Support for Louisiana, the state we're in is provided by.

Every day I go to work for Entergy.

I know customers are counting on me.

So Entergy is investing millions of dollars to keep the lights on and installing new technology to prevent outages before they happen.

Together, together, together.

We power life.

Additional support provided by the Fred Bea and Ruth Ziegler Foundation and the Ziegler Art Museum located in Jennings City Hall.

The museum focuses on emerging Louisiana artists and is an historical and cultural center for Southwest Louisiana and the foundation for Excellence in Louisiana Public Broadcasting.

With support from viewers like you, they passed a map that's very similar to the one that we had before.

The latest on Louisiana's congressional maps.

Six out of every ten of these counterfeit pills that contain fentanyl contain a potentially lethal dose.

Opioid overdose deaths exceed the national average in 22 parishes during the early 1900s, in the 1800s.

Large capitalized insurance companies were not writing insurance on African-American preserving Louisiana history.

I got to actually create something that I thought I was going to be good at, and I was a special guest.

Gives you details on LP.

These kids can.

Good evening.

I'm kerosene sear.

51 out of 57 death row inmates submitted the request for clemency from Governor John Bel Edwards as he nears the end of his term in office.

The inmates are trying to change their punishment from death row to life in prison without parole.

The requests come after a bill to abolish the death penalty was killed during the legislative session.

Only two clemency requests have been granted by governors in Louisiana since the death penalty was reinstated in the 1970s.

And now two other news making headlines across the state.

Louisiana aims to reduce its backlog of rape kits with a new centralized system that tracks them from collection to conviction.

Governor John Bel Edwards signed Senate Bill 169 into law requiring Louisiana State Police to create a tracking system for victims, prosecutors, police and medical personnel.

The new law also allows sexual assault victims to anonymously track and receive updates regarding the status of their rape kits.

Louisiana's largest military installation, Fort Polk, received a new name on Tuesday as part of the federal government's efforts to eliminate army based names for referencing the Confederacy.

Located in Vernon Parish, the newly named Fort Johnson commemorates Sergeant William Henry Johnson.

He was a black Medal of Honor recipient who served in World War One.

Johnson is one of nine U.S. Army bases around the South to receive a new name.

Governor John Bel Edwards signed several bills from the 2023 regular legislative session into law, and many impact the classroom.

One law guarantees recess for public school elementary students in grades K through five.

They'll get 15 minutes of daily supervised, unstructured free play.

Another authorizes public schools to offer an elective course on the history and literature of the Bible.

The courses must maintain religious neutrality and accommodate diverse views.

Early childhood literacy gets a boost with funding for the Dolly Parton Imagination Library program.

The governor signed into law a statewide initiative headed by the Louisiana Educational Television Authority to establish local Dolly Parton Imagination Library programs that provide free, age appropriate books to children ages birth to five.

Leader will work collaboratively with other agencies to create public awareness and community engagement.

Louisiana may be closer to finalizing the congressional maps.

A close 5 to 4 decision at the Supreme Court secured a second black voting district in Alabama, galvanizing a group of Louisiana voting advocates pushing for a similar outcome here.

Voters hope a similar ruling will force lawmakers to redraw congressional maps before the high court recesses this summer.

Barry Irwin Cable, president and CEO, talks about how this decision could impact elections in Louisiana.

Before we get into more current events surrounding the congressional maps, let's start with the basics.

Last year, Louisiana lawmakers tried to redraw voting districts, but what happened?

Well, we had a special session last year for the particular purpose of redrawing all the districts.

That changed because of the census count.

We went through a lot of anguish.

It was a very contentious legislative session.

But basically they passed a map that's very similar to the one that we had before, which had we have six congressional districts that had five minority are majority white districts and one minority black district.

There was a big push to try and say we should have two minority districts, mainly because the population has changed over the last ten years.

The African-American population has actually grown a little bit while the white population had fallen.

But at the end, we kind of ended up where we started with five, you know, majority white districts and one minority district.

