How the Desire Street “Panther mural,” painted in 1970 to chronicle Black history for residents of the Desire housing development, met its end.
Author Archives: Orissa Arend
Reflections on the Cult of Trumpism
The cult of Trumpism looks like a symptom of disease to me. Conversely, to a Trump supporter, my ideas may look like a symptom of disease.
A lesson in policing from New Orleans history
Author Orissa Arend recalls the Black Panthers’ community policing effort in the Desire Housing Project in her latest op-ed. “Look at us now, 50 years later, experiencing a worldwide consciousness awakening to the realization that the Panthers were right!”
An open letter to Michael Jones, MD
The community advocacy group Justice & Beyond calls for the release of a cardiologist convicted in a health care fraud case. Orissa Arend writes that Dr. Michael Jones should be released immediately on humanitarian grounds.
Jailing victims or healing them: a tale of two very different responses to abuse
Court Watch NOLA seeks wholesale reform of the justice system.
Fighting Formosa in solidarity with Rise St. James
Robert Taylor, president of the St. John the Baptist Citizen Association addresses the revival. On a sunny, cold Tuesday afternoon, 20 or so of us pile into a school bus bound for Vacherie. (Why don’t school buses have seat belts?) Most of us are members of Justice and Beyond, a black-led New Orleans coalition of […]
Healing Center infuses Halloween with deeper Haitian and Mexican attitudes toward death
This is the time of year when the veil between the dead and living is believed thinnest.
What if Brett Kavanaugh found the courage to explain himself humbly and honestly?
Or would growing a backbone cost him the nomination?
Eureka! Artist behind rediscovered Black Panther mural is identified
Twists and turns lead to insights about a cultural find.
Saving St. Augustine: a spiritual memory from the Katrina recovery
To parishioners who fought back, the archdiocese seemed to be engaged in a power grab.