Here are 2018’s top ten conscious films that made it through these barriers, plus twenty more released this year that you may want to check out.

More than 100 years after the birth of cinema, it sometimes feels like every story has been told.  But the best films of 2014 dared to break out of their genres, explore new ways of filmmaking, and inspire viewers.  Some of them even provided tools for popular understanding of our current political moment.  This year, […]

After three and a half seasons, HBO’s Treme concluded in December, and last week the entire series became available as a box set.  The show started with low ratings that got lower as time went on, never won many awards, and divided critics.  But as time passes and more audiences discover the show, it may […]

Tunis, Tunisia Tens of thousands of people marched through downtown Tunis on Tuesday in a spirited march celebrating the beginning the 13th World Social Forum — the first to be held in an Arab country.  The majority of marchers were from Tunisia and neighboring nations, but there was substantial representation from Europe, as well as […]

Women With a Vision (WWAV), a New Orleans advocacy and service organization that provides health care and other support for poor women of color, was the victim of a break-in and arson late Thursday night.  A small organization that has won a national reputation for its work, WWAV was founded in 1991 by a collective […]

On June 1, a week past her 31st birthday, civil rights activist Catrina Wallace was sentenced to fifteen years in prison.  This was a first arrest for Wallace, a single mother who became politically active when her brother was arrested in the case that later became known as the “Jena Six.”  Wallace was part of […]

March 31, 2011 Caseptla Bailey and Catrina Wallace Civil rights activist Catrina Wallace, who received national acclaim for her central role in organizing protests around the Jena Six case, was convicted today of three counts of distribution of a controlled substance.  She was taken from the courtroom straight to jail after the verdict was read, […]

One year after an earthquake devastated Haiti, much of the promised relief and reconstruction aid has not reached those most in need.  In fact, the nation’s tragedy has served as an opportunity to further enrich corporate interests. The details of a recent lawsuit, as reported by Business Week, highlights the ways in which contractors — […]

  Jordan Flaherty: I think some of the voices that really haven’t been heard in these five years of recovery are those that are still displaced: a hundred thousand or more former residents who were dispersed around the country in the aftermath of Katrina and still have not been able to come home.  One recent […]

New Orleans’ Black and transgender community members and advocates complain of rampant and systemic harassment and discrimination from the city’s police force, including sexual violence and arrest without cause.  Activists hope that public outrage at recent revelations of widespread police violence and corruption offer an opportunity to make changes in police behavior and practice. On […]

More than half of the people on Louisiana’s Sex Offender Registry — which was designed for rapists and child molesters — are indigent women convicted of sex work. Tabitha has been working as a prostitute in New Orleans since she was 13.  Now 30 years old, she can often be found working on a corner […]

The Maqusi Towers in Gaza City look a bit like US housing projects.  The neighborhood consists of several tall apartment buildings grouped together in the northern part of town.  It is also ground zero for Gaza’s growing Hip-Hop community.  On a recent evening in one small but well-decorated apartment, a dozen rappers and their friends […]

More than four months after Gaza was devastated by a massive Israeli military bombardment, rebuilding has been slow to come.  The problem is not a lack of funding or will.  However, an Israeli-led blockade has kept all rebuilding materials, including concrete or any tools that could be used to rebuild the hundreds of homes and […]

Catch Dat Beat, a unique, only-in-New-Orleans theatrical event, played for one weekend last month at Ashe Cultural Arts Center.  It sold out its several hundred seats every night and will re-open in June at a bigger venue, a 900-plus seat auditorium at Walter L. Cohen High School.  The play, directed by music producer Lucky Johnson, […]

The media landscape in the US is changing rapidly.  As all forms of journalists face massive layoffs, analysts fear that journalism’s role as a counterforce against the powerful is in jeopardy.  For progressives and radicals working in media, it’s important to not only question what format news will come in, but also how to approach […]

In neighborhoods around New Orleans, there’s a buzz of excitement gathering among this city’s Arab population.  A new wave of organizing has brought energy and inspiration to a community that is usually content to stay in the background.  The movement is youth-led, with student groups rising up on college campuses across the city, but also […]

The torture of prisoners in US custody is not only found in military prisons in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo.  If President Obama is serious about ending US support for torture, he can start here in Louisiana. The Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola is already notorious for a range of offenses, including keeping former Black Panthers […]

As headlines focus on conventions and running mates, the third anniversary of Katrina offers an opportunity to examine the results of disastrous federal, state, and local policy on the people of New Orleans.  Several organizations have released reports in the past week, examining the current state of the city, and grassroots activists have plans to […]

Tallulah is a small town in Northeastern Louisiana, one of the poorest regions in the US.   It is about 90 miles from the now-legendary town of Jena, and like Jena it is a town with a large youth prison that was closed after allegations of abuse and brutality.  Also like Jena, residents of Tallulah are […]

Two years after the devastation of New Orleans highlighted racism and inequality in the US, the disaster continues.  New Orleans’ health care and education systems are still in crisis.  Thousands of units of public housing sit empty.  Nearly half the city’s population remains displaced.  A report released this week by the Institute for Southern Studies […]