The NAACP has issued a travel advisory for Louisiana, urging Blacks to exercise caution when visiting the state because of its discriminatory laws and policies.
That means the NAACP wants the Essence Festival in New Orleans to fail. That’s ironic because Essence is a Black festival sponsored by a Black women’s magazine and is one of the most successful black gatherings in the state.
In the 1960s, the NAACP and other civil rights groups boycotted businesses that would not hire blacks or openly discriminated against them. Everyone understood. For almost 30 years, the word “boycott” has been avoided because it makes the NAACP vulnerable to lawsuits from businesses that lose trade.
The new “safe” word is “Travel Advisory,” which is supposed to be a code word for boycott but is meaningless because it is also a code word for “bad weather”, “Viruses and diseases,” and transportation maladies.
The new “travel advisory” wants black travelers to think twice about coming to Louisiana because, in the view of the NAACP, Louisiana is discriminating against the LGBTQA+ community. That’s ironic because the NAACP has not issued similar warnings about other issues in the state that hurt its core membership, which is made up mostly of racial minorities and not the gay community.
For the Louisiana NAACP to issue a travel advisory implies that the NAACP is more concerned about the LGBTQA+ community than issues that effect Black people as a whole.
It is worth noting that the NAACP’s travel advisory does not mention the high crime rate in Louisiana with murders that are going through the roof. According to the FBI, Louisiana has the highest murder rate in the country. This is a serious problem that affects all Louisianans, regardless of their race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation.
The NAACP is a respected civil rights organization, but it is increasingly out of touch with the issues that concern our people.
The reality is that when it comes to most transgender issues, Louisiana Black agrees with transgender laws that forbid biological men from playing sports on women’s teams.
For the most part, we agree with laws that forbid teaching gender-affirming subject matter to elementary children.
We agree that a preacher should not be forced to perform a gay wedding. Neither should a cake designer be forced to use his special skills to design a same-sex wedding cake.
For the most part, Blacks in Louisiana are not protesting the laws that have been passed because, right or wrong, we agree with them.
If the NAACP wants a travel advisory, it should raise hell about what Blacks are concerned about a state school system that is failing our students, a legislature that refuses to permanently end slavery without exceptions, and a criminal justice system that profits from the incarceration of the poor and minorities.
The Essence Festival is expected to have 90% occupancy in New Orleans hotels. Millions of Blacks are expected from around the world.
The NAACP travel advisory is an ill-advised publicity stunt because nearly every NAACP member in New Orleans will be attending the Essence Festival, advisory or not.
