It is the year 2025, and yet the City of Minden remains shackled by the same chains of racial discrimination that should have long been broken. One might expect that with the passing of time, justice and equality would finally take root. Instead, we find ourselves confronted with the same bitter truth: discrimination is alive and well, carried forth by those sworn to protect us and by those elected to lead us.
The police force still harbors officers who do not deal fairly with Black citizens. Their actions betray the very badge they wear, sowing distrust in a community already weary from decades of mistreatment. Meanwhile, within the walls of City Hall, a different battle is waged—a quiet but deliberate campaign by the mayor to strip the building of its diversity, to make it “white again.”
Ironically, the open feud between the mayor and the chief of police may prove a moment of opportunity. When the powers that be are at odds with one another, the people sometimes gain space to demand the justice long denied them. Perhaps in their discord lies the city’s only chance for peace.
But we must be clear: peace cannot be built on silence, nor on the erasure of those who have suffered under the weight of inequality. It must be forged in truth, accountability, and the unwavering demand that those in power answer to the people—all of the people.
Until then, Minden remains a city haunted, where progress is promised but prejudice persists.
The Voice of Ida B Wells 