Michael Samuel Todd

06/06/2026

The Troy Henry disposal dispute centers on the French Quarter/Downtown sanitation contract.

Core timeline:

Henry Consulting, led by Troy Henry, was tied to a major sanitation contract, but the original arrangement reportedly became unstable after a payment dispute with Richard’s Disposal. IV Waste then continued under an emergency sanitation contract. Later, Mayor Cantrell moved to replace IV Waste with Henry Consulting, creating lawsuits and political conflict. The City Council pushed back, and courts became involved.

The Troy Henry / Henry Consulting sanitation dispute should be treated as a procurement-governance case study, not as a proven finding of wrongdoing. Public reporting shows that the French Quarter and Downtown sanitation contract became controversial after Henry Consulting’s initial subcontracting arrangement with Richard’s Disposal reportedly broke down over a payment dispute. IV Waste continued providing emergency sanitation services, while the Cantrell administration later sought to transition the work to Henry Consulting. That decision produced litigation, City Council objections, and public debate over cost, service quality, procurement fairness, and public confidence.

“The dispute raises serious questions about procurement transparency, contractor readiness, political influence, emergency contracting, and whether public service decisions were made in the best interest of residents, businesses, taxpayers, and the tourism economy.”

06/04/2026

06/04/2026

One Standard for Every Political Family

Media Scrutiny, Public Trust, and the Business of Power

By Michael Samuel Todd

America cannot keep pretending that media scrutiny is evenly applied.

For years, Hunter Biden’s laptop, art sales, taxes, addiction history, legal troubles, and business relationships were treated as matters of national urgency. Night after night, article after article, panel after panel, the public was told that the conduct of a president’s family member deserved relentless inspection.

Fine.

Public families should be scrutinized.

But the standard cannot change depending on whose last name is involved.

That is why Hunter Biden’s recent criticism of the media double standard deserves serious attention. His point was not merely personal. It was institutional. It asked whether America’s press, political class, and watchdog culture are willing to examine the Trump family’s business activities with the same intensity that was applied to his own life.

Recent reporting has raised substantial questions involving Trump-family-linked business interests.

Jared Kushner-linked resort plans in Albania have triggered protests, environmental concerns, and scrutiny from Albanian anti-corruption authorities. Reports describe concerns involving protected coastal areas, wetlands, biodiversity, public transparency, and the scale of the proposed development.

Donald Trump Jr.-connected investment activity has also drawn scrutiny. ProPublica reported that a rare-earth magnet company tied to Donald Trump Jr.’s venture firm received a major Pentagon financing package reported at $620 million after the firm had taken a stake in the company.

Eric Trump has also been reported as an investor in a $1.5 billion merger involving Israeli drone maker XTEND and a Florida construction company, a transaction intended to take the drone company public.

These are not minor stories.

They involve foreign development, protected land, defense-related industries, public financing, investor access, and proximity to presidential power.

That does not mean every allegation is proven.

It does mean the questions deserve serious coverage.

The issue is not whether Hunter Biden should have been investigated or criticized. The issue is whether the same institutional energy is applied when the subject is Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, or any other family member close to presidential power.

Public trust requires one standard.

Not one standard for Hunter Biden and another standard for the Trump family.

Not one standard for Democratic families and another standard for Republican families.

Not one standard for art sales and another standard for foreign resorts, defense loans, drone companies, and politically connected investment activity.

The media should not be a weapon.

It should be a scale.

If the country is going to examine family influence, then examine family influence everywhere.

If the country is going to question conflicts of interest, then question conflicts of interest everywhere.

If the country is going to demand transparency, then demand transparency from every political family with access to power.

That is not partisanship.

That is accountability.

America is already exhausted by selective outrage. Citizens know when scrutiny is real and when it is staged. They know when a story is pursued because it matters and when it is pursued because it fits a preferred political script.

The country deserves better.

We do not need weaker journalism.

We need stronger journalism.

We need journalism that follows money, power, contracts, foreign influence, public financing, defense relationships, environmental consequences, and government access without fear or favor.

Hunter Biden’s point landed because it exposed a deeper wound in American public life: too many institutions now apply standards based on political convenience rather than civic principle.

That must stop.

There should be no protected families in American democracy.

Not Biden.

Not Trump.

Not anyone.

One country.