What was the reasoning for creating one large black voting district instead of dividing it into two?

Well, one of them, I think, is that people said that's what we had.

That's what we had before the courts had approved that it had passed muster.

And so we're just going to do what we did before.

Now, of course, the argument was because the population had actually changed and the African-American population had gone up, well, then we should maybe rethink that and see if we can draw to majority minority districts.

And many of them were proposed.

There were probably five, six of them that were put out there.

But at the end of the day, they just decided to go with pretty much the same kind of configuration we already had.

Now, of course, this also created a lot of controversy.

It went to the US District Court judge Shelly Dick, and she struck this map down.

She said that there should be another another district.

What were her findings of the case?

What was her reasoning?

Well, basically what she found was that the map that the legislature drew this time was a violation of Section two of the Voting Rights Act, which is the one that deals with fair, you know, equality in terms of elections and congressional, you know, in different districts and all that type of thing.

She said it was a clear violation of that.

And and that's kind of where it stood until the Supreme Court stepped into it.

When did the Supreme Court get in to get involved?

It wasn't long after she had actually made that ruling.

And she told the legislature that, you need to go redraw some more maps or I'm going to do that.

The legislature did not do that.

And she was prepared to, I think, release the maps.

And then the Supreme Court decision basically came down that basically basically put our whole election or our redistricting portion of it on hold.

And that's kind of where we ended up.

All right.

And so our map is still on hold, but I think lawmakers were waiting to see what was going on in Alabama, because I understand there was a similar case going on there.

Yeah, it's very similar.

There was a little ahead of ours in the process.

So that's why there was a ruling by the Supreme Court ahead of ours.

But basically it was the same argument.

They have seven congressional districts instead of six, but they had more than 20.

I think it's about 27.

28% of their population is African-American.

And so the argument was we should be able to draw two African-American majority districts out of our maps to the Supreme Court, basically agreed with the argument there and send it back to the court in Alabama.

The key thing for us here is that argue that are being made in Louisiana's case are very similar.

The facts and the evidence are very similar.

So there's a lot of speculation that the same thing that happened in Alabama will likely happen with the Louisiana maps.

Suppose this does happen and we do get two separate voting districts for the black population here.

How does that impact election season?

Well, it's hard to say because it really deals with the timing.

The you know, it's a congressional seat that we're talking about.

And so those elections are every two years.

So we just had one.

But in 2024, we'll have it again.

So the Supreme Court term ends this month.

So it's possible that because the Louisiana case was so similar to the Alabama case, they could say, let's go ahead and send that back to the lower courts and let them sort it out, or they may hold it over till the term begins, the new term, which doesn't begin until October.

That would really kind of push the timeframe back and kind of put it very much in limbo.

But right now, it's really a function of trying to figure out what the Supreme Court will do on it.

And of course, there's no way to really know that.

So there's really no set timeline of when we'll know exactly what our congressional maps will look like.

No, because, one, you've got the court to decide what it's going to do.

Probably what it would do if it sends it back.

It would send it back to the court of appeals.

And what the court of appeals would likely do is send it back to that district judge who originally ruled that the maps were in violation of the Voting Rights Act, and she would probably order the legislature to draw some more maps.

The legislature could probably go through that same exercise of deciding whether they choose to do that or let the judge do it.

And so that could really stretch things out for some period of time.

So it's really unclear for 2024 what the maps are going to look like when when we run again.

All right.

Well, thank you for coming down and explaining this entire process to us.

We really appreciate it.

Glad to do it.

The opioid epidemic is escalating here in Louisiana.

Take a look at this chart from the Department of Health from 2014 to 2021.

There was a huge increase in synthetic opioid deaths.

Over a thousand were recorded.

Now, that trend is continuing in 2023, but this time it's affecting rural communities.

The fentanyl epidemic.

I dare call it an epidemic because that's what it seems like has been going on in a what for a while in Louisiana.

Can you tell me exactly when we started to see an uptick in cases?

Sure.

