Helen Frink

@joshneutralsnap AGREE

Easter candy is better than Halloween candy argue with a wall

Looks like every single one is in North Baton Rouge

@chuckmoffat So you didn’t live there lol in fact pretty much couldn’t have lived further from there. Of course a suburban white kid had no idea about the downfall of a thriving and historic non white area near downtown

@HelenFrink Broadmoor.

This is what happens when you gentrify a neighborhood called The Bottom Low income housing was built there for “colored” (Black & Italian) families after slavery ended BECAUSE it flooded It was one of the strongest non white economies in the country until desegregation & I10

@CMLindrew Absolutely Collin.

@HelenFrink All this aside, I think we can agree that the neighborhood deserves much more investment and care than it has gotten and currently gets from those in power. Any attention given to it is a positive thing!

@CMLindrew Old South Baton Rouge full name though not “Old South” but that’s just my personal experience!

@HelenFrink I’m not sure that’s entirely fair. The neighborhood’s own economic development group (oldsouthbr.org) calls it that. That’s also what the CPEX redevelopment plan calls it.

@CMLindrew Would caution calling the area “Old South”, carries a particular confederate tone and I’ve never heard residents call it anything other than South BR and/or The Bottom(s)

@CMLindrew Yes it has flooded for centuries. Historical context for those who have only ever known the area in its post 70s standing.

@Blackjelly64289 Yep!

@HelenFrink The real problem is that much of Baton Rouge has been suburbanized, even inside the city. Sprawl has pushed development into floodplains with no real solution except ditches and drainage ponds that can’t handle extreme rainfall.

@CMLindrew For the record I’m also a lifelong BR resident, with a sociology degree, who worked for city-parish for 6 years and have studied under Dr. Lori Martin & Raymond Jetson who authored a history South Baton Rouge. Don’t claim to know it all but since we are listing credentials 💖

@CMLindrew I misunderstood where this video was taken, I was thinking it was north of BWW. Are you familiar with the history of South Baton Rouge? It was understood to be the 3 miles radius around McKinley HS, built on former plantation land. The Bottom(s) is/was a neighborhood within SBR

@chuckmoffat What street did you live on? Where did you go to high school? Where did you go to church?

@HelenFrink I lived there then. I did not see a booming economy in that area. The booming economy was moving east. Blame whatever post-war socioeconomic factors that you’d like. No one builds an addition to a house that’s sliding into a mud pit.

@MizzezDeanie85 I’ll take it!

For the most of it, she's not wrong

@JMartingayle Ah I was thinking it was north of the BWW

@HelenFrink @MWollenweber I think you’re confused; this is nowhere near The Bottom. This is by walk-ons south of campus. The Bottom is north of campus

@TrevorDMcCray Yep you’re right. The word didn’t contribute anything that Black and Italian immigrant wouldn’t.

@HelenFrink Low-income housing in that area historically supported Black and Italian families after slavery ended because it was prone to flooding. Does this align with your initial statement?

@ForeverPaid91 These things are not mutually exclusive 😉

@tiptonhotelG Yes it’s flooded for centuries. Suddenly an issue when LSU acquires the cheap land and doesn’t implement any drainage measures. Glad we agree!

@HelenFrink …. This have nothing to do with gentrification. 2 . This is caused by greed and poor city planning . This area once was home to trees and swamps.

@oliverlisp Yes proper research is important, it’s flooded for centuries. A fact so well known that the area was named for it. But LSU acquired it anyway without any drainage measures 💖

@HelenFrink This is what happens when you don’t do proper research. Rain is racist and the white kids that live in that area must pay the price.

@MCdaRealKang @ForeverPaid91 Yes it the area has flooded for centuries :)

@ForeverPaid91 @HelenFrink Or, this is what happens when you get alotta rain in a short period of time.

@LunaBeauChene @Jerry5Wiley This is actually his solo project! But sentiment remains 💖 my dog is named Benjy

@HelenFrink @Jerry5Wiley Damn! I forgot all about the Benjy Davis Project ❤️

Now that Mardi Gras is over, asking my New Orleans friends for some help on songs about N.O. Non Mardi Gras related. these are my fav: 1. Heart of the night, Poco 2. New Orleans ladies, le Roux 3. Black water, Doobie Bros 4. City of New Orleans, Arlo Guthrie What are yalls?

@TrevorDMcCray I respect that opinion entirely. How would you message my sentiment if you were me?

@HelenFrink Helen, “colored” shouldn’t be part of your vocabulary. I don’t care what your historical reference is referencing.