One public trust.

One standard.

Reference Schedule

Schedule A — Hunter Biden’s Social Media Activity

Recent reporting confirms that Hunter Biden reemerged on X in early June 2026, posting extensively about media coverage, criticism of his family, political double standards, and attacks involving President Biden and Jill Biden.

Schedule B — Jared Kushner / Ivanka Trump Albania Resort Reporting

Multiple outlets reported protests in Albania over a Jared Kushner-linked luxury resort project, including concerns about protected coastal land, biodiversity, wetlands, transparency, and scrutiny from Albanian anti-corruption authorities.

Schedule C — Donald Trump Jr. / Vulcan Elements / Pentagon Financing

ProPublica reported that a company tied to Donald Trump Jr.’s venture-capital connections received a $620 million Pentagon financing package, prompting questions from lawmakers and watchdog groups.

Schedule D — Eric Trump / XTEND Drone Merger

Reuters reported that Eric Trump invested in a $1.5 billion merger involving Israeli drone maker XTEND and Florida-based JFB Construction Holdings, with the transaction intended to take XTEND public.

Schedule E — Editorial Standard

The factual record supports the broader editorial conclusion that politically connected family business interests deserve consistent scrutiny, regardless of political party.

Key sources for the reference schedule: Hunter Biden’s recent X activity was reported by People; the Albania resort protests and anti-corruption scrutiny were reported by Reuters, The Guardian, Financial Times, and People; the Vulcan Elements/Pentagon financing issue was reported by ProPublica and later prompted lawmaker and watchdog responses; the Eric Trump/XTEND merger was reported by Reuters.

06/04/2026

Bambi,

I have spent a great deal of time reflecting, praying, walking, and thinking about where we are today.

Quite frankly, I am tired of us fighting like two 18-year-old college students. You are 57 years old today, and I am 66 years old, soon to be 67 on October 4, 2026. At this stage of our lives, time is too precious, memories are too valuable, and God’s blessings are too great for us to continue carrying hurt, misunderstandings, and distance between us.

So once again, I am asking for reconciliation.

Not perfection.

Not pretending that mistakes were never made.

Not erasing the difficult conversations.

Simply reconciliation.

A willingness to sit down, talk honestly, listen respectfully, and determine whether there is still a path forward for us.

If that path exists, I would love for us to create new memories together. One of those dreams is traveling to Europe for the New Orleans Saints versus Pittsburgh Steelers game. Two organizations with rich traditions, both wearing black and gold—the same colors that remind me of Grambling, where I had the opportunity to train in basketball during the summer of 1976. With Dillard University’s football program having ended before I entered in 1977, Grambling became the football team I followed and admired.

While overseas, I would also enjoy visiting the great cathedrals undergoing restoration and walking through the historic streets of cities connected to the stories of our families and ancestors. Those experiences are not really about football or travel. They are about sharing moments, creating memories, and appreciating the gift of time while we still have it.

Life has taught me that tomorrow is never promised.

What is promised is today.

And today, I am extending my hand in peace.

No pressure.

No demands.

No ultimatums.

Only a sincere request for reconciliation, understanding, and the possibility of a new chapter.

With love, respect, and hope,

Michael ❤️

:

06/04/2026

RESPECT THE SOIL

A Story of Family, Faith, Stewardship, Leadership, and Legacy

By Michael Samuel Todd

This story begins long before my birth.

It begins in the soil.

It begins with families whose roots stretch across generations and whose sacrifices made possible the opportunities enjoyed by those who followed. The Todd, Flournoy, Hall, Williams, Banks, Whipple, Underwood, Johnson, Philpot, Willingham, Veal, Strange, Ford, Horne, Hughes, Guess, Walker, and countless other families contributed to a legacy of faith, work, education, service, and perseverance.

Raised primarily in Wilkinson County, Georgia, our families understood the value of hard work. Many worked in agriculture, construction, transportation, education, and the kaolin industry that helped sustain middle Georgia communities. They taught lessons that could not be learned from textbooks alone: honor your word, respect your elders, work hard, help your neighbor, and leave things better than you found them.

Those lessons followed me to Dillard University.

At Dillard, mentors such as Dr. Charles Carl Teamer, Sr., Dr. Samuel DuBois Cook, and many others helped shape my understanding of leadership, stewardship, finance, governance, and service. The university became more than a school. It became a training ground for life.