In about 2019 is when you see when when we track over the last several years, overdose deaths really in 2019 is when we see that trajectory just shoot up.

I'm very quickly and and really the majority are the drug that's really contributing to that significant increase that we're seeing since 2019 is fentanyl.

Is that what people are actually trying to take?

They're seeking out fentanyl drugs now.

So, you know, explain to people the drug landscape has really has changed.

Fentanyl is becoming very is widely available.

It's very cheap.

There's an unlimited supply.

So what we're experiencing here and really across the state is that vinyl is pervasive in the drug supply.

And often the user is not aware that fentanyl is in the drug.

So when you talk to people, family members of individuals who have overdose, they really refer to this as a poisoning.

You know, for the most for people who are dying, aren't aware that fitness is in the drugs that they are using, what drug is it that they're seeking out?

Like what forms are counterfeit drugs almost?

What short term forms is It really runs the gamut.

So fentanyl might be present.

Fentanyl, if you think about it, that it's cheap, so widely available and really an unlimited supply because it's not something that has to be grown and synthetic.

It's something that is made.

So since there is such a great supply, unfortunately, of fentanyl so pervasive throughout the drug supply.

So when we're talking about a cocaine or meth or heroin and those drugs might be similar, might be also present now and that drug supply is a grower, there's a growing chance that there is fentanyl in your drug supply for for individuals who are using these drugs because it is so cheap, it's essentially used to stretch the supply, to increase the profit for the person selling the drug.

But unfortunately the user is often not aware that they're spending on the drug that they're going to be using.

Also, we're seeing an increase in fentanyl and counterfeit pills.

So people who are seeking out, often through social media or online counterfeit or illicit pills, things that someone might be looking for, Xanax or Adderall or OxyContin.

Again, this is illicit.

Now, what you get from a pharmacy there are sold this again, think about maybe online through social media.

They purchases it's counterfeit or illicit pills.

There's a growing chance that those pills contain fentanyl.

And now the DEA tells us that six out of every ten of these counterfeit pills that contain fentanyl contain a potentially lethal dose.

So, again, it runs the gamut from counterfeit pills to cocaine, heroin, meth.

Cocaine is pervasive throughout that supply.

Right.

So basically, it could be anything.

You really don't know what it is that you're getting.

No.

Correct.

And I think that's evidence evident by the increase in the number of deaths that we're seeing, again, since 2019, is that it's denial is is pervasive.

People need to be aware that it could be in any drug that they're in, in the illicit or illegal drug that they're that they're using, while usually like to end on a positive note, is there anything that can be done to lower these rates and make sure that they don't spike again?

Yes, I think Louisiana is doing a great job.

I can tell you this is a multifaceted problem and our approach is is multifaceted.

And so throughout the state, you're going to everyone should be should be noticing an increase in, for example, emergency department navigation programs.

And so that is something that is really growing across the state.

So for people who do survive and who do survive an overdose when they present to the emergency department, they're connected with a navigator, someone that's going to help that person get to get to recovery.

You're going to see more access to treatment in the emergency departments there, or it's called medication assisted treatment.

So someone might be started on one of these treatments in the emergency department.

It'll stop the cravings.

So it'll give that person at a time they're not going through withdrawal.

It will stop the withdrawal, stop the cravings.

And then again, they work with that navigator to get to treatment and recovery.

These are incredibly successful programs.

And you're going to see an increase in that throughout the state of Louisiana.

We also have an increase in harm reduction services.

So, for example, Narcan, we're trying to get Narcan out to the community at large, to our first responders.

NOOR Narcan is an opioid overdose reversing drug.

So someone is overdosing and you can give them Narcan quickly.

It helps to restore breathing and increases a person's survival rate.

So an increase in access to Narcan throughout the state is also something that's been really imperative.

And when we're talking about these people surviving overdoses in those rates that are increasing, Narcan is really key to that.

And then the state or Louisiana, we have a standing order to the Louisiana Department of Health so anyone can get, nor can it, at a local pharmacy through again, through the standing order.

All right.

