.”
George Floyd’s death has done just that, as political officials and even celebrities have spoken out against the untimely death of George Floyd.
On the heels of the brutal death of Ahmad Arbery, on February 23, 2020, the senseless death of Floyd perpetuates the systematic racism and social injustices of black people in America. Not, to mention in the days following Floyd’s death, on June 12, 2020, yet another man, Rayshard Brooks, was unjustly killed in the parking lot of an Atlanta restaurant, by those who are sworn to protect and serve.
There have been many protests in the weeks following George Floyd’s tragic and senseless death. The world needs to acknowledge what is going on and continue to fight injustice. It is time to have the hard conversations about Structural Racism. Tricia Rose, an American sociologist, and author who pioneered scholarship on hip hop and the professor of Africana Studies at Brown University, is the director of the Center for Study of Race and Ethnicity in America. For the last few decades, Tricia Rose has conducted studies on structural and systematic racism in the U.S.
During an interview with BBC News Segment, Tricia says, “People need to understand, when they talk about systemic racism, that its broader than the police, in and of itself. Right. It is really about connecting the police to the criminal justice system as a whole, to deep levels of wealth and equality, educational – profound educational inequities, housing discrimination and my own research in these areas, show that it’s an interlocking web that deeply crushes people, and the police are really one tipping point in relation to that broader system.”
*This website is not to focus on racism but on everyone being able to live the best possible life. That change will only come by the reconstruction of our thinking and accept that we are all interconnected. Before our physical world heals, the inhabitants must make this change. It is time to heal the nation. The hundreds of years of racism, social injustice, and murder by the people we look to protect us, is time to come to an end.
TEA Firm 