Somebody Has to Say It: If We Don’t Unite, City Hall Will Shut Us Out
When are we going to get our stuff together? Why have we allowed personal agendas to once again take centerstage, while a unified vision for our people suffers? It’s sickening. It’s time to unite or get the hell out of the way.
As we head into this mayoral race, let’s be clear: the narrative that Black folks must “hold each other accountable” by attacking our own leadership is nothing but a political trick. It’s a strategy designed to divide us, weaken us, and leave us fighting one another while those who have historically conspired against our community slip by unchallenged. Supporting a Black agenda and standing with Black leadership is not about turning a blind eye—it’s about demanding accountability where it truly belongs: with the power brokers, developers, and political players who profit off our division. In this election, unity is not optional—it’s survival. And we will not apologize for standing together to protect our future.
Let’s speak plainly. If Helena Moreno takes the mayor’s office, it will be to the detriment of Black civic and political power in New Orleans. Moreno has already shown us her hand. She began her second term on the City Council attacking the current administration — not to improve services or infrastructure or address low wages or skyrocketing housing costs — but to weaken the current mayor’s office and consolidate power elsewhere. This was no coincidence. It was part of a longer, larger strategy—one backed by an elite power structure that has for decades sought to seize City Hall and strip Black New Orleanians of the influence we fought to build.
The plan has always been the same: divide Black voters, discourage our participation, pit communities against one another, and push policies that hollow out our neighborhoods. When schools were taken over, Black teachers lost their livelihoods and our public education resources were delivered on a silver platter to big businesses masquerading as education reformers. When redevelopment projects came through, Black families were priced out. These were not accidents. They were steps in a strategy to weaken us, to make us bystanders in a city we built and continue to sustain.
We have said it before; Moreno’s rise to the mayor’s race was built on attacking Black leadership and weakening the office of the mayor. Instead of focusing on what the people of New Orleans elected her to do, she along with others manufactured issues that took attention from the real problems facing New Orleans. Now, she wants to fix potholes. We aren’t buying it!
If Helena Moreno becomes mayor, that strategy will be complete. She is aligned—whether openly or quietly—with the elite business and political class that has long resented Black leadership in New Orleans. She is their candidate. And if we do not unite, we risk handing her and them the keys to City Hall without a fight.
What Does Unity Look Like?
We must understand the urgency of this moment. For too long, Black New Orleanians have been fractured—by neighborhood, by organization, by generational divides. That division works against us. Unity does not mean we will agree on every issue or candidate. But unity means recognizing the threat in front of us and responding together, with discipline and resolve.
We need a clear, non-negotiable platform – a short list of demands rooted in the needs of Black residents: housing justice, protection against displacement, investment in Black businesses and cultural institutions, equitable policing reform, true representation in economic development, especially with respect to lucrative public contracts. These are the issues that shape daily life in our communities, and they must be at the center of this election.
We must mobilize to turn out from every neighborhood in New Orleans. From Central City to the Lower Nine, from Gentilly to Algiers, every household should be contacted, every church and community center engaged, every parade and cultural gathering turned into a voter education moment. They are banking, betting and counting on low turnout and apathy. We must prove them wrong.
We must support candidates who will defend Black political interests—not only in the mayor’s race but in council races and other municipal offices. These down-ballot seats are where much of the power resides, and we cannot afford to leave them unchallenged.
We must be prepared for the pushback. There will be misinformation, voter suppression tactics, attempts to discourage our participation. We will be castigated for speaking openly and unapologetically about promoting and preserving black political agency. We don't care. You should not care either. Every community of people across this city, state and nation get to coalesce for the self-interest in peace. But when black people do so, we allow others to shame us for perpetrating some act of so-called reverse racism. That's insane. What we are doing is protecting and preserving our communities and joining forces to make sure that our needs are addressed.
We also need to speak honestly about the opposition. The elite power brokers backing Moreno do not see Black New Orleanians as equals in governance. They see us as a voting block to be managed, a cultural resource to be commodified, and a political problem to be minimized. That is why Moreno’s rise is no accident—it is the outcome of their deliberate work. And what is even more disgusting is that there are leaders from within our own community happy to help so long as it helps preserve their seat at the table.
But here is what they forget: when Black New Orleanians unite, we are unstoppable. History proves this. From the voter registration drives of the 1960s, to the battles for fair housing, to the cultural revolutions we have given the world, our collective power has always been greater than the obstacles in our way.
Actually, we take that back. They haven’t forgotten that at all. In fact, perhaps it is they – even more than we – who recognize that we are a force with which to be reckoned if we could just stop tearing one another down. That is why they work so hard to help keep us at odds.
Again, this election is not just about who occupies the mayor’s office. It is about whether Black New Orleans continues to have meaningful power in shaping the future of the city we built. If we splinter, if we allow ourselves to be divided, Helena Moreno will walk into City Hall backed by elites who have never had our best interests at heart. And once she is there, we will not stand a chance.
But if we unite—if we vote together, organize together, and demand accountability together—we can ensure that no one governs this city without us.
The choice is ours. Will we be outside trying to sneak a peak after Oct. 11? Or will we stand together and remind them that New Orleans cannot function without Black power, Black votes, and Black leadership?
Unite. Organize. Vote. The future of Black New Orleans depends on it. The last day to register to vote by mail or in person is Sept. 10. Residents have until Sept. 20 to register online at geauxvote.com.