Some Resources and Links

Contents:

  1. Some Grassroots Racial Justice Organizations in New Orleans
  2. Some Web Resources for Information and Action
  3. Some 'One Year After Katrina' Reports and Analyses. August, 2006
  4. Some 'Two Years After Katrina' Reports and Analyses. August, 2007
  5. General Background

 

SOME GRASSROOTS RACIAL JUSTICE ORGANIZATIONS IN NEW ORLEANS

(This list is by no means exhaustive!!!)

(Editorial note: This material is taken mostly from the organizations’ websites in September, 2007. Please help us update it! Click on Contact Us to get in touch. The information here focuses on the organizations’ mission and vision statements, and often appears in the ‘About Us’ sections of their websites. To learn more about their histories, philosophies of organizing, past and current campaigns, and actions you can take to support their work, please check their websites often! Hopefully, you will be inspired by all the work they are doing to ensure the Right of Return of all Katrina ‘internally displaced persons’ and the Right to Rebuild their communities with justice and self-determination.)

Some Perspectives on Grassroots Racial Justice Resistance

  1. Democracy Now
    August 31st, 2007: ‘Jailed in New Orleans Two Weeks Before Katrina;’ ‘The Danziger Bridge Killings: How New Orleans Police Gunned Down Civilians Fleeing the Flood;’ and ‘The Resilience of the People is What Carries This City Forward: Poet Sunni Patterson & Hip Hop Artist Truth Universal Reflect on New Orleans Two Years after Katrina.’
    August, 30, 2007: ‘New Orleans Hit by Another ‘Hurricane of Racism, Greed and Corruption’ -Community Activist Malik Rahim;’ ‘The Red Cross has basically stolen money from victims in New Orleans’ -People’s Hurricane Relief Fund blasts Katrina Aid Program;’ and ‘The Privatization of Education: How New Orleans went from a public school system to a charter-school city.’
  2. Gulf Coast Reconstruction Watch
    Blueprint for Gulf Renewal: The Katrina Crisis and a Community Agenda for Action. August/September, 2007. (The report includes interviews with organizers in 15 grassroots racial justice organizations in New Orleans, other regions in Louisiana, and in Mississippi.) A Project of the Institute for Southern Studies/Southern Exposure.
  3. Catherine Jones, excerpts from ‘Floodlines,’ her on line journal, from April 4 through May 25, 2007.
    http://floodlines.blogspot.com
  4. Jordan Flaherty, ‘Rebuilding Resistance: Organizing Lessons From One Year After the Devastation of New Orleans,’ LEFT TURN MAGAZINE, Issue #22. Oct/Nov. 2006. http://www.leftturn.org

Some Grassroots Racial Justice Organizations in New Orleans:

SOME WEB RESOURCES FOR INFORMATION AND ACTION

ADVANCEMENT PROJECT www.advancementproject.org

BLACK COMMENTATOR www.blackcommentator.com

CATALYST PROJECT www.collectiveliberation.org

CHALLENGING WHITE SUPREMACY WORKSHOP: A KATRINA READER. (available 9/ 2007) www.katrinareader.org

COLOR LINES MAGAZINE www.colorlines.com

COLOR OF CHANGE www.colorofchange.org

COMMON GROUND COLLECTIIVE: ‘ANTI-RACISM READING PACKET,’ edited by Rachel Luft and Sharon Martinas. www.commongroundrelief.org

DOLLARS & SENSE: ‘Voices from the Gulf Coast,’ March/April 2006
www.dollarsandsense.org

FLOODLINES (a journal by New Orleans resident Catherine Jones) www.floodlines.blogspot.com

GULF COAST RECONSTRUCTION WATCH
www.southernstudies.org/gulfwatch

KATRINA HELP CENTER
www.thebeehive.org/Templates/HurricaneKatrina

KATRINA INFORMATION NETWORK www.katrinaaction.org

LEFT TURN MAGAZINE www.leftturn.org

The NATION MAGAZINE; Sept. 18/06; & Sept. 2007 www.thenation.com

NEW ORLEANS NETWORK www.neworleansnetwork.org

RACE, POVERTY & the ENVIRONMENT: ‘New Orleans’ section
Vol. 13, No. 1 Summer 2006. www.urbanhabitat.org.