The journey would later carry me through Mobil Oil Corporation, healthcare organizations, financial institutions, higher education, nonprofit leadership, historic preservation projects, and entrepreneurial ventures. Along the way, relationships became one of life’s greatest teachers.

Some relationships were built through family.

Some through education.

Some through faith.

Some through business.

Some through public service.

The story of New Orleans, Dillard University, the African Diaspora Consortium Exchange, healthcare institutions, museums, banks, churches, civic organizations, fraternities, community groups, and neighborhood associations became intertwined with my own story.

Individuals such as Dr. Charles Carl Teamer, Sr., Henry L. Coaxum Jr., Bherita Rhunda “Bambi” Hall, Wendy Burns, Winston Burns, Troy Henry, Ruffin Henry, Raymond C. Brown, Leon Daggs Jr., Christopher Daggs, Cedric Richmond, Edwin Murray Sr., Edwin Murray Jr., James Williams, Sidney Torres, Ronnie Burns, Susan Davidson, Don Davidson, Vincent Sylvain, Jimmie Wood and many others became part of a broader network of relationships that touched business, education, healthcare, governance, preservation, community service, and civic life.

The purpose of documenting these relationships is not accusation.

The purpose is not gossip.

The purpose is not division.

The purpose is preservation.

The purpose is stewardship.

The purpose is to help future generations understand that institutions do not operate in isolation. Communities are built through relationships. Opportunities are created through relationships. Leadership is exercised through relationships. Accountability is strengthened through relationships.

Throughout this journey, I have witnessed both success and failure. I have seen institutions thrive and institutions struggle. I have seen leaders rise and leaders fall. I have seen the importance of transparency, governance, ethics, accountability, and faith.

One lesson remains constant.

Representation matters.

Leadership matters.

Stewardship matters.

Faith matters.

Family matters.

Truth matters.

The legacy of the Todd, Hall, and Flournoy families was not built by one person. It was built by generations who believed that education, faith, hard work, service, and integrity could change lives.

That responsibility now belongs to future generations.

To Alaina.

To Lawrence.

To Dylan.

To Alivia.

And to every young person who may one day read these pages.

Your journey will not be identical to ours.

It should not be.

These moments cannot be compared to anyone else’s because they are your journeys.

The question is not whether you will face challenges.

You will.

The question is whether you will meet those challenges with faith, courage, integrity, and perseverance.

Respect the soil.

Respect the people who came before you.

Respect the institutions that helped shape you.

Respect the responsibility that accompanies leadership.

And leave the ground better than you found it.

For in the end, our greatest legacy is not what we owned.

It is what we preserved.

It is what we built.

It is what we passed on.

This gives you a new foundation from which the entire manuscript can be expanded, with the detailed Chapter 10 relationship and governance sections woven naturally into the broader life story.

05/31/2026

Governor Landry is Seeking Power over New Orleans and he is using every available opportunity to derail the economy in New Orleans and the surroundings parishes. Greater New Orleans Inc…what are you going to do next since Governor has made his move and Queen Gayle Benson countered with her move.

05/29/2026

Respect begins with yourself.

From there, it extends to your family, your neighbors, your community, and even to the Doe in the forest walking peacefully beside her Buck and fawn.

Respect is not simply something we ask from others. It is something we practice every day through our words, actions, patience, understanding, and grace.

The older I become, the more I understand that love and respect travel together. One cannot thrive for long without the other.

So when I speak about respecting the soil, I am also speaking about respecting people, respecting differences, respecting journeys, and respecting the lessons life teaches us along the way.

And believe me when I say this:

❤️ I love Bherita Rhunda Hall.

Not because she is perfect, but because her patience, kindness, friendship, and grace have helped me become a better man, a better father, and a better steward of the blessings God has placed in my life.

Respect begins within. Love allows it to grow.