Well, that is pretty much it for me.

Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to me.

Yeah.

And I also just want to mention, you know, really we also we talk a lot about communication.

We want everyone to know recovery is possible.

And it really starts with communication reduces reducing the stigma.

So for people who do have a substance use disorder, knowing that there is hope, you know, through this medicated medication, assisted therapy, access to counseling, it's really it's really important you have to start the conversation so that people know that they have a safe space, that they have someone to talk to who can help them again, with their with their substance use disorder.

Get to treatment, get to recovery.

It is possible.

And there are a growing number of resources and access to that to that therapy and treatment.

And we've all heard the very famous quote from Benjamin Franklin.

The only certainties in life are death and taxes within a few years of the end of the Civil War, black people were forced to find creative ways to bury their dead and make sure they buried them with dignity in a way that they did.

That was with benevolent societies LP's.

Dorothy Kendrick brings us this special right in time for Juneteenth.

During the early 1900s, late 1800s, large capitalized insurance companies were not writing insurance on African-American and an insurance policy.

You have the costs.

That's the value you've got to pay back once the person sees, then you have corporate overhead home office and you may have fear overhead and then finally you have a profit.

These societies stepped in and they saw a need in the African American community to provide a service for those individuals that not have a lot of resources to pay upon the death of one of their loved ones.

According to the 1870s census, West Feliciana Parish had more than 10,000 residents.

Most were African-Americans, whose families had worked on the huge plantations in the area.

Some of the society made an assessment a 25 cent per month, and this would ensure them from a policy maybe in the 200 to $500 range.

Well, in the early 1960s and 1970s, funeral cost was not as high as it is today.

You could get a grand funeral in the 1960s for $500.

In 1970s it moved up because of inflation and you get a grand funeral for about 1500 dollars.

If you had a death in your organization, the funeral hall would have to wait perhaps maybe nine days to collect the fee that they were supposed to pay out.

In the meantime, the society will go back and do what they call a special assessment.

They would text each individual $5 per month and that would be utilized to pay the funeral home.

And therefore they were not dipping into the 25 cent they collected each month.

And God forbid, if a society had a two or three deaths that what really put their back against the loss.

At the end of the day, it's a partnership.

It's a partnership between the society.

It is a partnership between the church and a partnership between the funeral home.

You had blacks in this community in Saint Francis there that would go to that Benevolence Society because it was sort of tethered according to where your locale was in this parish.

There are other benevolent societies here that offer up the road that service those group of people.

When I was small, maybe about three years old or four, we will always go to Pleasant Green Baptist Church.

They would have a lot of anniversary certain Saturday in June.

Every year they would sell homemade ice cream and slice of cake raising money for films.

You can walk through many cemeteries today and tell a great deal about a family's resources.

More than 100 years ago, from walking through the cemetery, there are quite a few vaults with no headstones, and that comes down to resources.

You go from my grandma has to no headstone at all.

They just don't have the resources after they pay for the funeral.

But you can see graves that have been finalized.

There's only a headstone there and a lot of times there's no marker, there's no identification on the headstone.

So you have some individuals buried in here that we have no idea who they are as a leader.

You see red there, there, again, still refusing to send some money back.

Never heard anything.

So we will let them.

Yeah, but you had to give them to this place.

Ed feel just about every church had a society to help cover funeral expenses.

The building itself was so sacred that you could not take pictures in there.

A type of membership where you just did not expose a lot of what was going on.

However, membership cards, things of that nature, I kept through the years showing the membership dues that my my daddy was paying when he was a 20 year old.

I have a badge that my grandfather would wear at funerals showing that he was an old animal society member has these little iron tassels attached to it, and all the men would wear that and be very refined coming in to church, managing funeral services and things of that nature.

The first black insurance company, North Carolina Mutual, was formed in 1898.

Businessman Arthur de Gaston later established that Booker T Washington Insurance Company Purple Shield was a black insurance company in Baton Rouge, and eventually white insurance companies started insuring blacks.

As time progressed, a lot of the insurance companies one fought out.