SAN FRANCISCO BAY VIEW www.sfbayview.com

U.S. HUMAN RIGHTS NETWORK www.ushrnetwork.org
Greater New Orleans Community Data Center (www.gnocdc.org)

The Neighborhood Story Project (www.neighborhoodstoryproject.org)

SOME ‘ONE YEAR AFTER KATRINA’ REPORTS and ANALYSES. AUGUST, 2006

SOME TWO YEARS AFTER KATRINA: COMMEMORATION REPORTS AND ANALYSES. AUGUST, 2007

Asian American Justice Center, HURRICANE KATRINA: MODELS RESPONSE IN ASIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITIES. Summer, 2007.
(Email: Lcampbell [at] advancingequality [dot] org)

Color Lines, SECOND COMMEMORATION ISSUE includes Chaiti Sen, ‘Colorlines Gulf Coast Discussion Guide,’ and Robin Templeton, ‘Locked up in New Orleans.’ (reprinted from The Nation Magazine, Sept. 2007).
(http://www.colorlines.com/printerfriendly.php?ID=240)

Common Ground Health Clinic, RESOURCE GUIDE. (www.cghc.org)

Democracy Now: Special interviews with New Orleans grassroots organizers: August 30, 31 & Sept. 4 www.democracynow.org
(also available on transcript, video and DVD)

Gulf Coast Reconstruction Watch, BLUEPRINT FOR GULF RENEWAL: THE KATRINA CRISIS AND A COMMUNITY AGENDA FOR ACTION. August, September, 2007. A Project of the Institute for Southern Studies/Southern Exposure. (www.southernstudies.org/gulfblueprint.pdf.)

Heads Up Collective, NOLA 2 YEARS DOWN. (Many resources and articles) (http://hupcollective.livejournal.com/17727.html)

Neighborhood Partnership Network, SECOND ANNIVERSARY OF KATRINA: COMMEMORATIVE EVENTS. August 27, 2007.
(email info [at] npnola [dot] com)

People’s Hurrican Relief Fund, PRELIMINARY REPORT FROM INTERNATIONAL TRIBUNAL: ‘INTERNATIONAL TRIBUNAL ISSUES PRELIMINARY FINDINGS: BUSH, BLANCO, NAGIN COMMITTED CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY. Sept. 10, 2007. (http://www.peopleshurricane.org)
(Also see www.internationaltribunal.org)

People’s Hurricane Relief Fund, INTERVIEW BY DAVEY D, ‘BREAKDOWN FM: FIGHTING FOR THE SOUL OF THE CITY: MEET NEW ORLEANS RAPPER SESS 4-5.’ (http://www.peopleshurricane.org)

Policy Link, HOPE NEEDS HELP: STORIES OF NEW ORLEANS RESIDENTS REBUILDING THEIR CITY. CALL FOR FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SUPPORT. August, 2007.
(http://www.policylink.org/HopeNeedsHelp/HopeNeedsHelp.pdf.)


Policy Link, BRINGING LOUISIANA RENTERS HOME: AN EVALUATION OF THE 2006-2007 GULF OPPORTUNITY ZONE RENTAL HOUSING RESTORATION PROGRAM. June, 2007.
(http://www.policylink.org/documents/lhrc.pdf)

GENERAL BACKGROUND:Books

1. Michael Eric Dyson, COME HELL OR HIGH WATER: HURRICANE KATRINA AND THE COLOR OF DISASTER. NY: Perseus Books, 2006.

2. Chester Hartman and Gregory D. Squires, eds., THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A NATURAL DISASTER: RACE, CLASS, AND HURRICANE KATRINA. NY: Routledge, 2006.

3. Incite! Women of Color Against Violence, eds., COLOR OF VIOLENCE: THE INCITE! ANTHOLOGY. Cambridge, MA: South End Press, 2006.
(Although this anthology is not specific to Katrina survivors, it is vital reading for an understanding of the special impact of Katrina’s violence against women of color, and their strategies to challenge that violence.)

4. Spike Lee, WHEN THE LEVEES BROKE. (4 hour DVD, shown on HBO Fall 2006. Teaching Guide will be available in summer of 2007.)

5. Eric Mann, KATRINA’S LEGACY: WHITE RACISM AND BLACK RECONSTRUCTION IN NEW ORLEANS AND THE GULF COAST.
CA: Frontlines Press, 2006. (www.frontlinespress.com)

6. South End Press Collective, eds., WHAT LIES BENEATH: KATRINA, RACE, AND THE STATE OF THE NATION. Cambridge, MA: South End Press, 2007. (www.southendpress.org)

7. David Dante Troutt, AFTER THE STORM: BLACK INTELLECTUALS EXPLORE THE MEANING OF HURRICANE KATRINA. NY: The New Press, 2006

GENERAL BACKGROUND: Some Films Videos & DVD’s

*** Forgotten Communities, Unmet Promises: An unfolding tragedy on the Gulf Coast. Directed by George Giglio and Steve Liss. Narrated by Danny Glover. 2006. (www.oxfam.org)

