My name is Baley Martinez. I am from the community of Grand Caillou, in Dulac, Louisiana (south of Houma). I am a part of the 17,000 member tribe United Houma Nation. I was born and raised in this community and I am currently 18 yrs old. Already in my lifetime, I have seen the drastic changes in the bayou region of South Louisiana.
Crossposted from Al Jazeera. Fresh flooding brings up difficult questions for Gulf coast residents, as fisherman pay the price to keep cities dry. Byron Encalade grew up in the swamps of southeast Louisiana, a place where day-to-day life hasn't changed much in generations.
Searching for a way to mark the one-year anniversary of the BP oil disaster, I thought about a series of photographs I saw recently from Lower Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana. They weren’t images of coastal destruction, they were the faces of people young and old holding up a simple handwritten message answering this question: “Why Should We Save Coastal Louisiana?”
March 31st, 2011 - Civil rights activist Catrina Wallace, who received national acclaim for her central role in organizing protests around the Jena Six case, was convicted today of three counts of distribution of a controlled substance. She was taken from the courtroom straight to jail after the verdict was read, and given a one million dollar bail. Her sentencing is expected to come next month.
The Black mayor of Waterproof, Louisiana has spent nearly a year behind bars without bail. A legal dispute in the rural Louisiana town of Waterproof has attracted the attention of national civil rights organizations and activists. Color Of Change, an online activist group that helped garner national attention for the Jena Six Case, recently rallied their members in support of Waterproof mayor Bobby Higginbotham, who has been held without bail since May of 2010.
By Sue Sturgis, Facing South. The environmental destruction caused by Louisiana's oil industry did not begin with the BP disaster, and a visit to the town of Norco 25 miles west of New Orleans powerfully illustrates that reality.
Last month, I sat down with my friend Clarence Adams Sr. to discuss the current state of homelessness in New Orleans, LA. Mr. Adams is currently the Administrator at Ozanam Inn, a homeless shelter for men, where he has worked for the past sixteen years. In this video, Mr Adams discusses the definition of "homeless," and the way Ozanam works to make homeless people Whole from a holistic perspective, including programs that go beyond just serving meals.
My name is Baley Martinez. I am from the community of Grand Caillou, in Dulac, Louisiana (south of Houma). I am a part of the 17,000 member tribe United Houma Nation. I was born and raised in this community and I am currently 18 yrs old. Already in my lifetime, I have seen the drastic changes in the bayou region of South Louisiana. 
March 31st, 2011 - Civil rights activist Catrina Wallace, who received national acclaim for her central role in organizing protests around the Jena Six case, was convicted today of three counts of distribution of a controlled substance. She was taken from the courtroom straight to jail after the verdict was read, and given a one million dollar bail. Her sentencing is expected to come next month.
Justice Department Report, Released Today, Calls Louisiana's "Crime Against Nature" Law Discriminatory
By Sue Sturgis, 
Last month, I sat down with my friend Clarence Adams Sr. to discuss the current state of homelessness in New Orleans, LA. Mr. Adams is currently the Administrator at Ozanam Inn, a homeless shelter for men, where he has worked for the past sixteen years. In this video, Mr Adams discusses the definition of "homeless," and the way Ozanam works to make homeless people Whole from a holistic perspective, including programs that go beyond just serving meals. 
