The Voice of Ida B Wells

MAMA IDA HAS TWO THINGS ON HER MIND TODAY!

Now, y’all know Mama Ida doesn’t mind asking the questions that make folks uncomfortable! Because sometimes the things nobody wants to talk about are the very things the public deserves answers to!

FIRST, LET’S TALK ABOUT THESE SUDDEN COMMUNITY EVENTS!

Now, help Mama Ida understand something. This lady has been in Shreveport for years, where her husband serves as a councilman. Yet, from what Mama Ida has observed, we haven’t seen this same enthusiasm for organizing rallies, drives, and community events over there.

But suddenly, she comes down to little ole Minden, where her husband’s best friend reportedly serves on the City Council, and now we’re seeing several events being organized!

Well, WELL, WELL!

Was there something stopping these activities in Shreveport? Or is there a newfound interest in making her presence known in Minden?

And if so, what is the purpose behind this sudden visibility?

Now, Mama Ida isn’t saying there’s anything wrong with community involvement. We need all the help we can get! But when the timing and the connections raise questions, the public has every right to ask them.

Things that make you go HMMMM!

NOW, LET’S TALK ABOUT CITY UTILITY BILLS AND SPECIAL EXEMPTIONS!

Did y’all know that questions have been raised about whether certain businesses received exemptions from late-payment penalties on their city utility bills?

Mama Ida has heard allegations involving a local business where a former mayor’s wife worked. According to those allegations, the business was reportedly allowed to pay its utility bill late without being charged the usual penalties.

Now, if that’s true, Mama Ida has some questions!

Who authorized those exemptions? Were they available to every business? Was there an official policy, or were exceptions granted at someone’s discretion?

Because here’s what Mama Ida wants to know:

If an elderly resident can face late fees for struggling to pay a light bill, shouldn’t the same rules apply to businesses with connections to City Hall?

If these exemptions were legitimate, produce the policy! If they were authorized, show the documentation! And if everybody qualified, explain how the public could have received the same consideration!

Mama Ida believes public money, public policies, and public officials ought to be subject to public scrutiny.

The more questions that arise about past and present city practices, the more important transparency becomes.

And don’t confuse asking questions with making accusations. Mama Ida wants the records, the policies, and the facts!

Because PUBLIC OFFICE IS A PUBLIC TRUST, NOT A PRIVATE FAVOR SYSTEM!

Until next time, keep your eyes open, your ears listening, and your questions ready.

Mama Ida has spoken!

Things that make you go HMMMM…

Minden, it is time to ask some uncomfortable questions.

When a major institution closes its doors in a close-knit community, that should concern everybody. When businesses disappear, employees resign, storefronts change names month after month, and city revenue appears to be shrinking, citizens have every right to ask: What is happening to Minden?

I recently read discussion suggesting the situation surrounding Minden Medical had become a concern for the city. If that is true, where is the public conversation? Where is the leadership? Where is the plan?

We have watched resignations and turnover become almost routine. We have seen similar instability inside City Hall. At some point, coincidence stops satisfying the public.

Things that make you go, “Hmmm.”

Meanwhile, people still remember questions surrounding approximately $25,000 in public money and how those funds were distributed. Yet ordinary citizens— including elderly utility customers—can have their electricity disconnected when they fall behind.

We hear about airport grants and other funding coming into the city, but residents are still asking when some of that progress will translate into relief, stronger infrastructure, lower burdens, or economic development that ordinary families can actually feel.

And transparency cannot stop with money.

Whenever city officials or employees have personal relationships with others whose positions intersect with purchasing, signatures, payroll, contracts, or financial authority, the public deserves clear ethics safeguards. That is not an accusation against anyone. It is simply good government.

The same principle applies when longtime employees suddenly “retire,” especially when different versions of the story circulate throughout the community. If a retirement was voluntary, say so. If disciplinary action occurred, follow the law and tell the public what can legally be disclosed. Rumors grow where transparency disappears.

Then there is another troubling issue: reports that a local resident has been banned from several Main Street businesses, some allegedly connected socially or professionally to people close to city leadership.

Again, the question is not whether private businesses have rights. Of course they do.

The question is whether political relationships, public criticism, or personal disagreements are influencing how people are treated in this community.

Election season is exactly when leaders and those surrounding them should welcome scrutiny—not fear it.

If everything is aboveboard, transparency should not be threatening.

Minden does not belong to elected officials, department heads, business owners, political circles, or anybody’s friends.

Minden belongs to the people.

And the people have every right to ask where the money is going, why businesses are leaving, why employees are walking away, why revenues are falling, and what those entrusted with leadership intend to do about it.

Questions are not disrespect.

Accountability is not an attack.

And silence has never been proof that everything is all right.

Sometimes the most important thing a citizen can do is simply keep asking:

Why?

Well, Minden, an uncontested mayor’s race does not mean the mayor’s record goes unchallenged—it makes public accountability more important than ever. With no opponent on the ballot, citizens must rely on records, questions, and scrutiny to judge how City Hall has used its authority and served the public.

