Our Voice Nuestra Voz

Our Voice Nuestra Voz (OVNV) is a nation-building organization that builds solidarity between Black and Brown communities in New Orleans. We work with our people to navigate and survive inequitable systems while we build new ones that allow us to thrive. Our strategy empowers communities through direct action organizing, capacity building, centering identity and culture, and collaboration with institutions, stakeholders, and policy makers.

Our recent wins include:

- In April of 2023 we brought 20 Black and brown leaders from advocacy, policy, philanthropy, arts, and youth-focused organizations to the San Diego - Tijuana border to see first hand the experience of Black migrants. This coalition is currently working on campaigns to protect migrants in our city.

- We led three cohorts of our ¡DALE! teacher fellowship that trains teams of educators to better serve students who are English Learners.

- OVNV worked with New Orleans city council president Helena Moreno, community members, and the United Houma Nation to add Indigenous People's Day to the official city calendar.

- We ran a campaign called Protect Parent Voice which led to the development and passage of an Orleans Parish School Board policy codifying procedures that must be followed if it is found that school leaders or teachers are engaging in behaviors to silence or retaliate against parents. This policy ensures that schools will be held accountable if they infringe upon the rights of parents to advocate and organize for their children.

- Through our Community Defense Fund we have distributed $320,000 in emergency relief for families and community members who suffered financial strain as a result of COVID-19 and Hurricane Ida. This was particularly important for undocumented residents who were ineligible for government-issued Economic Impact Payments.

- Our Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer (P-EBT) campaign eliminated the social security requirement for the state's P-EBT program. This member-driven online campaign involved direct demands to the Louisiana Department of Education and the Louisiana Department of Children & Family Services. Once the social security requirement was rescinded, we hosted Facebook Live events to walk Spanish-speaking families through the process of signing up for P-EBT. Metrics on these videos indicate that we helped over 9,000 families sign up, yielding $2.5 million in direct funding to these families.

- We won the first living wage campaign in the south by organizing with cafeteria workers in New Orleans schools to secure $15 an hour.