Authorities say a former North Carolina law enforcement officer, Christopher Gillum, was arrested in Florida after allegedly planning a racially motivated mass shooting targeting Black people at a major New Orleans festival, believed to be the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. Law enforcement recovered a handgun and ammunition, and the FBI is coordinating a multi-state investigation as Gillum faces extradition to Louisiana.
Tag: New Orleans
Posted inHBCU
70 years later: Xavier alumnae reflect on education and life in segregated New Orleans
For 93-year-old Verlie Decay and 91-year-old Hortense Reine, attending Xavier University of Louisiana was more than a chance at a degree—it was a gateway to opportunity in a segregated city. The two alumni recall creating their own social and cultural spaces, forming lifelong friendships and finding purpose in careers shaped by the barriers of their time.
Posted inU.S. Government
TSA workers go without pay as partial government shutdown stretches into MarchÂ
TSA employees are missing paychecks as the partial Department of Homeland Security shutdown stretches into March, forcing workers to juggle bills, childcare, and transportation while still reporting to work. Airports across the country are feeling the strain, with long lines and wait times at major hubs like Houston, New Orleans, Atlanta, and New York.
Posted inOpinion
Baltimore youth deserve a plan for their future
Baltimore’s future depends on ensuring that every young person—regardless of zip code or background—has the support, safety, and opportunity to thrive, argues Alysia Lee of the Baltimore Children and Youth Fund. The new Baltimore Youth Master Plan aims to unite the city around youth-led priorities, transforming fragmented services into a coordinated, community-driven movement for change.
Posted inEducation
Students at Digital Pioneers Academy earn as they learn about financial literacy
By Dr. Deborah BaileyAFRO Contributing Editor This Fall, Digital Pioneers Academy Charter School in S.E. Washington will initiate the city’s first no strings attached, school-based direct financial support program for students, paying high school seniors 50 dollars cash per week. The public charter middle and high school opened in Southeast in Fall 2023 to support […]
Posted inWord In Black
This nonprofit is bringing Black teachers back to New Orleans
By Aaricka WashingtonWord in Black In the two decades since Hurricane Katrina drowned the city and its public school system, the story of K-12 education in New Orleans has gone something like this: nothing good happened until charter schools, and White reformers, showed up. But Adrinda Kelly, a New Orleans native, knows that’s not the […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
Survivors of Katrina find strength, solace through the efforts of extraordinary people
By D. Kevin McNeirSpecial to the AFROkmcneir@afro.com When the first official public warnings of a tropical depression, then located over the Bahamas, were issued on Aug. 23, 2005 by the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Fl., few could have predicted that it would become one of the deadliest hurricanes in U.S. history. But by the […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
New Orleans clergy say 20 years after Hurricane Katrina, Black communities still waiting for promises to be fulfilled
Two decades after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, members of the Black communities say they still haven’t fully recovered from the storm.
Posted inAfro Briefs
24-hour shopping blackout begins Friday, February 28
A grassroots movement, dubbed the “Target fast,” is calling for a 24-hour boycott of Target stores in protest of their decision to end their diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, potentially impacting their sales and the broader economy.
Posted inAfro Briefs
Winter storm that dropped record-breaking snow in New Orleans spreads into Florida and the Carolinas
A major winter storm dumped record-breaking snow and sleet across parts of the Florida Panhandle, Georgia, and eastern Carolinas, causing widespread travel disruptions, school closures, and power outages, as well as at least three deaths due to the cold weather.
Posted inBaltimore News
AFRO inside look: ‘The Hidden History of a Free Black Brotherhood’
By Sean Yoes, Special to the AFRO “In Francois Boguille’s home district the free men of Color formed a national guard. Unrepentant followers of Oge (a father of the Haitian Revolution), they recruited men from the nearby plantations and the threat of their alliance prompted the Whites in the district to act…In response, the free […]