Events Calendar

Getting Radical in the South presents keynote speaker Y. Frank Southall

Southall is the Lead Organizer and Community Engagement Coordinator at the Jane Place Neighborhood Sustainability Initiative (JPNSI) in New Orleans, LA. At JPNSI, Southall manages the organization’s organizing and community engagement strategies. His primary organizing focuses are around evictions, renters’ rights and other matters related to housing justice.

Prior to working at JPNSI, Southall worked at Neighborhood Housing Services of New Orleans in the Freret Neighborhood Center, where he focused on intergenerational community-building, youth organizing and programs designed to improve quality of life. He has also worked at Tulane University’s Center for Public Service, Public Allies, Working America and other organizations focused on social, racial and economic justice. Southall has presented workshops, research and participated on panels at Tulane University, Auburn University, the Highlander School & for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to name a few. Additionally, his activist work has been featured in publications such as “Teen Vogue”, “Curbed”, “Vice News” and more.

In his free time, he serves as the elected representative for the 94th District on the Louisiana Democratic State Central Coordinating committee, is a co-founder of an emerging tool lending library in New Orleans and is on the board of directors for the New Orleans Food Cooperative. Southall studied Journalism and African-American Studies at the University of Cincinnati.