:Michael Samuel ToddMichael Samuel ToddSmithsonian's National Museum of African American History and CultureDillard UniversityTexas Southern UniversityTexas SoftballHouston AstrosAtlanta BravesCommittee for A Better New OrleansGrand Palladium Punta Cana Resort & SpaYorkshire, EnglandBarceló Hotels & ResortsBlackTree TVLewis HamiltonBermuda TourismAmerica250Oliva Trattoria MediterrâneaMontelone Hotel,Montalvo Salón & SpaParis in FranceNew Orleans Regional Black Chamber of CommerceNew Orleans SaintsAtlanta FalconsFC Barcelona FemeníMichael Samuel ToddNFL on CBSAscensionKMOX NewsSt. Louis Public RadioY98 St. Louis.HBCU CONNECTFrench Quarter Festivals, IncUNCF - Atlanta崔羅蓮(Na Yeon Choi)台灣後援會-粉絲團RIDER CUP

05/29/2026

Thank You, Bherita Rhunda Hall, for your grace, patience, and kindness.

I first noticed you from a distance in 2004 while you were working under the leadership of Big Brother Joseph Byrd during your tenure at Xavier University of Louisiana.

Over the years, I have come to appreciate not only your professionalism and dedication, but also your compassion, understanding, and the example you have set for others. Your willingness to encourage, support, and uplift those around you has touched more lives than you may ever realize.

Thank you for your friendship, your patience with me as I continued to grow, and for the many ways you have helped strengthen the bonds of family, community, faith, and love.

Some people enter our lives quietly, yet leave a lasting impact. You are one of those people.

You’re right. The church moment must sit inside the full family and Bherita Rhunda Hall context, not stand alone.

One of the reasons I love and appreciate Bherita Rhunda Hall is because she helped me see love, family, faith, and acceptance through a wider lens.

She loved the opportunity to help provide Alaina Arrie Todd Banks with the opportunity to become a member of the Mystic Krewe of Femme Fatale, creating another pathway for family, culture, community, and womanhood to be celebrated in New Orleans. That act was not small. It was a gesture of patience, inclusion, and love.

I also truly appreciate Bherita’s patience with me as I continued growing as a father and as a man of faith.

On Sunday, October 28, 2018, while attending worship services at Historic St. James A.M.E. Church in New Orleans, Louisiana, under the pastoral leadership of Rev. Dr. Jonathan C. Augustine and alongside First Lady Michelle Rollins Augustine, I experienced one of the most significant moments of self-reflection in my life.

In that sacred setting, I confronted beliefs and assumptions that I had carried for years. I came to understand that I had made a mistake by focusing on who I believed Lawrence Williams Todd should be rather than fully accepting and loving the man he is.

That experience was not a rejection of faith. It was an affirmation of faith. It deepened my understanding that love, compassion, grace, humility, and acceptance are among the highest expressions of Christian discipleship.

For me, Bherita Rhunda Hall’s patience mattered because she had already shown love by example. Through her nephew, Omar Sudderth, she was already living with understanding, compassion, and acceptance inside the LGBTQ experience before I fully understood the depth of that journey in my own family.

That is why this moment belongs in the documentary. It is not only about a church service. It is about a father learning, a son being loved, a daughter being supported, and a woman named Bherita Rhunda Hall helping our family walk closer to truth, grace, and unconditional love.❤️

05/23/2026

FORMAL GOVERNANCE REVIEW REQUEST ASCENSION HEALTH DEPAUL OF NEW ORLEANS (DAUGHTERS OF CHARITY SERVICES OF NEW ORLEANS)

Prepared by:Michael S. Todd

RE: Governance Procedures, Executive Session Actions, Corporate Responsibility Compliance, and Board Communication Review

This memorandum is submitted for purposes of preserving the factual chronology, governance concerns, and institutional questions surrounding actions involving Michael S. Todd during his service associated with the Board of Daughters of Charity Services of New Orleans, an Ascension Health-affiliated organization.

BACKGROUND

During his service, Michael S. Todd raised concerns involving governance, ethics, conflict-of-interest procedures, procurement transparency, and potential related-party relationships connected to organizational operations.

As part of Ascension Health’s governance structure headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, Board members annually executed corporate-responsibility and compliance certifications intended to ensure adherence to:

fiduciary obligations,

ethics standards,

conflict-of-interest disclosure requirements,

procurement integrity,

record-retention policies,

and institutional governance procedures.

EXECUTIVE SESSION PROCEEDINGS

The executive session was convened for the purpose of addressing Michael S. Todd’s status as a Board member, during which a vote was conducted concerning his potential removal from the Board.

Upon conclusion of the vote, Mr. Todd was not removed from the Board.

