Just South Monthly

Jesuit Social Research Institute
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The Jesuit Social Research Institute, established 2007, publishes an article with regional and national sources on topics like race, poverty, and migration every month. We work to transform the Gulf South through research, education, advocacy, and service on the core issues of poverty, race, and migration. The Institute is a collaboration of Loyola University New Orleans, and the Society of Jesus rooted in the faith that does justice. The framework for all of our efforts is Catholic Social Teaching and Ignatian spirituality.

  1. Jul 31

    Immigrant Workers’ Critical Role in Rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina and Present Realities

    The United States is a country whose history cannot be divorced from the impact that immigrants have had on it. From the development of the nation as well as its culture, immigrants have a key role in it all. As immigration enforcement ramps up, during the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina we took some time to reflect on their importance within their communities.   In this Episode of the Just South Monthly Podcast, Sue Weisher discusses the important role that immigrant workers had in the recovery and rebuilding efforts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. She shares numerous anecdotes from survivors who interacted with immigrants as well as directly from those that helped with recovery efforts. Sue also discusses the contemporary state of immigration enforcement in the wake of the second Trump presidency.  Dr. Sue Weisher has a long and sorted career in social justice. Sue has been active in the fight to abolish the death penalty for decades, starting with her work with Pilgrimage for Life. Sue joined JSRI in 2010 and has since left in 2024  to continue her advocacy work at the intersection of immigration and the abolition of the death penalty. She currently chairs the Board of Directors for El Pueblo,  serves as the volunteer coordinator for Cafe con Ingles at St. Anthony of Padua Church, and chairs St. Anthony’s Social Justice Committee. Connect with us on Instagram, Facebook, and, Youtube! To keep up to date with our newsletters as they’re published, join our mailing list.

  2. Jul 20

    The Trail They Blazed: Student Reflections on the Importance of Civil Rights

    Within the context of American History, the gains made by the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 60s are all relatively recent history. Within the New Orleans context this rings doubly so… In Spring 2026, in collaboration with the Historic New Orleans and the Loyola Library, JSRI presented The Trail They Blazed as an exhibit housed in Loyola’s Monroe Library. This collection featured numerous first hand accounts, written and printed documents, and interviews with local New Orleans civil rights activists about their fight to turn Louisiana into a more equitable and equal place.  Several students had the opportunity to participate in this exhibit as tour guides across the various displays. Students Cortlyn Berk, Andrea Landry, Jordana Montegut, and Amiyuh Tobias were some of them, and in this episode of Just South Monthly, they alongside  Connect with us on Instagram, Facebook, and, Youtube! To keep up to date with our newsletters as they’re published, join our mailing list.

  3. Jun 25

    Considering Developmental Age in Justice Responses to Emerging Adults

    Developmental age as a consideration in sentencing has always been a controversial and ever-evolving field. It’s generally agreed that the brain still continues to develop past age 18 and into a person’s mid-twenties. Indeed, while the most common age group to receive life without the possibility of parole are 23 year olds, the criminal legal system doesn’t always reflect this reality when sentencing early adults.  In this Episode of the Just South Monthly Podcast, Dr. Victoria Riviera Laugalis discusses the implications of emerging adults and their consideration, or lack thereof, within the criminal legal system. She discusses emerging adults as a new field, its history, her own research, as well as how the criminal legal system is slowly beginning to adjust.  Dr. Laugalis is a current Assistant Professor at Loyola University New Orleans. Her current research focuses on juveniles and emerging adults who are often sentenced to the harshest punishments. Prior to pursuing graduate education, Victoria worked in secure detention as a juvenile detention officer and detention officer supervisor. She then worked as a criminal investigator for several years. Her practitioner experience continues to inform and inspire her research and teaching. Connect with us on Instagram, Facebook, and, Youtube! To keep up to date with our newsletters as they’re published, join our mailing list.

  4. Apr 24

    35 Years to Freedom - The Mission of Hope and Second Chances

    The United States has had a long and terrible history with pursuing justice in its carceral system. The long lasting legacy of non-unanimous juries is chief among them.  In this episode of the JustSouth Monthly podcast Professor William Snowden discusses the history surrounding non-unanimous juries, the history of the unconstitutional practice and how it still impacts incarcerated individuals to this day. Professor Snowden then reflects on his own time as a Public Defender and what the future of advocacy will look like.  William Snowden is a current professor at Loyola University’s College of Law. He formerly served as public defender in Orleans Parish as well as formerly serving as the director of the Vera Institute’s Louisiana branch. Snowden is currently the director of The Juror Project, an organization that focuses on increasing diversity and education around the juries.  Connect with us on Instagram, Facebook, and, Youtube! To keep up to date with our newsletters as they’re published, join our mailing list.

