Tagged: commentary

A few weeks ago, the New Orleans Inspector General reported that he could not tell if the NOPD institutionalized racial profiling, because the department used such crude methods in collecting data during its stop and frisk program.

I found this report almost insulting, in that all one has to do is garner opinions from law-abiding black men who’ve been stopped for no apparent reason. While the latest controversy over racial profiling stems from the recent implementation of Chief Serpas’ “field interview cards,” the practice is far from new.

New Orleans prides itself on being different from the rest of the nation. Our food‘s different, our music’s different... even our humidity is different.  

On top of 'dat, we tend to talk different, too. On today's Love NOLA, Brett Will Taylor weighs in on the New Orleans vernacular and suggests that, maybe, the way we talk reflects nothing more than the love for our city, and the secret code that goes with it.

In many places, the phrase "rhetorical comment" refers to a statement that is not intended to elicit a response. But, of course, New Orleans is not like most places, and New Orleanians are not like most people.

On today's Love NOLA, Brett Will Taylor notes how the rhetorical comments thrown around this city are often seen as invitations to share opinions, stories and, maybe, salvation.

You have got to see this handsome, new public elementary school located in New Orleans. We could easily walk to this inclusive building as most children who live near the school do.

In this neighborhood, the question of will you send your child to a public school isn’t analogous to Abraham's willingness to sacrifice Isaac. The neighborhood chooses to walk to school together.