The executive session was subsequently adjourned, and the Board reconvened in regular session.

Following the resumption of the regular Board meeting, a Board member proposed that Mr. Todd take a three-month leave of absence, with the understanding that he would return at the commencement of the organization’s new fiscal year.

The sequence of these events is significant.

The unsuccessful vote regarding removal occurred during executive session.

The recommendation concerning the leave of absence occurred only after the Board had reconvened in open or regular session.

Accordingly, the official records should accurately reflect both components of the governance process:

the executive-session proceedings and vote concerning removal; and

the discussion, motion, second, and mutual understanding reached during the regular Board meeting regarding the three-month leave of absence and anticipated return.

COMMUNICATION AND GOVERNANCE CONCERNS

Following the leave-of-absence discussion and anticipated return, Mr. Todd maintains that repeated communications directed toward Board leadership during 2019 and into March 2020 did not receive meaningful response or governance clarification.

Accordingly, the following institutional questions remain relevant:

Were the executive-session proceedings and vote properly documented and preserved?

Were the regular-session motions, discussions, and leave-of-absence arrangements accurately reflected within official Board minutes?

Was the anticipated July 2019 return formally acknowledged, reviewed, or acted upon?

Were the ethics and conflict-of-interest concerns raised by Mr. Todd independently reviewed under Ascension Health governance procedures?

Were all related-party disclosures, recusals, procurement reviews, and vendor relationships properly documented under corporate-responsibility standards?

Were record-retention obligations and governance communication requirements fully satisfied?

Did the organization comply with applicable bylaws, governance policies, fiduciary duties, and Ascension Health compliance expectations?

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

This memorandum is not submitted for purposes of personal retaliation or reputational harm.

Rather, it is submitted in the interest of:

institutional transparency,

governance accountability,

preservation of the historical record,

and confirmation that proper corporate-responsibility procedures were followed within a charitable healthcare institution serving the citizens of New Orleans.

Healthcare institutions entrusted with public confidence and vulnerable populations must maintain governance practices that are transparent, documented, ethically sound, and capable of independent review.

Respectfully submitted,

Michael S. Todd

Ascension
Ascension
Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture
New Orleans African American Museum
Dillard University
Committee for A Better New Orleans
Louisiana Public Health Institute (LPHI)
Michael Samuel Todd
Y98 St. Louis
KMOX News
St. Louis Public Radio
WDSU News
Michael Samuel Todd

05/21/2026

Then honor it fully.

Not halfway.
Not quietly.
Not hidden in fragments.

Five hundred years is not simply a number.

It is survival across oceans, plantations, churches, schools, wars, railroads, rivers, cotton fields, classrooms, boardrooms, hurricanes, hospitals, ballots, and bloodlines.

The soil carried your people before America learned their names.

And now the work becomes stewardship of the record itself.

Today is not merely about memory.

It is about continuity.

From Wilkinson County to New Orleans.
From Dillard University to Mobil Oil.
From Flint-Goodridge Hospital to English Turn.
From the kaolin fields of middle Georgia to global finance and institutional leadership.

The thread never broke.

Even when institutions weakened…
even when corruption surfaced…
even when politics divided…
even when storms flooded cities…
even when people underestimated the value of Black stewardship and institutional memory…

the thread survived.

That is what “Respect the Soil” truly means.

Respect the labor beneath the land.
Respect the names beneath the buildings.
Respect the teachers behind the degrees.
Respect the women dressed in white who carried dignity into rooms that once denied them entry.
Respect the men who learned discipline before recognition.
Respect the elders who protected institutions long enough for another generation to arrive.

And now the responsibility shifts again.

Not only to preserve history —
but to organize it,
finance it,
teach it,
publish it,
archive it,
protect it,
and pass it forward with integrity.

That is why the images matter.

The certificates.
The maps.
The books.
The ribbons.
The photographs.
The theater.
The healthcare records.
The community flyers.
The plaques.
The family histories.

Together they form a living archive.

A 500-year ledger.

And every ledger asks the same question:

What was gained?
What was lost?
Who served?
Who sacrificed?
Who protected the mission?
Who forgot the mission?
And who remained standing when the storms finally passed?

Today, the answer is not perfection.

The answer is endurance.

The soil remembers that.

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