  5. Mar 11

    Research, Humanity, and New Possibilities Beyond the Carceral Space

    “The real name of adoration ... is research.” – Pierre Teilhard de Chardin SJ/  Thomas M. King The United States is currently drenched in a wave of mass incarceration. When it comes to studying and advocating for incarcerated individuals, there are many narratives that plague the perceptions of those with inside the system.  In this episode, Dr. Christian Bolden joins host Si Starks to discuss the importance of story telling when it comes to advocacy in criminal legal reform. Dr. Bolden reflects on his own experience in dealing with incarceration as well as his time hearing the stories of incarcerated individuals. These experiences have shaped not only his work as an academic, but have also greatly influenced how he chooses to share them. Dr. Christian Bolden is the current chair of Loyola University New Orleans’ Criminology department. He primarily specializes in studying the histories and dynamics of gangs, mass incarceration, and human trafficking. His most recent book Out of the Red: My Life of Gangs, Prison, and Redemption, delves into his life work as well as his own experience with gangs and incarceration. A link to the book is below:  Out of the Red: My Life of Gangs, Prison, and Redemption Connect with us on Instagram, Facebook, and, Youtube! To keep up to date with our newsletters as they’re published, join our mailing list.

  6. 11/15/2025

    Katrina at 20: Erasing Educators, Rewriting the System

    "Maybe if you were having a clothing store and you have a flood, you’d just throw all the clothes out and get some new ones. But you can’t do that with children, and you can’t do that with adults who work in those buildings."— Brenda Mitchell, UTNO President, 1999–2008 In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans underwent one of the most radical public education reforms in U.S. history, becoming the nation’s first all-charter school district. But this transformation came at a tremendous cost. Just months after the storm, the Orleans Parish School Board fired over 7,500 educators—nearly three-quarters of them Black undermining both the teaching workforce and the communities they had long served. In this episode, host Si Starks speaks with Dr. Jesse Chanin, author of “Throwing Away Educators: The Post-Katrina New Orleans School Reforms,” to explore the long-term consequences of these dismissals. They discuss the rise of charter governance, the erosion of teacher voice, union busting, and how public education in New Orleans became a symbol of post-Katrina disaster capitalism. Dr. Jesse Chanin studies the connection between middle-class labor unions (such as the United Teachers of New Orleans, who were involved in education post-Katrina) and social justice struggles. She is a postdoctoral fellow at the Coalition for Compassionate Schools, where she collaborates on participatory action research projects with middle school students to enhance their educational experiences. The Jesuit Social Research Institute publishes an article featuring regional and national sources on topics such as race, poverty, and migration every month. In 2025, JSRI is organizing a special series of the JustSouth Monthly newsletter to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Established in 2007, the institute works to transform the Gulf South through research, education,advocacy, and service on the core issues of poverty, race, and migration. The Jesuit Social Research Institute is a collaboration of Loyola University New Orleans, and the Society of Jesus rooted in the faith that does justice. The framework for all our efforts is Catholic Social Teaching and Ignatian spirituality. Connect with us on ⁠Facebook⁠, ⁠Twitter,⁠ and ⁠Instagram⁠, or join our mailing list ⁠here⁠. The editorial deadline for this episode was Saturday, November 15th, 2025.

