Monroe Underground Podcast

Marie Brown, Damian Coleman and Ambrose Douzart discuss issues surrounding the violence and living conditions in the Parkview Apartments in Monroe, La.

William "Mark" Henderson was murdered by five Monroe, La. Louisiana police officers in August 2004. The officers shot him with over 20 rounds of Pepper Spray, over 15 bean bag shots and they fired 29 shots at him at close range from the front and back. Twelve shots missed, but 17 shots hit and killed him.   The officers were never, fired, or reprimanded by the city's Black mayor, Jamie Mayo and a grand jury refused to indict them. When sons of Mr. Henderson sued for wrongful death the City of Monroe represented the rogue cops and avoided paying anything to his family. This podcast revisits that murder with two of the attorneys that represented the family: Former State Senator Charles Jones and Rep. Fred Jones.

 The Free Press is issuing 22 challenges for candidates for Mayor and city council of Monroe on April 4, 2020. They force candidates to deal with bread and butter issues that impact the lives of the poor, working people and minorities. This podcast looks at the LIVING WAGE challenge. Some candidates accepted the challenge, others danced around it, and others, especially incumbents, refused to promise to work to improve the pay of firefighters and garbage workers within their first year of office. Listen to the podcast and share it with a friend.

John White has announced his resignation as State Superintendent of Education. That will prompt a serious discussion about changing the direction of public education in the state with its heavy emphasis on accountability standards, Common Core Instruction, and dumbed-down high school diplomas. In this podcast, Sandra Lollie, president of the local Federation of Teachers Union gives reflections on what White's resignation means to the state.

On November 16, 2019,  Rolland Edwards and Lonnie Hudson will face off in a general election to elect a Police Juror for District F. Hudson was the front runner in the primary finishing first in a field of six. However, all of his opponents have endorsed Edwards. This podcast gives voters a chance to hear their views on a variety of topics of interest to the voters of the District. Listen and share with others.

 The October 19, 2019 headline in the Monroe Free Press read, "Attacking crime problem needs more than photo sessions." This podcast looks at the crime problem in the parish and makes suggestions about long term solutions. Listen and share.

At a recent candidate's forum sponsored by KEDM Radio Anna Reed and Micheal Thompson gave their ideas about the police jury, if elected to the District D. seat on the Ouachita Parish Police Jury. This podcast compares the two candidates side by side on issues important to the district. Listen and share with a friend.

The September 21, 2019, Monroe Free Press Headline read "School Board tables $20,000 bonus for Eric Davis." This podcast shows school board members standing firm that Eric Davis should get anything he was promised by Superintendent Vidrine, but they are questioning whether it is really because he was principal of the year, or because he was secretly offered a bonus to leave Wossman High and move to Carroll. They maintain that if it is a bonus for moving, in the future, other teachers and principals will also ask the $20,000 question, "Where is the money?" when reassigned.   Download the Monroe Free Press app to your phone to keep up with this and all other Monroe Free Press Underground podcasts.

The August 31, 2019, Editorial Headline in the Monroe Free Press was, "Gallot is "Prez2" will Eric Davis be "Bossman2?" This podcast discusses the level of community support Davis will need to succeed as Carroll High School's newest principal. Listen and share with others.

 The August 17, 2019 headline read, "Arguments end on homeowner's school board suit." The suit was argued in 4th District Court this week with hopes to change the district's policy of placing roadblocks in the way of citizens who want to speak to the board using the Open Meetings Law.  This podcast expands on that lawsuit.

The August 10, 2019 Free Press Headline read, "Kay Katz named to fill vacancy in Black Police Jury District." Mrs. Katz, a former State Representative and city councilwoman has a reputation as a "people person", but she is also an unapologetic Donald Trump supporter. Her appointment sparked outrage in the Black community. This podcast features insights on the issue including thoughts from the Reverend James Jackson, pastor of the Faith Harvest Baptist Church and Kay Katz.

 The headline reads, "Fred Jones to run for District 16 Representative seat." This podcast looks at the race that is shaping up between the next member of the legendary Jones Family to seek election and two others bidding for election in the 2019 fall election.

Headline: "Four principals assigned to the "Principal's Graveyard." A front-page editorial in the July 13, 2019, Free Press called for the school board to start looking for a new superintendent in the aftermath of his fourth assignment of principals to the "Principal's Graveyard." His senseless games the education of students and careers of educators is causing major problems and wasting tremendous resources. Assigning four principals to Sherrouse Alternative School, which only has about 40 students, is another sign of his incompetence. That's the subject of this podcast.

  The state Supreme Court ordered Judge Jefferson to give a life sentence to a man over Jefferson's objection. This podcast looks at the details of the headline "Supreme Court forces Jefferson to give suspect life sentence." June 29, 2019

 Rev. Ike Byrd announced that he will be a candidate for Monroe Mayor in 2020. That raised eyebrows because Rev. Byrd has been a supporter of Mayor Jamie Mayo for many years. This podcast looks at the backstory about the upcoming 2020 Mayor's race in Monroe, La.

