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Louisiana Democratic Congressman Troy Carter is sounding an optimistic note that a compromise is within reach on infrastructure and social spending bills Capitol Hill has been wrangling with. He talks about one of the projects in the 1.2-trillion-dollar infrastructure bill that’s important to our state. About 6-billion-dollars is earmarked in the infrastructure bill for projects that include a passenger rail line running from New Orleans to Baton Rouge and beyond.  He says, “brick and mortar are obviously important to advance us.”

Carter says the 3.5-trillion-dollar social spending bill also being hashed out contains important issues to be addressed like housing and getting broadband internet service to the underserved and impoverished.  But, Carter is dismayed by the fact that the two bills totaling just under five trillion dollars have been separated out given the importance of both saying they are “convoluted with definitions.”

On the subject of expanding broadband that’s included in the social spending bill, he believes it’s an important matter to address. “We know in 2021 that having broadband is as much a necessity as having running water or electricity, yet many residents in Louisiana don’t have it,” according to the congressman.

On the heels of an in-depth investigation and damning report by several news agencies, the ACLU of Louisiana has called for a federal investigation into allegations of extreme abuse and unnecessary use of force against Black suspects by the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office.

On Sept. 24, non-profit, investigative-journalism organization ProPublica, through its Local Reporting Network and in conjunction with WRKF and WWNO, released a stinging article detailing the apparent racial bias within the JPSO and the overly aggressive nature of the sheriff’s department’s officers.

The report found that over the last eight years, 70 percent of the citizens who were shot at were Black, even though the overall population in the parish is only 27 percent Black. In addition, the investigation found that 12 of the 16 people who died after being shot at or detained by JPSO officers were Black men.

On Sept. 27, the ACLU of Louisiana then called on the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana to investigate and evaluate the data presented in the news organizations’ report. In addition to the request made to federal prosecutors regarding the news reports, the ACLU asked that the U.S. Attorney’s Office also examine the ACLU’s research as part of what social justice and police reform advocates hope will be a large, thorough study of the JPSO’s apparent racial bias and unnecessary force.

In Jefferson Parish, the ACLU says, a Black resident is 11 times more likely to be killed by police than a white resident, and since 2015, in 12 cases of males who have died during an arrest or pursuit involving JPSO deputies, all were Black or Latino, and three were minors.

Because of such stark numbers found by the ACLU, Nora Ahmed, legal director for the ACLU of Louisiana, said the results of the journalistic investigation weren’t surprising to her organization.

“This is exactly in line with our own findings,” Ahmed said. “We also came to these very same conclusions.”

She added that the ACLU’s call for federal authorities to intervene and investigate the circumstances in Jefferson Parish is backed by the unsettling statistics found in the various studies.

“We’re not making this request of the U.S. Attorney’s Office lightly,” Ahmed said.

For more than a year, the ACLU of Louisiana has sought out victims of police violence as part of a project called Justice Lab: Putting Racist Policing on Trial, which seeks to bring account ability, transparency and justice in policing across the state.

One of the ACLU’s most recent lawsuits, Decquir v. Bentel et al, represents the thrust of the LaACLU’s Justice Lab effort and offers an example of the type of alleged misconduct by JPSO officers.

The suit – which was filed Aug. 31 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern Division of Louisiana on behalf of plaintiff Xavimen Decquir – charges that several JPSO officers brutalized Decquir, a person of color who lives in Metairie and who has mental illnesses, while Decquir was handcuffed and laying on the floor of the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center.

According to the lawsuit, Decquir had been detained by deputies following an incident in his apartment during which a mental-health crisis by Decquir led his mother to call law enforcement for the protection of everyone involved at the scene in the apartment.

The lawsuit states that Decquir’s mother was given assurance that her son would be taken for psychiatric care, but deputies instead brought Xavimen to the JPCC and locked in a cell, where officers allegedly refused Decquir his legally mandated phone call, never told him upon what charges he was there, and told him to “shut up” when Decquir – was was still in health crisis and confused as to what happening – repeatedly asked for an explanation of his status.

The lawsuit charges that deputies removed Decquir and three officers – Jonathan Bentel, Robert Johnson and Hiep Nguyen, all of whom are listed as defendants in the lawsuit – brutally beat Decquir while other deputies watched and allowed the attack to continue.