  7. 10/08/2025

    Katrina at 20: The Right to Return Denied

    "We finally cleaned up public housing in New Orleans. We couldn’t do it, but God did."– Richard Baker, U.S. Congressman (R-La.), just days after Katrina. When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, thousands of homes were lost, but not all were destroyed by floodwater. The federal government deliberately demolished many of the city’s public housing developments, which had suffered only minor damage and could have been repaired. More than 5,000 affordable apartments—homes to mostly Black, working-class families—were razed, locking out residents behind fences and echoing hostile political rhetoric like “We don’t want you back.” In this episode, host Si Starks sits down with Bill Quigley, author of “Affordable Public Housing, Home to Over 5000 Families, Demolished by HUD After Katrina,” to explore how families lost not only their homes but their neighborhoods, churches, and communities, and how, even twenty years later, New Orleans remains deeply unaffordable for people earning minimum wage. Bill Quigley is the Fr. Louis J. Twomey, S.J. Legacy Scholar in Residence at the Jesuit Social Research Institute and an emeritus law professor at Loyola University New Orleans College of Law. A lifelong advocate for human rights and social justice, Bill has spent decades working alongside communities most affected by poverty, racism, and injustice, especially in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. His insight into the legal and moral failures of disaster response brings a powerful and deeply informed voice to today’s conversation. The Jesuit Social Research Institute publishes an article with regional and national sources on topics like race, poverty, and migration every month. In 2025, JSRI is organizing a special series of the JustSouth Monthly newsletter to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Established in 2007, the institute works to transform the Gulf South through research, education, advocacy, and service on the core issues of poverty, race, and migration. The Jesuit Social Research Institute is a collaboration of Loyola University New Orleans, and the Society of Jesus, rooted in the faith that does justice. The framework for all our efforts is Catholic Social Teaching and Ignatian spirituality. Connect with us on ⁠Facebook⁠, ⁠Twitter,⁠ and ⁠Instagram⁠, or join our mailing list ⁠here⁠. The editorial deadline for this episode was Wednesday, October 8th, 2025.

  8. 07/10/2025

    Katrina at 20: Justice Washed Away

    As David Brooks puts it, hurricanes “wash away the surface of society, expose the underlying power structures, the injustices, the patterns of corruption and the unacknowledged inequalities.” When Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, the floodwaters didn’t just destroy homes; they revealed the complete collapse of the city’s criminal justice system. Thousands of people locked inside Orleans Parish Prison were left to fend for themselves in rising water, with no power, food, or rescue. After they were finally evacuated, many were scattered across the state, lost in a system that had no plan to protect their rights or lives. In this episode, host Si Starks sits down with Bidish Sarma, JSRI Research Associate and author of “The Living Memory of a Criminal Justice System’s Collapse,” to examine what went wrong in 2005, and what has and hasn’t changed since. They discuss how mass incarceration makes New Orleans especially vulnerable, how systemic neglect allowed legal protections to vanish, and how bold local reforms have faced renewed threats from the state. Bidish Sarma is a Research Associate at the Jesuit Social Research Institute at Loyola University New Orleans. He previously served as an Assistant District Attorney in the Civil Rights Division of the Orleans Parish District Attorney's office, where he reviewed and resolved cases involving wrongful convictions and extreme sentences. Bidish began his legal career in 2008 at the Capital Appeals Project in New Orleans, representing individuals sentenced to death on their appeals. He later served as a clinical teaching fellow at the Berkeley Law Death Penalty Clinic and has also taught as an adjunct at Tulane Law School. He earned his J.D. from Yale Law School, where he received the Khosla Memorial Fund for Human Dignity Prize, and graduated with highest distinction from the University of Michigan with a B.A. in Political Science and Philosophy. The Jesuit Social Research Institute publishes an article with regional and national sources on topics like race, poverty, and migration every month. In 2025, JSRI is organizing a special series of the Just South Monthly newsletter to memory the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Established in 2007, the institute works to transform the Gulf South through research, education, advocacy, and service on the core issues of poverty, race, and migration. The Jesuit Social Research Institute is a collaboration of Loyola University New Orleans, and the Society of Jesus rooted in the faith that does justice. The framework for all our efforts is Catholic Social Teaching and Ignatian spirituality. Connect with us on ⁠Facebook⁠, ⁠Twitter,⁠ and ⁠Instagram⁠, or join our mailing list ⁠here⁠. The editorial deadline for this episode was Thursday, July 10th, 2025.

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The Jesuit Social Research Institute, established 2007, publishes an article with regional and national sources on topics like race, poverty, and migration every month. We work to transform the Gulf South through research, education, advocacy, and service on the core issues of poverty, race, and migration. The Institute is a collaboration of Loyola University New Orleans, and the Society of Jesus rooted in the faith that does justice. The framework for all of our efforts is Catholic Social Teaching and Ignatian spirituality.

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  • Creator
    Jesuit Social Research Institute
  • Episodes
    14
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Jesuit Social Research Institute
  • Show Website
    Just South Monthly