 In the June 8, 2019 issue of the Free Press the headline read, "Anti-Abortion fight in Louisiana includes area female legislators." Rep. Katrina Jackson (D-16) and Rep. Pat Moore (D-17) were among women who voted for this law. In this podcast Rep. Jackson explains her tough abortion vote.

Monroe Mayor Jamie Mayo will be seeking another term as Monroe Mayor in the spring of 2020. The question that some are asking is whether or not it's a good idea for anyone, no matter how well they have served to serve for life. The May 18, 2019 editorial in the Free Press was captioned: "Sides taking shape as fresh face prepares challenge to Mayo in 2020." This podcast looks at the three mayors in the past who have served long terms and their legacies. 

  In the May 11, 2019 Edition of the Monroe Free Press, there was a story about community concerns about public education. A subheading read "Magnet Components should be emphasized." Alumni of Carroll want to know what programs at Carroll make it so unique that it can still be called a magnet. During a recent meeting of the school board's Curriculum Committee chaired by Better Cooper, this is was discussed. That is the subject of this podcast. Follow this podcast to keep informed about new posts.

The May 18, 2019 headline read, "School Board approves charter, Willson, Vidrine working to flip a black board member." After approving the J.W. Brown Laboratory School's charter application, Monroe City School Superintendent Brent Vidrine and Board chairperson Bill "Willson" went to work, behind the scenes, to get one black board member to flip. Since blacks have a supermajority on the board, the ability to flip a black board member to break the coalition has major implications and is the subject of this podcast. 

The headline in the May 11, 2019 Free Press was, "Tempers flare as leaders focus on school system deficiencies." The story details the frustrations of six different community groups about the direction of the city school system which is boasting improvements, but graduating students with low ACT scores, and many with diplomas that are not accepted by universities. This week's podcast explains the tone of those two meetings.

The headline of a two-page photo spread in the May 4, 2019 edition read, "The new members of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority." It was a simple headline we thought, but it brought to light that there are two Delta Chapters, two Alpha Kappa Chapters, 150 Black Churches, five Police Departments, two school districts, three Baptist Associations, ten National Baptist Conventions,  and two Baptist State Conventions all exist because of splits many years ago. Most of the people who caused the splits are dead or either senior citizens. Is this generation stepping into the same divisions spawned by their elders? That's the subject of the podcast this week.

The 2019 Monroe City School Board has reduced its number of meetings from twice per month on average, to once each month. Only two of its seven committees have met this year. Its personnel committee has not been appointed for the last four years. Some committees do not meet the entire year. However, board members still collect their $800 monthly paychecks. The April 27, 2019 headline in the Monroe Free Press read, "City School Board cuts meetings, but pay untouched." This podcast is a commentary on the board's lack of transparency.

A headline in the April 20, 2019 edition of the Free Press was captioned, "Tucker: City school bus drivers lose money on field trips; long hours unsafe." Lonnie Tucker, head of the bus drivers association, shows how city drivers who carry students on field trips out of the city actually lose as much as $40 a day to help the schools while the system pockets the profits at their expense. This podcast with Lonnie Tucker explains how some school board members don't seem to care how they are being cheated and how the system takes advantage of the drivers.

   The Town of Richwood voted to allow Richwood Correctional Center to house up to 1,100 illegal immigrants. The owners of RCC will make $52,000 or more a day from the Trump and Administration, and the Town of Richwood will receive $1,275 or more a day. The Free Press headline in the April 13, 2019 edition was, "Richwood to bank big dollars housing illegal immigrants." - That was the headline, but there was a lot of drama going on behind the scenes that was not reported in the article. In this podcast, Richwood Mayor Gerad Brown and Alderman Wysinger Cleveland share their thoughts for and against the immigrant issue. Read the story itself on at http://monroefreepress.com

    Across the state, thousands of students will receive the Tops Tech Diplomas. Many are unaware that it is a watered down diploma that is not the same as others although it looks the same on paper. Recipients can't use their diplomas to enter four-year colleges anywhere in the United States.    High schools that push large numbers of students on this path are rewarded with high letter grades although student performance may not reflect the letter grade the receive. It's a state-backed boondoggle that creates the artificial picture that the state's LEAP 2025 program is graduating more students and improving learning.    For our people, it's dangerous because we are lulled to sleep, thinking our schools are doing well.    This Monroe Underground podcast gives more insight behind the April 13, 2019, Free Press headline, "Class of 2019 to include 133 Tops Tech graduates." See the story on monroefreepress.com

This podcast goes underground to examine this April 6, 2019, Monroe Free Press Headline: "Black Clergy's failure to deliver last week sent signal." Local political activist Tony Little and veteran community activist/pastor Rev. James Earl Jackson are guests who go underground in this episode to discuss in depth the implications of the editorial and headline that can be found at www.monroefreepress.com