The officers allegedly slammed the plaintiff’s lawsuit against a concrete wall multiple times, threw him to the floor and kicked and punched him savagely. The flurry of blows included at least two kicks to the face with steel-toed boots.

The lawsuit asserts that Decquir did not fight back in an away during the beating, which resulted in fractures of facial bones, a dislocated shoulder, bruised ribs and a concussion. The filing said Decquir required eight staples to close the wound to his head, and he continues to suffer from chronic headaches, loose teeth, blurred vision, memory loss and sharp pains in his spine. The suit added that the brutalization has compounded and worsened Decquir’s mental health issues, including self-mutilation, reclusiveness, deepening depression and suicidal ideation.

The lawsuit also names Jefferson Parish Sheriff Joseph Lopinto, who, the suit said, bears responsibility for fostering an atmosphere that routinely allows such brutal misconduct on behalf of his deputies.

Another key part of the lawsuit details the JPSO’s long record of such incidents of alleged excessive force, especially and pointedly toward people of color. The suit cites the overt racism, callousness and disregard of the public by former Sheriff Harry Lee, the controversial, openly bigoted law-enforcement official who reigned over Jefferson Parish from 1980 until his death in 2007.

The legal action says that this tradition of injustice and racial prejudice was continued by Lee’s successor, Newell Normand, and further employed by Lopinto.

“Mr. Decquir is one of numerous individuals to endure racially motivated violence at the hands of JPSO, an organization with a disturbing anti-Black history,” the lawsuit charges. “Much of this violence can be attributed to the failed leadership of the current JPSO Sheriff, Defendant Lopinto.

“It is evident that, unless and until Defendants are held accountable for their racially motivated violence, they will continue to violate the rights of Black and Brown people.”

Ahmed said Lopinto is continuing the trend of racially motivated brutality in the JPSO from his two predecessors.

“He definitely looks up to them and places both Normand and Lee as role models,” she said.

The Xavimen lawsuit is part of the effort and encapsulates the troubling trends of brutality against people of color within the JPSO and law-enforcement agencies across the state, say ACLU representatives, who noted that through the Justice Lab the LaACLU has filed seven lawsuits against various police agencies in Jefferson Parish.

The ProPublica report and the ACLU’s litigation together, clearly reveal long-standing racist policies, practices, and customs that have etched deep wounds in communities of color, and which must be immediately addressed,” ACLU of Louisiana executive director Alanah Odoms said in a prepared statement. “United States Attorneys have a constitutional and ethical responsibility to investigate police misconduct and disclose that evidence to the public. Our community members deserve a full investigation, complete transparency, and justice for the lives lost and harms perpetrated by the JPSO.”

Ahmed echoed Odoms’ words, telling The Louisiana Weekly that through it all, the JPSO has stubbornly refused to exhibit any sense of public transparency and accountability for its racist past and present, and that such a situation mirrors much of the rest of America.

“We look at all this data against the backdrop of racist policing in this country,” she said.

Spokespeople for the JPSO did not respond to multiple requests for comment by The Louisiana Weekly.

The racial motivations of allegedly overaggressive misconduct and behavior against people of color by law enforcement officers in Jefferson Parish has been followed closely by U.S. Rep Troy Carter of Louisiana, who told The Louisiana Weekly last week that the new reports by the ACLU and the news agencies are “quite disturbing.”

“Injustice anywhere cannot be tolerated,” Carter said. “I do not, and our society should not, condone any violence, misconduct or excessive use of force by those sworn to protect and serve. Our country must protect the civil rights of all its citizens.”

Carter added that he hopes the JPSO will finally come to terms with and publicly acknowledge its history of officer improprieties and undue aggression against people of color. He said he hopes that the JPSO “will use all resources available to thoroughly and transparently seek out the truth, wherever it may lead.”

He said legislation is needed to guarantee that type of transparency on the part of law enforcement, including requiring all policing agencies institute comprehensive community-relations training, body cameras, and recording and documentation of all incidents that may occur between police and citizens. He said such recordings “can help all parties involved get to the bottom of what really occurred and incentivize police practice reforms.”

He pointed to the federal George Floyd Justice in Policing Act as an example of legislation that takes significant steps toward standardizing policies, collecting data, and increasing accountability.