They merged or were bought out by white insurance companies.

West Feliciana Parish residents, both black and white, have joined forces to restore and preserve the old Benevolent Society's building in Saint Francisville.

It will be used largely as a museum.

The building is in the heart of town, right across from the Historical Society.

The average cost of both a funeral and a burial plot is nearly $10,000.

In Louisiana and LPI has been overrun by kids this week.

All star kids camp is in session and they were excited to show you everything that they've learned.

We've got a special guest, eight year old Dean Laycock, here to tell you all about it.

Hey, guys, my name is Reed and we are at LP, these kids camp.

Let's go see what's camp.

We just let them come in and be critical thinkers and be scientists.

To me, engineer or, you know, we let them predict, we let them test, we let them improve, and then they get their final product.

So every day when they walk out with something, every kid has something different looking, you know?

So that's what I like about it.

This day has an expectation where you see something brilliant, no sugar cream, No, no.

And half an hour to make the ice cream, you have to shape up some milk and a bag with salt.

And I think that it makes us good now.

And I'm actually really happy to be here again because I made a few new little friends and, you know, it's been fun.

Now.

Rev.

Yeah.

Oh, I guess we're making T-shirts with vegetables when I'm about to make it.

I mean, is it an orange and a bell pepper?

Good to design my shirt.

Today we're using food in all of our activities.

They're painting t shirts with different kinds of vegetables.

And we did another STEM activity this morning.

And then tomorrow I'll be Animal Day.

So far, I don't know.

There's too many.

Right.

For right now that's coming over and coming in the middle.

It's cool.

I never, never actually seen it work.

I think kids love using their brains.

I think that kids love to problem solve, although I think the kids love to critically think, you know, So we give them the opportunity to do that everything they can find at home.

So we want learning to continue at home.

Yeah.

So that's what we want parents to feel confident parents and know that this is something I can do with my kids.

And I like when I get help, I get to learn different things every day and it makes me happy because I got to actually create something that it that I was going to be good at.

And I was.

And we all know summer, summertime parents are, you know, pulling their hair, wanting activities to do at home.

So this is going to be the learning can continue.

All right.

It's better here now, Alfie, these all star kids camp is expanding so there will be more sessions coming next year.

So if you're looking for something for your kids to do over the summer, you might want to check that out.

And finally, we're excited to introduce a new episode from our digital series Ritual.

The show is hosted by New Orleans Culture Barataria on a tank ball and explores rituals across the south.

Let's take a look at a clip from this week's episode about the black musical legacy of river baptisms, which in the water, when the water children wade in the water.

God's going to trouble the water going up in the church.

Hymns like this will never fail to live the spirit.

But there's more to the song than just the beauty of the music.

Like many spirituals, the lyrics and melody have layers of meaning hidden beneath the surface.

Here.

We are reminded of the transformational power of water and black spirituality.

Mahalia Jackson, the New Orleans Queen of gospel, was baptized in her youth in the waters of the Mississippi River.

Mahalia, in her white gown, processed with her congregation from the church down to the river, singing as they reached the banks.

She was eased underwater by the gentle hands of the ministers, and she emerged reborn.

And that's our show for this week.

Remember, you can watch anything anytime, wherever you are with our Lpv PBS app.

You can catch Libby news and public affairs shows as well as other Louisiana programs you've come to enjoy over the years.

And please like us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for everyone at Louisiana Public Broadcasting, I'm Care Sings here.

Until next time.

That's the state we're in.

Every day I go to work for Entergy.

I know customers are counting on me.

So Entergy is investing millions of dollars to keep the lights on and installing new technology to prevent outages before they happen.

Together, together, together.

We power life.

Additional support provided by the Fred Bea and Ruth Ziegler Foundation and the Zeigler Art Museum located in Jennings City Hall.

The museum focuses on emerging Louisiana artists and is an historical and cultural center for Southwest Louisiana and the foundation for Excellence in Louisiana Public Broadcasting.

With support from viewers like you.