Entertainers, Hosts Promote Solutions to Address Youth Crisis.

Photos courtesy Monica Basilio and InspireNOLA Charter Schools

Ja’lyn Jones Data News Weekly Contributor

Violent Crime Statistics in shootings, assaults, and armed robbery have increased across the metro-area since 2022, and young people under the age of 18 accounted for nearly 10-percent of all violent crime arrests. Roughly 10-percent of Louisiana children aged 3-to-17 – 91,000 children, were diagnosed with depression or anxiety in 2020, with those numbers increasing since the Pandemic.

To address some of the challenges facing local youth, InspireNOLA Schools hosted its second and largest NOLALove Rally that included motivational talks with young people from public figures in the entertainment world. Radio host Charlamagne Tha God, Actor and Comedian Rickey Smiley, and Actor and Rapper Nick Cannon spoke at the rally on Sept. 20, 2024, at Xavier University of Louisiana’s Convocation Center with 4,200 youth in attendance. The goal behind the event was to encourage love, peace, and advocacy among the city’s youth.

“It’s all about legacy. People inspired us and now that generation has to inspire the next. We must be change agents because that’s what we’re all here to do,” Cannon said.

The speakers touched on entrepreneurship, literacy, the importance of mental health, and participation in extracurricular activities like band and sports. Literacy rates in New Orleans have also declined post-Pandemic, with only 34-percent of the city’s public-school third graders reading at grade level, according to City Data. Children from low-income families are disproportionately affected by this literacy gap, having a nearly 40-percent lower likelihood of reading proficiency.

“Literacy, in the space of mental health, and financial literacy is the main thing we need to build our community,” Cannon said.

The extreme levels of stress that young people in New Orleans experience, from loneliness, academic difficulties, bullying, and family expectations, are a major factor in the city’s rising rates of anxiety and depression, according to a study conducted by Institute of Women & Ethnic Studies (IWES). Many of the city’s youth cope through music, video games, and friends. Simultaneously, they highlight the need for safer and secure environments where young people can express their emotions.

“I want young people to be confident. I want them to be involved with being able to show, give, and spread love without being stigmatized or stereotyped based on their love,” said Singer-Songwriter Tonya Boyd-Cannon, who hosted the NOLALove Rally event.

“I want them to be vocal about how they feel because we don’t want anyone to feel a certain way and can’t be able to express it because they’re dealing with abuse,” said Boyd-Cannon. “I am a testament to domestic abuse, so I know what that’s like as well. So, we want to make sure that when we’re speaking up, we’re speaking loudly. Speak up more about love.”

The artists also encouraged students to use their voices in the upcoming election.

“Local government. We put too much emphasis on the pageantry. We need to focus on our own communities and putting the right leaders in place to actually change the things in our neighborhood,” Cannon said.

Boyd-Cannon added: “Young people need to speak up and be vocal about what their needs are and hold those political figures to that challenge. Challenge them. Hold them to the standards and their beliefs,” she said.

“When you say something, you got to mean what you say and say what you mean. Accountability, transparency, and truth will allow us to see who people really are,” she said.