However, Carter lamented, even such legislation reining in police violence and abuse against minorities will only address one level of a bigger picture of racism that has built up over decades and longer.

“While I believe that these measures will help decrease violence, disparities in policing against people of color are representative of a deeper, more systematic issue that will take structural and internal transformation to overcome,” he said. “These issues are not unique to Jefferson Parish, and the continued disparities in policing throughout the country demonstrate how It will take a collective effort to create meaningful change on a national scale.”

Carter said a level of mistrust between the Black community and law-enforcement officials, both locally and nationally, continues to fester. Against the backdrop of nationwide movements for racial justice and police reform over the last several years, the alleged misdeeds of JPSO officers only exacerbate the situation, something Carter himself often feels.

“It is a real issue across the United States that people of color, especially Black people, too often feel anxious when interacting with police,” he said. “Sadly, I’ve felt this way myself.

“We have a long way to go in building back trust, and rightfully so. While the majority of good officers outweigh the bad, the long and important journey toward a Louisiana where everyone feels safe in their communities must continue.”

NEW ORLEANS — The temporary spending bill that lawmakers in Washington recently passed included $28.6 billion in emergency disaster relief and Louisanna will get a portion of that for its recovery. 

U.S. Representative for Louisiana's 2nd congressional district, Troy Carter, said that money is already in the bank and the resources are on their way to Louisiana. 

"We've got some $5 billion that's there to assist with the storms of 2020. Where Lake Charles was left with a significant amount of damage. So we're very fortunate that at least that portion of disaster recovery has moved through the system," said Carter. 

With a difficult recovery ahead Carter has continued to apply pressure to FEMA. 

"I've been on FEMA nearly every day, met with the administrator of FEMA Deanne Criswell and walked the streets, which she and President Biden. We've been on the one-yard line every day pushing them to do better. To make sure that we get quicker responses that we are able to override many of the rejections that people receive because they didn't check a box because they miss this," said Carter.

Carter says he knows that people are hurting and he wants to get them the help they need and he has concerns with the money from the federal government getting to the people that need it.

"We're hopeful that local government and state government will be able to streamline their processes to get that money out the door and into the hands of people who need it," said Carter.

In December Carter will have another chance to get more resources for Louisiana.  

"Once we've had a better chance of identifying what the true needs are. Much of the devastation hasn't completely been evaluated yet to determine what the final ticket will look like," said Carter. 

The ACLU of Louisiana is calling on federal prosecutors to launch an investigation into the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office following a report by WWNO/WRKF and ProPublica that revealed stark racial disparities in shootings by deputies and systemic transparency problems.

The news organizations’ ongoing investigation into the Sheriff’s Office found that more than 70% of people who deputies shot at during the past eight years were Black; that figure is more than double the 27% of the Black population in this suburb west of New Orleans. In addition, 12 of the 16 people who died after being shot or restrained by deputies during that time were Black men.

In response to public records requests, the office could not account for how often its deputies use force. It denied a request for copies of all complaints against Sheriff’s Office employees during the past two years and couldn’t even say how many had been filed, stating such a number “does not exist.”

Alanah Odoms, the ACLU of Louisiana’s executive director, asked the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana to “scrutinize the data and evidence collected” by the news organizations and to review three pending lawsuits filed by the ACLU against the Sheriff’s Office.

“It is no secret that the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office has a deep-rooted history of racial discrimination and cruelty toward residents of color,” Odoms said. “The harsh political reality is the Sheriff of Jefferson Parish is wholly unaccountable to the people.”

The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to a reporter’s voicemail or email about the ACLU statement. Sheriff Joe Lopinto previously declined to be interviewed about the news organization’s findings, saying only that when his deputies commit serious misconduct, they are arrested, noting that at least nine had been since he became sheriff in 2017.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to comment on Odoms’ request for an investigation.

The U.S. Department of Justice, the parent agency of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, launched an investigation into the neighboring New Orleans Police Department over a decade ago and found problems similar to those identified by the news organizations’ investigation into Jefferson Parish. The NOPD had failed to properly track and review when its officers used force, its internal investigation system was deeply flawed and its officers were disproportionately shooting and killing Black people, the DOJ reported.

But, despite years of complaints by Black community leaders in Jefferson Parish, the DOJ has not intervened.