Citizens can start with public-meeting minutes, agendas, ordinances, resolutions, budgets, audits, payroll records, contracts, purchasing documents, and public-records requests. Review how council members voted, which vendors received city business, whether contracts were competitively bid, how grant and utility funds were spent, and whether spending matched the approved budget.

Ask City Hall to explain major personnel changes, employee departures, promotions, disciplinary actions, and reassignment decisions. Request the policies governing those decisions and determine whether they were applied consistently.

Examine utility rates, deposits, late fees, service charges, payment arrangements, shutoff procedures, and records showing how those policies affect residents. Ask whether fees were properly authorized, publicly announced, and applied equally.

Review property-maintenance complaints, code-enforcement notices, demolition orders, permits, and inspection records. Compare how the city handles similar properties and ask whether political connections or personal relationships influence enforcement.

Citizens should also track meeting attendance, public comments, unanswered correspondence, pending lawsuits, insurance claims, and findings from auditors or oversight agencies. Ask who approved each major decision, what evidence supported it, what alternatives were considered, and how the public can measure the result.

An uncontested ballot is not a blank check. It is a reason to read the records more carefully, ask specific questions, and demand answers that can withstand public scrutiny. Do not let an uncontested race become an unquestioned government: follow the money, examine the decisions, attend the meetings, and keep asking City Hall the one question every public official must be prepared to answer—“Show us the record.”

So, Mr. Inspector… you retired?

Now that is interesting.

Because some folks are wondering: Was it truly voluntary, or is there more to the story? Time has a funny way of bringing the truth into the light.

For years, citizens watched. Coffee in hand. Riding through town. McDonald’s parking lot. Walmart. CVS. Local restaurants in the middle of the workday. Meanwhile, houses were being condemned and people were asking, Who exactly is doing the inspecting?

These are questions—not accusations. But when taxpayers are footing the bill, taxpayers have every right to ask them.

And remember those questions from a few years ago about money allegedly being unaccounted for? Whatever became of that? Was it investigated? Was it resolved? Was anyone held accountable?

See, Mother Ida believes in receipts, records, accountability, and truth.

And here is the lesson some people learn too late: everybody smiling with you is not standing with you. Political friendships can become mighty quiet when the winds change.

A new term has begun, and I suspect we haven’t seen the last of the changes.

But while we’re watching individuals, perhaps we need to examine the SYSTEM.

Why has City Hall experienced so much turnover?

Why have so many employees retired, resigned, or moved on?

Why does the public so often hear one version of events while employees and citizens tell another?

And before anybody starts rewriting history about what this administration did or didn’t accomplish, remember: elections have consequences—and so does staying home.

We cannot complain about leadership and then refuse to participate in choosing it.

We cannot complain that there is no opposition when nobody is willing to run.

We cannot complain that everybody says “YES” at the table when we keep electing people who refuse to ask questions.

And please don’t act shocked when people recruit candidates for School Board, City Council, or any other elected office. That’s politics. Competition suddenly becomes a problem only when the competition isn’t convenient.

We’ve even heard concerns through the years about multiple candidates entering races and potentially splitting voting blocs. Whether intentional or not, the answer remains the same:

VOTE.

Stop spending all your energy worrying about political maneuvering you cannot control while neglecting the one thing you CAN control—your ballot.

You want accountability?

VOTE.

You want representation?

VOTE.

You want somebody at the table who will ask questions instead of automatically saying yes?

VOTE.

Mother Ida taught us that silence never protected the people.

So ask questions. Request the records. Examine the facts. Hold EVERYBODY accountable—friend, foe, Black, white, Democrat, Republican, incumbent or newcomer.

And when Election Day comes…

STOP COMPLAINING.
STOP MAKING EXCUSES.
GO VOTE. PERIOD. 🗳️

Because politics will always be politics.

But the people still have a voice—if we decide to use it.

Mr. and Mrs. Minden, huh?

Now, Mama Ida, has said do not be distracted by titles, handshakes, photographs, or invitations. I’ve taught yall to follow the power, ask the questions, and examine who benefits.

In a small town, access can speak louder than words. When certain people seem to have unusual influence, unusual freedom, and unusual access to City Hall, citizens have every right to ask: How did that relationship develop, and whose interests are being served?

Pay attention.

Events are suddenly being held for the Black community. Roles that appear to overlap with work normally associated with Main Street or other city functions are being taken on, yet there seems to be little public concern from the mayor’s office.

And that raises a bigger question: Is this genuine community empowerment, or is someone being positioned as the acceptable Black face of an administration?

Django gave us a fictional character named Stephen who became a powerful symbol—not simply because of who he served, but because he helped protect a system that did not serve people who looked like him. That is why the comparison should make us think rather than simply make us angry.

Black visibility is not automatically Black representation.

Being close to power does not mean you are challenging power.
Being invited into the room does not mean you are speaking for the people outside of it.

So don’t just watch the events. Watch the relationships. Watch the access. Watch the decisions. Watch where the money goes. Watch who gets opportunities—and who suddenly becomes silent when accountability is required.

