New Orleans – On October 7, students walked out of classes at three campuses in New Orleans to protest their universities' ties to Israel. Chapters of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) organized demonstrations for students at Loyola University of New Orleans, Tulane University, and the University of New Orleans. Rallies of about 20 people took place simultaneously outside of Tulane and Loyola campuses at noon.

By 12:30, the rally led by Tulane SDS marched around their campus to join the rally outside Loyola. Students from the two schools combined forces with local allies like New Orleans Stop Helping Israel’s Ports (NOSHIP) and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP). Together the crowd of 40 sat in on Saint Charles Avenue, a major road in the area. The students chanted and read the names of Palestinians killed by Israel since October 7 while blocking traffic. The sit-in successfully held the street for over an hour. During the sit-in, students celebrated one year of global resistance to Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza.

“Palestinian liberation won’t happen on a college campus. No liberation movement will. But the Boycott Divest Sanction National Committee is calling on us to fight for divestment!” said Silas Gillette, speaking for the Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

Loyola students carried a large puppet depicting their university’s president Xavier Cole. Cole, who, according to students at Loyola, has refused to meet with them about their demands. Loyola student Juleea Berthelot joined the sit-in on Saint Charles, wearing a red “Popular University for Palestine” t-shirt. They described being fired from their job earlier this year for protesting.

“Two students were fired, and our school newspaper wrote about it, but my boss lied,” said Berthelot. “Those students chose to leave their jobs. I sat in her office and begged for my job because I loved it. But she fired me.”

Another Loyola student, Nour Saad, joined the celebration of the resistance in a black Palestinian Youth Movement shirt. “I honor our warriors in Palestine because I know what it feels like to have the world against you when you’re just trying to fight for your freedom.”

Students at the University of New Orleans (UNO) also walked out in solidarity with the axis of resistance. Students from Xavier University joined the action on UNO's campus. The action was led by both the Palestinian Youth Movement and Students United, a chapter of national Students for a Democratic Society, who demanded an end to weapons manufacturers on UNO's campus. General Dynamics, one of the largest weapons manufacturers in the country, has an IT development center on campus.

“Human rights organizations repeatedly say General Dynamics is a pivotal company in the violation of human rights and war crimes,” said Lucas Harrell, an organizer with UNO Students United. Further confrontation is guaranteed as General Dynamic's role in the Gaza genocide is unfolded to the students.

#NewOrleansLA #LA #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #StudentMovement #SDS #NOSHIP #SJP

By Antonia Mar and Zunyana Crier

New Orleans, LA – On Tuesday, September 17, community members showed up at the Joe Brown Park gymnasium in the New Orleans East neighborhood to attend a forum with New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick. The Office of the Independent Police Monitor (OIPM) hosted the event in response to public concern over NOPD’s consent decree, as the department pushes to be released from federal oversight.

In the gymnasium, a majority-Black crowd of about 20 people confronted Kirkpatrick on rising trends of racist policing and condemned the department’s move to end the consent decree.

Attendees emphasized NOPD’s criminal history, and that the consent decree was put in place because of the brutalization of Black people after Katrina.

“We are the reason for the consent decree,” stated Edward Parker of New Orleans United Front, talking about Black New Orleanians. He referenced Kirkpatrick’s previous employment as superintendent in Oakland. “You had problems with the Black community, same way you’re gonna have problems with us in this community if you keep shoving [the ending of] the consent decree down our throats.”

The consent decree mandates constitutional, bias-free policing. However, the 2023 annual report from the OIPM showed that 90% of police use-of-force was against Blacks, despite the Black population in New Orleans representing 56% of the city. NOPD use-of-force against Black women rose 54% from 2022’s numbers. This past Mardi Gras 2024, 90% of stop-and-frisk firearm searches targeted Black people. And July’s monthly report from the OIPM reveals more civilian complaints against the NOPD have been filed in 2024 than any year before.

With the future of federal oversight in question, the need for a civilian oversight board was at the front of the public’s mind. However, Kirkpatrick rejected community control, stating she believes civilian oversight boards are “dysfunctional.” The comment stunk of hypocrisy, as NOPD’s dysfunction continues to make headlines: NOPD Officer Leessa Augustine and former Officer Jeffrey Vappie are both currently under separate federal investigations for wire fraud and lying to federal agents, and the city was recently ordered to pay out $1 million in a civil suit for negligence after former Officer Rodney Vicknair molested a minor in 2020.

“I remember New Orleans before the consent decree,” said Toni Jones of New Orleans for Community Oversight of Police. “We are still dealing with racist and criminal policing. No policy is going to fundamentally change until we get the community control we need over the NOPD.”

Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick speedily left before all of the public’s comments could be addressed.

#NewOrleansLA #LA #InJusticeSystem #PoliceCrimes #NOCOP