U.S. Rep. Troy Carter, D-New Orleans, called the news organizations’ findings “disturbing.”

“I do not, and our society should not, condone any violence, misconduct or excessive use of force by those sworn to protect and serve,” said Carter, who this month called for a DOJ investigation into the Louisiana State Police, which has come under heavy scrutiny recently over a pattern of violence directed at Black arrestees.

“I am hopeful that the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office will use all resources available to thoroughly and transparently seek out the truth, wherever it may lead,” Carter said.

Ashonta Wyatt, a leader in Jefferson Parish’s Black community, called the ACLU’s request a “wonderful step in the right direction.” But she said there is a long way to go to achieve the sweeping reforms she believes are needed to improve the Sheriff’s Office.

“Something has to happen that actually turns the tide in the direction of humanity,” Wyatt said. “I want to see real change. I want the investigation to bear real fruit (because) this is a deep-seated, systemic issue.”

Wyatt and other community leaders said years of ignored complaints have eroded the public’s trust in the department. Because the sheriff is an elected position — not subject to governmental or civilian oversight — the office is accountable only to voters, barring DOJ intervention.

The ACLU called for prosecutors to review three lawsuits it has filed against the Sheriff's Office as further evidence of misconduct. The suits allege sheriff’s deputies beat a Black man in the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center, used excessive force against a protester and unlawfully detained and searched a Black woman because of her race.

The Sheriff’s Office, in court filings, described the first two lawsuits as “frivolous, groundless and unreasonable” and said its deputies’ actions were “reasonable under the circumstances.” It has not filed a response to the third suit, according to court records.

Nearly twice as many lawsuits alleging wrongdoing by deputies have been filed against the Sheriff’s Office as against the NOPD since 2013, despite NOPD having about 1,100 officers compared with about 760 at the Sheriff’s Office, according to a WWNO/WRKF and ProPublica review. Three-fourths of the plaintiffs in the Jefferson Parish lawsuits were Black.

Odoms accused the Sheriff’s Office of operating as a “rogue agency that is permitted to operate in the shadows,” pointing to its failure to present a plan for the adoption of body cameras, despite a request to do so by the state legislature. After a sheriff’s deputy shot an unarmed 14-year-old boy in the back in March 2020, the state House of Representatives unanimously passed a resolution requesting that Lopinto, by Jan. 1, 2021, present a plan to outfit deputies with body cameras.

Lopinto, however, dismissed the resolution as doing “nothing” and having “no effect of law.” He has yet to present a plan.

“All residents of Jefferson Parish should demand better of a law enforcement agency that is as funded to the tune of $100 (million),” Odoms said. “Taxpayers should be outraged by this level of unprofessionalism and corruption.”

BATON ROUGE – Federal disaster aid remains elusive because of political gamesmanship in Washington as Louisiana residents struggle through Hurricane Ida’s lasting impacts and the remaining effects of natural disasters dating to last hurricane season.

After visiting New Orleans and other hard-hit areas of southeast Louisiana following Hurricane Ida, President Joe Biden agreed to request supplemental recovery aid from Congress. The request also included long-sought assistance for southwest Louisiana, which has endured four declared natural disasters since August 2020.

Louisiana’s supplemental funding, however, has been lumped into a $28 billion natural disaster package that is tied to raising the nation’s debt ceiling – a highly political affair.

House Democrats passed a $3.5 trillion government funding bill that would raise the current $28.7 trillion debt limit to an undetermined amount and allow Democrats to use a procedural process known as reconciliation to pass trillions of dollars in social spending, climate change agenda items and election reforms without any Republican votes.

The construction of the spending proposal led to Louisiana congressmen voting against disaster aid for the state.

U.S. Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., who represents southwest Louisiana, voted against the legislation and predicted the House bill would fail in the U.S. Senate.

“Our hurricane recovery needs should not be held hostage,” Higgins said. “I support a clean bill that includes the disaster relief we’ve been demanding for a year.”

U.S. Rep. Garret Graves, R-La., who is from Ida-affected southeast Louisiana, thanked Biden for authorizing hurricane funding relief and proceeded to vote against the House spending proposal because of what he called a debt ceiling “poison pill.”