The question isn’t, “Who gets to rub elbows with the mayor?”

The question is: What are you doing with that access for the people of Minden?

Because public influence should never require personal loyalty to one politician.

Stay awake, Minden. Ask questions. Follow the public record. And never confuse proximity to power with power for the people.
Mr. and Mrs. Minden, huh?

Well, Minden, here we are again.

So a candidate for Chief of Police says he will not terminate or demote employees. Those words may sound reassuring, but the citizens should be concerned with more than titles and promises. A person does not have to fire or demote someone to make a workplace so difficult, uncomfortable, or hostile that good employees decide leaving is their only option.

We have seen enough to know that leadership must be judged by actions—not campaign promises.

And what about the questions concerning family ties and relationships? Have they been fully addressed? If not, why not? Public officials and candidates for positions of public trust should not fear transparency. If there is nothing improper, then put the facts before the people and let the record speak for itself.

Then there is still the matter of the $25,000 check.

Where is the full explanation? Who authorized it? What documentation supports the transaction? These are not unreasonable questions when public money and public officials are involved.

Public records also raise another question concerning a person involved with payroll reportedly becoming engaged to an employee whose payroll she handles. If that information is accurate, citizens have every right to ask whether the arrangement creates an ethical conflict or requires disclosure or recusal. Asking the question is not an accusation—it is what accountability looks like.

And when questions arise about private meetings, workplace pressure, missing or erased camera footage, or records that citizens believe should exist, the answer should never be rumor or speculation. Preserve the records. Produce the records. Follow the law. Tell the truth.

If there was no wrongdoing, transparency will clear the air. If there was wrongdoing, transparency will expose it.

Mama Ida understood something that remains true today: silence protects systems far more often than it protects the people.

So Minden, when will we stand up?

Another four years should not mean another four years of unanswered questions, political photo opportunities, selective outrage, and business as usual. And please spare us the election-season pictures designed to convince Black citizens that somebody suddenly remembers we exist. Representation requires more than standing beside Black people for a photograph.

As for the brown shoes, the weight-loss gossip, and every other rumor floating around town—those things are distractions. The real issue is accountability.

Forget the gossip.

Show us the records.

Answer the questions.

Explain the $25,000.

Address the conflicts.

Preserve the footage.

And let the truth fall wherever it may.

Because public office belongs to the PUBLIC.

And as long as questions remain unanswered, somebody ought to keep asking them.

This current council has done little to inspire confidence, and the people of Minden are still waiting for answers. What happened to the $25,000 matter that has been tabled time and time again? How long must the public wait before accountability takes the place of silence?

Now, as another election approaches, the people must pay attention. Look carefully at the relationships surrounding those seeking power. Ask whether positions and influence in this city are being determined by qualifications and service—or by who you know and who you are connected to.

Do not allow campaign photographs, newspaper articles, or election-season appearances to answer the questions that public records can answer.

Ask the hard questions. Examine the candidates’ pasts. Research the court records and public records. Study their histories with the Black community—not simply during election season, not merely when cameras are present, but throughout the years when no votes were being requested.

How many Black citizens have they genuinely worked with, supported, employed, listened to, and stood beside when there was nothing politically to gain?

Minden, do your homework. Demand answers. Demand transparency. Demand leadership that serves ALL the people.

I am asking you to consider Braley Rabon. I believe it is time for Minden to turn the page on politics driven by personal connections and political convenience.

The ballot belongs to the people. Use it wisely.

Research. Ask questions. Examine the records. Then vote.

Minden, it is time to hold our leaders accountable. Hypocrisy cannot be our standard. Silence cannot be our answer. And the truth should never be afraid of investigation.

WAKE UP, MINDEN.

The election for Minden’s next Chief of Police is too important to be decided by campaign signs, handshakes, or political alliances. It should be decided by character, integrity, transparency, and a proven commitment to serving every citizen equally.

Our community has lived through years of controversy, unanswered questions, and growing distrust. The next chief must be someone who restores confidence—not someone who leaves citizens wondering whether history will repeat itself.

Every candidate should be prepared to answer difficult questions. Their leadership, judgment, disciplinary history, public record, and commitment to fairness should all be open for public examination. The people of Minden have the right to request public records, review court filings, and ask questions without being labeled as troublemakers. Accountability is not an attack; it is the foundation of public service.

The history of racism in our region is real. It has shaped lives, institutions, and the relationship between law enforcement and the communities they serve. Because of that history, candidates for public office should be willing to speak openly about how they will earn the trust of every resident, regardless of race or neighborhood.

This election is not about personalities. It is about whether the next Chief of Police will lead with fairness, transparency, and courage. The citizens of Minden deserve leadership that welcomes scrutiny instead of avoiding it, answers questions instead of dismissing them, and remembers that public office is a public trust.

Don’t vote based on friendships. Don’t vote based on family names. Don’t vote based on political favors. Vote based on facts, documented records, demonstrated leadership, and the vision each candidate has for protecting every citizen of Minden equally under the law.

The badge belongs to the people—not to politics. And the people have every right to demand the very best from those who seek to wear it.