Black Education For New Orleans

New Orleans’ 2026 LEAP gains are worth celebrating loudly. For the fourth year in a row, our city is among Louisiana’s top-growing school districts. But this progress is not the beginning of our story. It is the continuation of a long Black educational tradition rooted in rigor, belonging, exposure, legacy and love.

In our latest blog, we reflect on what Fannie C. Williams understood generations ago: test scores can tell us something important, but they can never tell us everything about a child.

🔗: Written by Adrinda Kelly, read “LEAP 2026 Gains and What Fannie C. Williams Knew”:
https://blackedunola.org/blog/leap-2026

New Orleans families, here is a great community opportunity to get ready for the school year! ✏️🎒 Entergy New Orleans is hosting Energize NOLA, a free community fair and back-to-school giveaway featuring family activities, live music, local vendors, energy-saving resources and free school supplies.

📍 Joe W. Brown Park Recreation Center
📅 Saturday, July 18
⏰ 11:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m.

The event is free and open to the community. Bring the whole crew and start the new school year energized!

Hello! Wake up cause it’s ESSENCE FEST weekend and July 4th! We OUTSIDE! Meet us today and tomorrow at Virgin Hotels New Orleans to get your picture taken. We’ve got free drink tickets only for the early arrivers this picture day so pull up on ussss as we fundraise for BE NOLA + build our Black Is Brilliant portrait series archive.

📍 Saturday from 1-6 and Sunday from 9-12pm on the second flo! ✌🏽✨✨✨

This Essence Fest, we want you in the Black Is Brilliant archive. Pull up to our Black Is Brilliant Portrait Pop-Up at Virgin Hotels New Orleans, smile big with Miles Williams, MSW behind the lens, sip on something good, and hear about BE NOLA’s work as we fundraise!

Come solo, bring your besties, or your boo. Just come cute. 🥂

📸 Saturday, July 4 | 1:00–6:00 PM
📸 Sunday, July 5 | 9:00 AM–12:00 PM

Early portrait sitters both days can grab one of our limited complimentary drink tickets, so pull up earlyyyy.

We’re doing a new thing yalllll! 🥹 This Essence Festival weekend (WE BACK!), join BE NOLA for the debut of our Black Is Brilliant Portrait Pop-Up, where we’re creating a living archive of Black brilliance. Pull up to the Virgin Hotels New Orleans to sit for a portrait with our signature backdrop and learn more about our mission. We’ll have sips and swag on deckkkk.

📸: Miles Williams, MSW will be behind the lens:

Saturday, July 4 | 1:00–6:00 PM
Sunday, July 5 | 9:00 AM–12:00 PM

On both days, a limited number of complimentary drink tickets for those taking portraits will be available for the early arrivers, so pull up pretty! 🥂✨

In Black homes, portraits mean something. They live above the fireplace. On the piano. In the hallway. In plastic-covered photo albums brought out when family came over. They remind us who made a way. Who graduated. Who came home. Who we lost and who we are becoming.

That’s why, even in the middle of our annual Black Is Brilliant Summits full of learning, connection and possibility, we ask yall to come sit tall, stand proud, gather close, flex, and be seen.

That’s also why we’re taking our Black Is Brilliant portrait series on the road for the first time ever. Stay tuned for our pop-up, happening down the street from Essence Fest. More deets to come on how you can have your own picture moment yalllll. 🖤

Now listen… we love a community that comes together to show love to educators.

Huge thank you to our sponsors for helping us celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week at our Toast for Educators event:

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Between the giveaways, the support, and the collective love poured into educators last week, yall helped us create something special. Congratulations to the raffle winners! Hope yall enjoy 🤎

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Still thinking about our Literacy on Tap with journalist, author, and 2024 Queen Zulu .

The conversation around her newest graphic novel, “First Freedom: The Story of Opal Lee and Juneteenth,” reminded us that stories do more than teach history. They shape identity, possibility, confidence, and memory.

Thank you, Angelique, for reminding us why Black stories belong everywhere 🤎 And big love to every educator ensuring representative, truth-telling books are in their classrooms.

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