Gary Chambers Blasts Jeffery Mead Over Black Community Funding and Power in Facebook Live
Gary Chambers criticized Jeffery Mead in a Facebook Live, highlighting underfunded Black communities, Southern University, and St. George.
BATON ROUGE, La. — Community activist Gary Chambers delivered a pointed response Thursday during a Facebook Live broadcast to Jeffery Mead, a Black conservative who criticized Chambers for allegedly promoting government dependency. Chambers framed the exchange as a fight over public resources, equity, and Black self-determination in Baton Rouge.
“I’m not asking for handouts,” Chambers said. “I’m saying the government needs to run us our money — because we paid for it too.”
Click her to see Facebook Live. https://www.facebook.com/reel/1352030613192066
North Baton Rouge: Health and Economic Disparities
Chambers highlighted the 2013 closure of Earl K. Long Hospital, a public safety-net facility in North Baton Rouge. The hospital’s closure left more than 200,000 residents without emergency care, including his 80-year-old father, who has hypertension. Chambers said he helped organize community efforts to restore emergency access.
Louisiana ranks 50th in overall health nationally, with nearly 19% of residents living below the poverty line, including over 25% of children. Obesity and smoking rates exceed the national average, while access to mental health services remains limited.
Southern University and LSU Funding Gap
Chambers criticized the state’s long-standing underfunding of Southern University, the HBCU in North Baton Rouge, compared with Louisiana State University (LSU) in South Baton Rouge. He said Southern has been underfunded by more than $1.2 billion over three decades, despite producing the nation’s leading Black nursing workforce. Meanwhile, LSU recently received $50 million for campus improvements and lake renovations.
“Southern trains the nurses who keep this state alive,” Chambers said. “LSU’s lakes don’t save a single life. That’s systemic theft.”
St. George and Tax Revenue Disparities
Chambers also criticized the creation of St. George, a predominantly white city carved out of East Baton Rouge Parish to form its own school district. He said the move diverts millions in tax dollars from North Baton Rouge’s majority-Black schools. Parish data show roughly 70% of St. George’s projected population is white, compared with 38% across the parish, potentially redirecting tens of millions in public revenue.
“When Black people gain power, they move the goalposts,” Chambers said. “St. George exists to rob North Baton Rouge — not to educate kids.”
Political Context
Chambers noted that Republicans control Louisiana’s governor’s office, state legislature, and statewide boards, yet the state continues to rank near the bottom nationally in social and economic metrics, including health, education, and child well-being.
“Don’t lecture me about Black loyalty to Democrats,” he said. “If Louisiana is last in every category under Republicans, who’s fixing it?”
He also criticized corporate subsidies awarded to wealthy interests while underserved communities remain neglected.
Community Organizing and Local Power
Chambers highlighted victories achieved through community action, including preventing the relocation of the Baton Rouge Zoo from a majority-Black area to a white neighborhood. The project, initially budgeted at $100 million, now exceeds $300 million, with roughly 30% of contracts awarded to minority-owned businesses.
“We fought. We organized. We kept the zoo. And we made it bigger. That’s what power looks like,” Chambers said.
Chambers directly named Jeffery Mead in his Facebook Live remarks, challenging the notion that Black Americans are liabilities rather than assets. He framed the debate as one of self-determination, accountability, and equitable investment.
“Black people are assets. We can build. We can control. We can run our money, our institutions, our destiny,” Chambers said.
As of Sunday, Mead had not responded publicly to Chambers’ remarks.
