Day: August 2, 2018

By Sanashihla

Even after the victory of seeing four symbols to white supremacy come down in our lifetime, Take Em Down NOLA continues to elevate awareness about the hundreds of more symbols to white supremacy that litter the landscape of New Orleans. They too need to come DOWN!

Take Em Down NOLA hosted a “Talk About It” Panel Discussion on June 28th, followed up by a “Be About It” Rally and March Demonstration on July 5th, to continue the work to remove symbols to white supremacy.

Take Em Down NOLA is pushing its ordinance forward to remove ALL symbols to white supremacy from New Orleans, as a call to “FINISH THE JOB”, because four was never enough!

Despite billions of dollars that comes to New Orleans, because of this city being the biggest tourist attraction in the world, the reality is most residents are suffering in poverty due to intentional economic exploitation anchored in racial oppression.

This is evident even with the city budget. Out of $647 million dollars approved for the 2018, 63% of it goes to cops, jails, and repressive measures. ONLY 3% goes to children and families, and a measly 1% goes to job development. This is a city where the budget needs to be FLIPPED. New Orleans needs to invest 63% into children, families, and job development proactively. This is not simply something that Mayor Cantrell inherited; she voted in favor of this budget as a councilperson. We need to organize to demand the budget is flipped in 2019 to prioritize children, families and job development.

So why does Take Em Down NOLA focus on removing all symbols to white supremacy from the landscape of our city? They have consistently explained this demand allows the residents of the city to get at the root of the problem. Beyond the symbols are SYSTEMS that keep these racist symbols up and working- class people down. This only happens because elected officials, who have decision making power to control public funds, tax dollars, and policies deny the rights of the people by intentionally compromising with white supremacy, using local and state resources to accommodate and placate the rich ruling class of New Orleans. Take Em Down NOLA exposes this, as the work goes on!

And now, after 300 years of having mayors, even with the first elected Black woman, the residents of New Orleans are seeing how oppression and exploitation maintains its stronghold over a city that brings in at least $8.7 billion dollars in tourism. Oppression and exploitation continue to happen regardless of the gender or race of the mayor. The Mayor should draw a line that says she will not endorse anything that does not bene t the mental, emotional, or physical well being of working class people. Therefore, if the white supremacists are for it, that should be a sign that the majority of the people of New Orleans will lose, symbolically and systematically. So, for the people to win, the people must continue to educate, agitate, and organize our way into the city we want to see, into the world we want to see!

Join Take Em Down NOLA on Thursday, August 23 at 6:00pm for the next RALLY and March demonstration. The rally and march will begin at Lafayette Square, and head to Jackson Square. Join Take Em Down NOLA, as they take it to the streets, and be a part of this next wave of the movement to #TakeEmDownNOLA & #TakeEmDownEverywhere

The Southern Youth Commission is a new organization on the Mississippi gulf coast fighting to take down symbols of white supremacy. On July 28, they held their first rally and march, with support from the Mississippi Rising Coalition, and the Jackson and Hancock County branches of the NAACP. These organizers – some still in high school – brought out progressive community members who braved the heat and rain, marching across the bridge from Biloxi to City Hall in Ocean Springs. The SYC demands that Ocean Springs mayor, Shea Dobson, and the Board of Aldermen remove the racist state flag from all public buildings. Dobson recently caused outrage by flying these flags, despite objections from the community. But the march of July 28 showed that the movement to remove all symbols of white supremacy is building strength.