“At the last minute, Speaker (Nancy) Pelosi added a poison pill to the bill that allows the Biden Administration to increase the national debt from the current $28,700,000,000,000 ($28.7 trillion) without limit. The current debt is equivalent to $87,000 for every man, woman and child,” Graves said in a statement.

Democratic congressman Troy Carter, who represents New Orleans, applauded the spending bill, saying it contains “crucial funding for Louisiana disaster recovery for the state to rebuild from Hurricane Ida and other recent disasters.”

“Louisianians have been through a lot and this bill recognizes that struggle. It also helps us to begin working on those challenges,” Carter said.

U.S. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has pledged no Republican support for the $3.5 trillion House measure, which he said plays “Russian roulette” with the U.S. economy.

Moderate and progressive Senate Democrats also are at odds over the bill’s multitrillion price tag, which not only complicates disaster relief and the national debt ceiling debate, but also a scheduled Monday vote on a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill.

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said he and the progressive wing of the Senate would not support the infrastructure bill if the $3.5 trillion government funding proposal was lowered.

U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., who helped negotiate the bipartisan infrastructure agreement, echoed that Louisiana’s disaster assistance is being “held hostage,” which he said was “inexcusable.”

“Recovery after [Hurricane Ida] is a two-pronged approach,” he said Thursday on social media. “It starts with disaster aid, but finishes with the bipartisan infrastructure bill to prepare us for the next storm before we’re back in the same situation.”

Louisiana’s other U.S. Senator, Republican John Kennedy, met Wednesday with Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, and U.S. Sens. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, in Washington to discuss the state’s recovery needs.

Shelby is the top Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee, and Collins is the lead Republican on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation and Housing and Urban Development.

“Our people are desperate, and we have to help them. It’s that simple,” Kennedy said in a statement. “The fact that Louisiana stands strong in the wreckage of category 4 storms doesn’t mean we should stand alone. Our state sends a lot of tax dollars to Washington, and Louisianians need a little help now.”

Small business advocates and economic-improvement organizations focusing on economic development within disadvantaged New Orleans communities echoed the thoughts of Congressman Troy Carter, who wrote a letter to the heads of FEMA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers pressing the federal agencies to include small, local, disadvantaged business enterprises (DEBs) in the post-Hurricane Ida rebuilding process.

In a September 8 letter, Carter (D–New Orleans) stressed the importance of including DBEs in the process of awarding federal recovery contracts as the southeast Louisiana region rebuilds from the devastation wrought by Hurricane Ida late last month.

Carter cited the Stafford Act of 1988, which outlines the requirements for federal disaster-response efforts, in his Sept. 8 communication.

“I write today to urge you to ensure that your contracting efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida include full participation of minority-owned, women-owned and veteran-owned small businesses,” Carter wrote in the letter to FEMA and the USACE. “Any contracting done pursuant to the Stafford Act or related to disaster recovery efforts in affected areas should fully comply with any applicable small, local or disadvantaged business enterprise requirements. I hope you will consider not just meeting these statutory requirements but setting goals that exceed them.”

Carter added in the letter that President Joe Biden has stressed the importance of providing opportunities to DBEs since Biden took office earlier this year and has already directed federal agencies to increase contracting with DBEs by 50 percent, a move Carter called “a great effort that illustrates an important step toward equity for our historically and systemically disadvantaged small businesses.”

“Efforts to support and recognize DBEs should always be implemented, and the need to do so is even greater in the aftermath of a disaster,” Carter added.

Local DBE advocates agreed with the congressman and stressed the need to involve people of color, women and other demographics that historically have been shut out or unfairly compensated for crucial post-disaster recovery contracts.

LaVerne Toombs, executive director of the New Orleans Regional Black Chamber of Commerce, said giving business to DBEs will provide employment opportunities for local residents, thereby kickstarting the economies of disadvantaged communities.

“Contracts must be awarded to Black businesses that create jobs in their communities and help to fuel the region’s economy,” Toombs said.

However, she said, she remains worried that small Black businesses might again fall victim to long-held historical precedents that unfairly shun DBEs.

“My concerns are that Black businesses won’t be treated equally and are continually faced with systemic racism,” Toombs said. “Unfortunately, Black businesses receive a minuscule portion of the contracts doled out annually.”

