Editorial: Christmas time is here

By Edmund W. Lewis
The Louisiana Weekly Editor

After the last few years we’ve had, with hurricanes, floods, oil spills, wildfires and political firestorms, it’s hard to believe that Christmas Day is less than two weeks away. It seems like late spring and summer last eleven and a half months in southern Louisiana while the fall — October, November and December — seem to whiz by in a couple of weeks.

Nevertheless, we are in the midst of the holiday season. One of the things many of us forget to do as we move closer to Christmas Day, Kwanzaa and/or the end of the year is pause from time to time to celebrate the many blessings in our lives. While we should thank the Creator every day for the bountiful blessings bestowed upon us. We should also take time to be thankful for the little things. We should never take any of these things for granted.

In the spirit of the season, I decided to share some of my wishes for Christmas and the New Year with you:
• A return home and a safe place to stay for all displaced New Orleanians.
• Fewer potholes in New Orleans.
• Higher salaries for public school teachers.
• Justice for the Orleans Parish public school administrators, educators and employees wrongfully fired by the state of Louisiana.
• More unbought and unbossed Black media.
• More random acts of kindness and selflessness.
• Fewer “noose incidents” across the nation.
• Justice for the Jena 6 and other Blacks who are still catching hell in Jena, La.
• More honest, socially conscious elected officials.
• Peace in the Middle East or New Orleans East, whichever is easier to accomplish.
• More respectful, appreciative teenagers.
• More academic options for high school students.
• More parents who act like responsible adults.
• An open, honest discussion about race and privilege in New Orleans and the rest of the United States.
• Better hurricane evacuation routes for southern Louisiana.
• Less misogyny, materialism and ignorance in the music most often played on radio stations.
• Shorter summers with fewer tropical storms and lower humidity.
• Restoration of Louisiana’s barrier reef and its eroding coastline.
• A greater commitment from corporations and elected officials to protecting Louisiana’s environment.
• Justice for the family of Henry Glover and the return of his skull to his family.
• Justice for Levon Jones.
• An end to senseless violence on the streets of New Orleans.
• More justice in the criminal justice system.
• Pay raises for law-abiding New Orleans police and hard-working firefighters.
• Better-educated, better-trained police officers.
• Safer, better schools.
• A greater commitment to combating illiteracy in southern Louisiana.
• Fewer guns on the streets of New Orleans.
• A greater respect for learning in impoverished communities.
• Greater access to health care for the poorest among us.
• Parenting classes for those who need them most.
• A return to teaching young people how to conduct themselves in various social settings.
• More support for Black-owned businesses from Black folks.
• Greater financial support for historically Black colleges and universities.
• Greater respect and appreciation for Black women.
• Greater political participation, activism and voter registration in communities of color.
• A safe return home for American soldiers in troubled areas of the world.
• An end to the famine, strife and AIDS epidemic that plagues Africa and other parts of the world.
• A viable replacement for Black Entertainment Television (BET).
• A frank, honest national discussion of reparations for people of African descent.
• Peace on earth, goodwill toward men, women and children.

This article originally published in the December 12, 2011 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.