Grassroots Help for Hurricane Katrina Victims

[BlackBoxArmyDOTS]

Hi ALL - this comes from Curtis Muhammad of the

Algebra
Project:

>

>Attached is a statement from activists among New Orleans' displaced
>community, including QECR, reaching out to folks interested in
>grassroots self-help for Katrina victims.
>
>PLEASE FORWARD EVERYWHERE
>
>Displaced New Orleans Community Demands Action, Accountability and
>Initiates A People's Hurricane Fund
>
>Not until the fifth day of the federal government's inept and
inadequate
>emergency response to the New Orleans disaster did George Bush even
>acknowledge it was unacceptable. Unacceptable doesn't begin to
>describe the depth of the neglect, racism and classism shown to the
people
>of New Orleans. The government's actions and inactions were criminal.
New
>Orleans, a city whose population is almost 70% percent black, 40%
>illiterate, and many are poor, was left day after day to drown, to
starve
>and to die of disease and thirst.
>
>The people of New Orleans will not go quietly into the night,
scattering
>across this country to become homeless in countless other cities while
>federal relief funds are funneled into rebuilding casinos, hotels,
>chemical plants and the wealthy white districts of New Orleans like
the
>French Quarter and the Garden District. We will not stand idly by
while
>this disaster is used as an opportunity to replace our homes with
newly
>built mansions and condos in a gentrified New Orleans.
>
>Community Labor United (CLU), a coalition of the progressive
organizations
>throughout New Orleans, has brought community members together for
eight
>years to discuss socio-economic issues. We have been communicating
with
>people from The Quality Education as a Civil Right Campaign, the
Algebra
>Project, the Young People's Project and the Louisiana Research
Institute
>for Community Empowerment. We are preparing a press release and
framing
>document that will be out as a draft later today for comments.
>Here is what we are calling for:
>
>We are calling for all New Orleanians remaining in the city to be
>evacuated immediately.
>
>We are calling for information about where every evacuee was taken. We
are
>calling for black and progressive leadership to come together to meet
in
>Baton Rouge to initiate the formation of a Community Oversight
Committee
>of evacuees from all the sites. This committee will demand to oversee
>FEMA, the Red Cross and other organizations collecting resources on
behalf
>of our people.
>
>We are calling for volunteers to enter the shelters where our people
are
>and to assist parents with housing, food, water, health care and
access to
>aid.
>
>We are calling for teachers and educators to carve out some time to
come
>to evacuation sites and teach our children.
>
>We are calling for city schools and universities near evacuation sites
to
>open their doors for our children to go to school.
>
>We are calling for health care workers and mental health workers to
come
>to evacuation sites to volunteer.
>
>We are calling for lawyers to investigate the wrongful death of those
who
>died, to protect the land of the displaced, to investigate whether
the
>levies broke due to natural and other related matters.
>
>We are calling for evacuees from our community to actively participate
in
>the rebuilding of New Orleans.
>
>We are calling for the addresses of all the relevant list serves and
press
>contacts to send our information.
>
>We are in the process of setting up a central command post in Jackson,
MS,
>where we will have phone lines, fax, email and a web page to
centralize
>information. We will need volunteers to staff this office.
>
>We have set up a People's Hurricane Fund that will be directed and
>administered by New Orleanian evacuees. The Young People's Project, a
>501(c)3 organization formed by graduates of the Algebra Project, has
>agreed to accept donations on behalf of this fund. Donations can be
>mailed to:
>

The People's Hurricane Fund c/o The Young People's Project
99 Bishop Allen Drive
Cambridge, MAÂ 02139

>
If you have comments of how to proceed or need more information,

please

email them to Curtis Muhammad : [e-mail] and Becky
Belcore : [e-mail]

.
>
>Thank you.