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Bike Ride Highlights the 170 Miles that Separates Families between New Orleans and Angola

NEW ORLEANS DATA NEWS WEEKLY — It’s a system that takes a toll on families the most. In a country that has the largest prison population and the highest per-capita incarceration rate in the world, around 93.2 percent of the approximately 185,500 federal inmates are men. Seven percent are women. Around 40 percent are African Americans.

Published

5 years ago

October 26, 2019

Oakland Post

Photo by: Edward Carter III

By Edward Carter III

It’s a system that takes a toll on families the most.

In a country that has the largest prison population and the highest per-capita incarceration rate in the world, around 93.2 percent of the approximately 185,500 federal inmates are men. Seven percent are women. Around 40 percent are African Americans.

The location of state penitentiaries also makes it difficult for inmates to see their families regularly. In other cases, inmates are transported to different states and the distance has heightened the challenge for families to stay connected during incarceration. In New Orleans, it’s a 170-mile journey from the city to the Louisiana State Penitentiary in West Feliciana Parish called Angola, named after the former plantation, it now occupies. On October 18, families and advocates sought to support families who wish to stay connected to incarcerated loved ones by raising funds through the Nola to Angola Annual Bike Ride.

“I spent 32 years incarcerated and through that course of 32 years I learned a lot about the importance of visitation,” said Leo Jackson, the founder of Nola to Angola, now in its 9th year. “There were times where my family couldn’t visit me because my parents couldn’t make that long journey to Angola,” he said.

Jackson kicked off the bike ride at Municipal Court at Tulane and Broad Avenues, the place where many separations begin. The Bike Riding Program raises money for transportation provided by the Cornerstone Bus Project so that families of incarcerated individuals can have a means to regularly visit their loved ones. Over 70 riders’ cycle from New Orleans to Angola to demonstrate the distance of the trip and to raise awareness to support programs like the bus project to keep families connected during incarceration. The goal of Nola to Angola is to raise $50,000 or more so inmates can see their families regularly through the Free Bus Program.

The riders included not just local citizens but previous inmates who shared that their situation was very similar when their families weren’t able to visit them. They commit to making the 170-mile trip, which takes them a total of three days.

“This bike ride is one of those things that brings awareness to what we need to do in order to bring equity in our Criminal Justice System,” said Rob Richardson, one of this year’s Nola to Angola riders.

Richardson, who served a 21-year-sentence at Angola said after he was released in 2018, the bike ride became very sentimental to him as he makes the trip back to the place he was incarcerated in support of those still serving terms and understanding the toll for families.

“I want to represent those 6,000-plus men that are housed in the Angola State Penitentiary alone and to give back to just short of 40,000 incarcerated men and women throughout our state,” Richardson said.

The free bus trips have become a space for families of the incarcerated to support each other both emotionally and logistically during the separations. Rob’s wife, Fox Richardson, also told residents at the start of this year’s bike ride about the feeling she had when her husband was incarcerated.

“When you’re fighting for your family when you know that you have been done wrong by a system that is supposed to be about justice. When that system commits an act of violence against your family and injustice against you, it’s a hard role to hold,” said Fox Richardson, one of this year’s Nola to Angola riders.
It was not easy for Fox Richardson to raise six sons with the absence of their father due to incarceration, she said. She kept hope and made sure her children still had a relationship with their father even due to the disadvantages of Rob being in prison for most of their upbringing.

“Love is the most divine chemical in the universe,” said Fox Richardson. “The love that we shared as a family sustained us to make it through the most difficult situations. And to continue to give faith and hope to our six sons that one day their father was going to come home. It was a moment for me,” Richardson said.

This experience allows citizens to get insights on what it feels like to be in a penitentiary and gives former inmates a recap and remembrance of the feeling to continue to make a difference for other families when they get out.

“And that is what this Nola to Angola is about. It’s about bringing families together and letting nothing stop love, not even prison walls,” she added.

This article originally appeared in New Orleans Data News Weekly.

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IN MEMORIAM: Ramona Edelin, Influential Activist and Education Advocate, Dies at 78

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Born on September 4, 1945, in Los Angeles, California, activist Ramona Edelin’s early years were marked by a commitment to education and social justice. According to her HistoryMakers biography, after graduating from Fisk University with a Bachelor’s degree in 1967, she pursued further studies at the University of East Anglia in England. She earned her master’s degree before completing her Ph.D. at Boston University in 1981.
The post IN MEMORIAM: Ramona Edelin, Influential Activist and Education Advocate, Dies at 78 first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

Published

4 weeks ago

April 3, 2024

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

Once upon a time, Black Americans were simply known as colored people, or Negroes. That is until Ramona Edelin came along. The activist, renowned for her pivotal roles in advancing civil rights, education reform, and community empowerment, died at her D.C. residence last month at the age of 78. Her death, finally confirmed this week by Barnaby Towns, a communications strategist who collaborated with Dr. Edelin, was attributed to cancer.

Born on September 4, 1945, in Los Angeles, California, Edelin’s early years were marked by a commitment to education and social justice. According to her HistoryMakers biography, after graduating from Fisk University with a Bachelor’s degree in 1967, she pursued further studies at the University of East Anglia in England. She earned her master’s degree before completing her Ph.D. at Boston University in 1981.

Edelin’s contributions to academia and activism were manifold. She was pivotal in popularizing the term “African American” alongside Rev. Jesse L. Jackson in the late 1980s.

