“Louisiana continues to rank dead last in the United States when it comes to education, health care, crime and opportunity for its citizens…”
— The Times-Picayune
Louisiana: Worst in the United States
#50 in the nation
EDUCATION
Louisiana has the lowest
high school graduation rate
#49 in the nation
HUNGER
1 in 4 children in Louisiana live in food insecure households
#49 in the nation
POVERTY
Louisiana ranks highest in families with annual incomes below $10,000
Louisiana: ‘Best’ in the U.S. / World
#1 in the world
INCARCERATION
Louisiana is the “world’s prison capital,” imprisoning more residents per capita than anywhere in the world
#3 in the nation
HIV + AIDS
African-Americans make up 13% of the population, but 42% of all new HIV cases and 44% of AIDS deaths
#6 in the nation
TEEN PREGNANCY
Nationally, teen pregnancies have declined to 17.4%, but not in Louisiana, where the rate is 27.5%, and higher in rural areas
Columbia, Louisiana
Located five hours by car from New Orleans, Dallas and Little Rock, the only hotspots here are disease, racial profiling by police and private prisons. Hi-tech has not come to off-the-grid Louisiana, where only half of households possessing any (and slow) Internet access. And despite being in America’s fertile heartland, we are in the middle of a vast food desert.
Lay of the Land: Brownville, the Black side of town
The abandoned corner store
Brownville is the Black neighborhood in Columbia, Louisiana (Pop. 406), which is located in Caldwell Parish (Pop. 9,918). Once a thriving Black community, Brownville is now a disease hotspot, food desert and digital abyss. Only half of households have any Internet access, which made remote learning a disaster, leaving hundreds of children behind.
The crumbling Black Mason Hall
There are many things missing on the black side of town: Black-owned businesses, organic fresh fruits and vegetables, public parks and hi-speed Internet access. The number of correctional facilities equal the number of elementary schools. This is the kind of place one is sentenced to go, and ill-equipped to leave.
Smith’s shoe shop
Far from BLM crowds and marches, racism and discrimination go untreated as pre-existing conditions of being Black in the rural South. Despite advancements in the Global South, the rural American South has not been embraced as a laboratory for social innovation, entrepreneurship or celebrity endorsement.
“HEROES taught me the importance of being a good citizen. We register voters, we provide hygienic supplies for people in need, we offer educational resources and loads of activities for young children. I'm working toward a degree in speech pathology; when I graduate I want to set up an office at HEROES so that local kids with speech impediments can get the care they need, free of charge. HEROES has taught me many valuable life skills, but the most important is ensuring that I make a positive impact on my community.”
— Avery Janae, Former HEROES member and current volunteer