Judy Reese Morse, president and CEO of the Urban League of Louisiana, said the importance of involving businesses owned and run by people of color in the post-hurricane rebuilding of the local region would be far-reaching and much needed.

“It’s critical that Black-owned businesses are able to equitably compete for disaster contracts in the aftermath of any event that has ravaged the very places they were created to serve,” Morse said. “As established anchors in their communities, Black-owned businesses provide essential goods and services, create jobs, offer mentorship opportunities and are a vital component of helping to close the wealth gap.”

Morse said the Urban League is well aware of the barriers to development and improvement that face DBEs at all times, especially after disasters like hurricanes. She added that Hurricane Katrina provided a poor, dysfunctional model for a recovery process, and hopefully, things will be different this time around. She noted that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic surge provides even more potential obstacles.

“When those challenges [facing DBEs] are combined with a catastrophic hurricane that also coincides with the ongoing COVID pandemic, the capacity to survive is exponentially jeopardized,” Morse said. “It is very important to us to ensure that the mistakes made in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, with regard to contracting opportunities for Black-owned businesses, are never repeated again.”

For their part, federal officials say they are attentive to the needs, and to the potential, of DBEs during the recovery effort. Army Corps of Engineers Office of Public Affairs Gene Pawlik told The Louisiana Weekly that the Corps was aware of Carter’s letter to the military unit and that the USACE will respond to the communication with respect to the Congressman’s concerns about post-disaster contracts.

He added that local small businesses will certainly be involved in the recovery process.

“USACE places emphasis on direct awards to small businesses, and we are especially sensitive to awards to local firms in times of disaster,” Pawlik said in a statement to The Weekly. “We plan to transition work to local firms at the earliest practical opportunity.

“As we serve communities adversely impacted by storm events, we must consider the potential duration and severity of the disaster, the scope and structure of the existing contracts, and the potential impact(s) of a transition to the local economies.”

Toombs and Morse each singled out ways that their organizations are among the several local agencies that can help local DBEs obtain federal contracts and other vital economic-development business, including right now after Ida.

“Black businesses must receive contracts to assist with rebuilding the infrastructure in the region,” Toombs said. “However, my concerns are the capacity for a number of our small Black businesses. That’s why the New Orleans Regional Black Chamber of Commerce (NORBCC) strives daily to provide valuable resources and continue to be the voice for Black businesses in the 10-parish region.”

She added that the Chamber “is focused on promoting inclusivity and awareness of the opportunity for local small and emerging Black Businesses within our region. Through our outreach efforts and programs, we work to connect the local business community by policing updates, contracting opportunities, financial assistance, and technical assistance on strengthening the viability of our Black business community.”

Morse said the Urban League of Louisiana has partnered with the Foundation for Louisiana to establish the Black Business Works Fund to aid businesses in coming back from the hurricane even stronger than before.

She said Black-owned businesses can visit urbanleaguela.org/ida to access disaster-recovery and relief opportunities, including links to the Office of State Procurement’s current bid openings and to the Louisiana Business Emergency Operations Center, which works to increase the use of Louisiana businesses in meeting emergency and/or disaster-related needs.

She added that the Urban League of Louisiana’s Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation can provide small business support services such as business planning, identifying funding resources, and preparation for accessing post-hurricane procurement opportunities.

Toombs noted that the City of New Orleans has already made moves to allot city work contracts to local DBEs, a fact that reflects the overall movement toward building DBEs and creating employment options.

“I know the city of New Orleans has implemented a procurement process to improve supplier diversity when awarding and tracking City contracts to local businesses,” Toombs said. “I applaud the Mayor [LaToya Cantrell] for making City Hall a more equitable place to do business. There’s still a lot of work to build trust within the Black business community to believe there are real contract opportunities.”

Returning to Carter, the Congressman concluded his letter by underscoring the thoughts of Morse, Toombs and others in the New Orleans area.

“I urge you to heed the President’s directive and prioritize contracting for these businesses in the coming days, weeks and months,” Carter wrote. “Now is the time to increase those commitments. … Giving our small and local businesses an opportunity to participate in the rebuilding of their community is key to a strong recovery and stronger communities. It’s one of the surest ways we can build back better. I urge you to do everything in your power to provide contracting opportunities to our local small, minority-owned, women-owned and veteran-owned businesses.”