Jackson had announced the preference for “African American,” speaking for summit organizers that included Dr. Edelin. “Just as we were called Colored, but were not that, and then Negro, but not that, to be called Black is just as baseless,” he said, adding that “African American” “has cultural integrity” and “puts us in our proper historical context.”

Later, Edelin told Ebony magazine, “Calling ourselves African Americans is the first step in the cultural offensive,” while linking the name change to a “cultural renaissance” in which Black Americans reconnected with their history and heritage.

“Who are we if we don’t acknowledge our motherland?” she asked later. “When a child in a ghetto calls himself African American, immediately he’s international. You’ve taken him from the ghetto and put him on the globe.”

The HistoryMakers bio noted that Edelin’s academic pursuits led her to found and chair the Department of African American Studies at Northeastern University, where she established herself as a leading voice.

Transitioning from academia to advocacy, Edelin joined the National Urban Coalition in 1977, eventually ascending to president and CEO. During her tenure, she spearheaded initiatives such as the “Say Yes to a Youngster’s Future” program, which provided crucial support in math, science, and technology to youth and teachers of color in urban areas. Her biography noted that Edelin’s efforts extended nationwide through partnerships with organizations like the National Science Foundation and the United States Department of Education.

President Bill Clinton recognized Edelin’s expertise by appointing her to the Presidential Board on Historically Black Colleges and Universities in 1998. She also co-founded and served as treasurer of the Black Leadership Forum, solidifying her standing as a respected leader in African American communities.

Beyond her professional achievements, Edelin dedicated herself to numerous boards and committees, including chairing the District of Columbia Educational Goals 2000 Panel and contributing to the Federal Advisory Committee for the Black Community Crusade for Children.

Throughout her life, Edelin received widespread recognition for her contributions. Ebony magazine honored her as one of the 100 Most Influential Black Americans, and she received prestigious awards such as the Southern Christian Leadership Award for Progressive Leadership and the IBM Community Executive Program Award.

The post IN MEMORIAM: Ramona Edelin, Influential Activist and Education Advocate, Dies at 78 first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

Stacy M. Brown

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Tennessee State University Board Disbanded by MAGA Loyalists as Assault on DE&I Continues

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Recent legislative actions in Tennessee, such as repealing police reform measures enacted after the killing of Tyre Nichols, underscore a troubling trend of undermining local control and perpetuating racist agendas. The new law preventing local governments from restricting police officers’ authority disregards community efforts to address systemic issues of police violence and racial profiling.
The post Tennessee State University Board Disbanded by MAGA Loyalists as Assault on DE&I Continues first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

Published

4 weeks ago

April 3, 2024

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

Tennessee State University (TSU), the state’s only public historically Black college and university (HBCU), faces a tumultuous future as Gov. Bill Lee dissolved its board, a move supported by racist conservatives and MAGA Republicans in the Tennessee General Assembly, who follow the lead of the twice-impeached, four-times indicted, alleged sexual predator former President Donald Trump. Educators and others have denounced the move as an attack on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) and a grave setback for higher education.

Critics argue that TSU’s purported financial mismanagement is a manufactured crisis rooted in decades of underinvestment by the state government. They’ve noted that it continues a trend by conservatives and the racist MAGA movement to eliminate opportunities for Blacks in education, corporate America, and the public sector.

Gevin Reynolds, a former speechwriter for Vice President Kamala Harris, emphasizes in an op-ed that TSU’s financial difficulties are not the result of university leadership because a recent audit found no evidence of fraud or malfeasance.

Reynolds noted that the disbanding of TSU’s board is not an isolated incident but part of a broader assault on DE&I initiatives nationwide. Ten states, including Tennessee, have enacted laws banning DE&I policies on college campuses, while governors appointing MAGA loyalists to university trustee positions further undermine efforts to promote inclusivity and equality.

Moreover, recent legislative actions in Tennessee, such as repealing police reform measures enacted after the killing of Tyre Nichols, underscore a troubling trend of undermining local control and perpetuating racist agendas. The new law preventing local governments from restricting police officers’ authority disregards community efforts to address systemic issues of police violence and racial profiling.

The actions echo historical efforts to suppress Black progress, reminiscent of the violent backlash against gains made during the Reconstruction era. President Joe Biden warned during an appearance in New York last month that Trump desires to bring the nation back to the 18th and 19th centuries – in other words, to see, among other things, African Americans back in the chains of slavery, women subservient to men without any say over their bodies, and all voting rights restricted to white men.

The parallels are stark, with white supremacist ideologies used to justify attacks on Black institutions and disenfranchise marginalized communities, Reynolds argued.

In response to these challenges, advocates stress the urgency of collective action to defend democracy and combat systemic racism. Understanding that attacks on institutions like TSU are symptomatic of broader threats to democratic norms, they call for increased civic engagement and voting at all levels of government.

The actions of people dedicated to upholding the principles of inclusivity, equity, and justice for all will determine the outcome of the ongoing fight for democracy, Reynolds noted. “We are in a war for our democracy, one whose outcome will be determined by every line on every ballot at every precinct,” he stated.

The post Tennessee State University Board Disbanded by MAGA Loyalists as Assault on DE&I Continues first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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Braxton Haulcy and the Expansion of Walker|West Music Academy

May 24, 2023 – Walker West Music Academy gets an early start on expansion. Join us for a Wednesday episode of The …
The post Braxton Haulcy and the Expansion of Walker|West Music Academy first appeared on BlackPressUSA.