News & Commentary

In June 2018 I proudly became the first African American to hold the title of Executive Director of the ACLU of Louisiana in the organization’s 66-year history. During my tenure, the nation has reckoned with the killing of George Floyd and the ensuing global outcry for police accountability.

To celebrate our Black donors, this year the ACLU of Louisiana launched a first-of-its-kind Black Donor Network, a group of 30 African American supporters who work in philanthropy, education, public health, finance, law, and other fields, and range in age from late 20s to mid 70s.

After a long and tough 85 days, the 2022 Louisiana Legislative Session wrapped last month. While some bills passed threaten civil liberties, we are excited about the passage of bills that will help protect the rights of Louisianans, including two new laws that will advance police accountability.

On May 2, 2022, Politico published a leaked draft of the highly anticipated Supreme Court opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. The draft majority opinion overturns the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, which has protected our Constitutional right to abortion for nearly 50 years.

On November 18, 2021, at 7:00 p.m., assistant attorney general for civil rights at the U.S. Department of Justice Kristen Clarke will speak at Dillard University’s annual Justice Revius O. Ortique Jr. Lecture on Law and Society in the Georges Auditorium in Dillard’s Professional Schools Building.

On October 4, 2021, our Executive Director Alanah Odoms delivered a video statement to the United Nations Human Rights Council urging President Biden to protect the health of the mostly Black residents of Louisiana’s River Parishes. The ACLU of Louisiana statement was submitted in conjunction with the presentation of a report by the United Nations Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent to the Human Rights Council. The report provides guidance on how to effectively address environmental injustice and impact of the climate crisis and environmental racism on people of African descent. 

No one is above misfortune and tragedy. On Sunday August 29, the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the Category 4 Hurricane Ida ravaged Louisiana. An active disaster declaration was made for one-third of the state, and many are still without power, reliable food, housing, or clean water. At ACLU of Louisiana, we strive to apply a Community Centric Fundraising lens to our development work. This means we believe fundraising must be grounded in race, equity, and social justice; individual organization missions are not as important as the collective community; and nonprofits are generous with--and mutually supportive of--one another. 

This week I traversed City Park in New Orleans, as I've done countless times before on my morning runs. But, on this post-Ida morning I saw destruction and devastation. Debris, broken tree limbs, and flooding were left in the wake of the storm. Nearby stores were closed for shopping, no pharmacies were open for filling necessary prescriptions, street lights were out from downed power lines  -- and that's the way things will be for the foreseeable future.   

Last week, the United States Census Bureau provided 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico with population counts to use in their drawing of new electoral district maps for Congress, state legislatures, and many parish and municipal offices—a process also known as “redistricting.”