Somebody Has to Say It: We Have Got to Stop Counting Ourselves Out

The New Orleans Tribune Endorses Jamie Davis for U.S. Senate; Early Voting Starts Oct. 20

We have got to stop living in this self-fulfilling prophecy that a Black candidate cannot win a statewide race in Louisiana. Because as long as we convince ourselves that victory is impossible, we guarantee that we will never do what it takes to make it possible.

We KNOW this state needs new leadership. We KNOW our communities deserve better. And we KNOW that our votes can make a difference. But knowing is not enough. At some point, we have to get off the sidelines, reject the defeatist mentality, and put our votes where our hopes are.

And let's talk about the Democratic Party. Where the hell has the leadership been? Why did it take the former Democratic governor John Bel Edwards until just a few weeks ago to endorse Jamie Davis? He should have endorsed the Democratic nominee the second he won the party primary. Where have the state and national Democratic parties been while Louisiana voters have been looking for leadership, support, and a reason to believe that their votes matter? Where are all the local politcians and elected officials that threw their weight and names into the most recent mayoral race?

Our future is not a political game. Our lives are not bargaining chips. And our communities cannot afford to be an afterthought in anybody's political strategy.

Now, let's be honest. Maybe Jamie Davis has not run the strongest campaign. Maybe some people hear the word farmer and think that is the beginning and end of his story. But that is not the whole story.

He is a businessman. He is a community leader. He is someone who sees problems, recognizes challenges, and is willing to stand up and say, I want to do something about this.

And isn't that what leadership is supposed to be about? Recognizing that something is wrong and having the courage to step forward and try to make it right?

Jamie Davis has our endorsement. And we are asking every voter who has trusted us before to hear us out, take this race seriously, and recognize what is at stake.

Davis is talking about the issues that affect our everyday lives: the rising cost of living, affordable housing, good-paying jobs, access to health care, and the future of public education. For families in the metro area and communities across urban Louisiana, these are not political talking points. They are real challenges that determine whether we can afford to stay in our neighborhoods, keep our families healthy, educate our children, and build a future here at home. Davis’s plans address these concerns through investments in workforce development, small businesses, rural and urban economic opportunity, stronger health care access, and efforts to confront Louisiana’s insurance crisis. He recognizes that economic opportunity should not depend on your ZIP code and that working families deserve a government that works for them.

And let's be clear: Jamie Davis may be a farmer, but his vision for Louisiana is not limited to the farm. The same commitment to protecting livelihoods, creating economic opportunity, and investing in our communities matters just as much in the neighborhoods of metro New Orleans. His agenda includes holding industrial polluters accountable, protecting our natural resources, investing in infrastructure, and demanding greater transparency from government. These issues matter to families dealing with insurance costs, flooding, environmental concerns, and a lack of economic opportunity in their own neighborhoods. We need to stop defining Jamie Davis by where he comes from and start looking at what he wants to do for all of Louisiana. Our urban communities deserve representation, our working families deserve a voice, and every part of this state deserves leadership willing to confront the problems standing between our people and a better future.

But an endorsement is not a movement. A speech is not a ballot. And frustration without action changes nothing.

We cannot keep demanding change while surrendering before the votes are counted. We cannot keep saying Louisiana will never change and then participate in the very political apathy that keeps things exactly as they are.

So get informed. Get involved. Get out and vote.

Do not let somebody else's low expectations become your limitations. Do not let the history of what has not happened dictate what you believe is possible tomorrow.

Louisiana, the question is not simply whether a Black candidate can win statewide. The question is whether we are willing to show up, organize, participate, and challenge the assumptions that have kept us stuck.

We keep hearing what cannot be done.

Maybe it is time we stopped repeating it and started proving that the future is not already written.

GET UP. SHOW UP. VOTE.

Let's do something they say could never be done.