*** Heroes, Not Looters -- Eyewitness New Orleans and Houston.
A 15 minute DVD produced by the ANSWER Coalition, Sept. 2005.
(www.ANSWERcoalition.org)

**I Won’t Drown on that Levee and You Ain’t Gonna Break my Back.
Critical Resistance. A DVD directed by Ashley Hunt of the Corrections Documentary Project. 2006. (www.criticalresistance.org/katrina)

*** Monica Dillon, songwriter, discusses her song, ‘When the Levees Broke. ViIDEO/SONG
(http://www.npr.org/templates/story.story.php?storyid=14097457

*** The Lower Ninth: Ground Zero for Reparations and Education.
A 17 minute DVD by K-C Nat Turner. Aug. 29, 2006.
Email: naturner [at] berkeley [dot] ed

*** The Unmasking of New Orleans: Documentary on Hurricane Katrina.
A DVD Produced by Final Call Inc Broadcasting. 2006.
(www.store.finalcall.com or call 1-866-602-1230. ext 200)

*** This Is My Home. The Fight for Public Housing. The Advancement Project. (www.advancementproject.org) Spring, 2007. DVD

*** Voices From the Gulf Coast. 10 Families tell their stories.
A collaboration of Brave New Foundation and the Ella Baker Center. (www.colorofchange.org/ufg/?id=1969-46679) VIDEO (http://www.ellabakercenter.org/page.php?pageid=168contentid=315)

*** When the Levees Broke. A Four Hour Documentary by Spike Lee.
DVD (Available to rent at video stores?)

*** When the Saints Go Marching In,’’ (About the housing crisis in New Orleans). Sept. 2007. A collaboration between Brave New Foundation and the Advancement Project. (http://whenthesaints.org) DVD

New Orleans Human Rights Film Festivals
Films, Videos and DVD’s from the
2006 and 2007
(http://www.nolahumanrights.org)

For info on how to obtain films from their distributors,
please email info [at] nolahumanrights [dot] org


Films on Katrina Shown April 12-22, 2007



*** Back and Forth: A Program of Shorts Curated by Courtney Egan.

*** By Invitation Only, Directed by Rebecca Snedeker.

*** Cleveland Street Gap. Directed by Helen Hill and Courtney Egan.

*** Hazards of Engagement. Directed by Sammy Loren.

*** Kamp Katrina. Directed by Ashley Sabin and David Redmon.

*** Katrina Srory. Directed by 10th Ward Buck.

*** Legacy of Torture. Directed by Andres Alegria and Claude Marks.
(The story of several former members of the Black Panther Party who were tortured by the New Orleans Police Department in 1973, had the charges dropped because of the torture, and now face new charges for the same alleged offense. To get the film: www.freedomarchives.org)

*** NOLA Students Speak Out! Special Shorts Program by students from the Ashe Cultural Arts Center, NOCCA Student Filmmakers and Students at the Center.

Films on Katrina Shown During 2006 Film Festival

*** Faces of Change. Directed by Michele Stephenson.

*** Finding Common Ground in New Orleans. A DVD by Walidah Imarisha (Fall 2005)

*** I Wont’ Drown on that Levee and You Ain’t Gonna Break my Back.
Critical Resistance Film. (www.criticalresistance.org/katrina)

*** New Orleans, My Life, My Home, My Love. (Director’s name not listed.)

Katrina web res. 10-06.

*** People Say. Directed by Mary Beth Black.

*** Stories from Below Sea Level. Curated by Courtney Egan
10 short films.

*** Treme. Directed by Dawn Logsden.

GENERAL BACKGROUND: A Few CD’s


*** 2 Years After Katrina: Still Weathering the Storm. ‘A Music Montage:’ A PRX Special: 59 minutes. Produced by Making Contact: a weekly series by the National Radio Project. (www.radioproject.org; ph: 510-251-1332)

*** 2 Years After Katrina: Still Weathering the Storm. ‘Gulf Coast Mental Health Care.’ #35-07. Produced by Making Contact: a weekly series by the National Radio Project. (www.radioproject.org; ph: 510-251-1332)

*** The National Radio Project has produced a whole series of special reports on Katrina in 2005 and 2006. Check with them for catalogue..

*** Hard Knock Radio, a youth of color oriented program of KPFA (www.kpfa.org) has produced a two week series of interviews and testimonies from the August, 2007 International Tribunal sponsored by the Peoples Hurricane Relief Fund and other racial justice organizations in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. Check with them for availability of their radio series on CD.

GENERAL BACKGROUND: Some Anti-Racist Training Workshops

Anti-Racist Alliance, NYC. (www.anti-racismalliance.com)

Catalyst Project www.collectiveliberation.org
info [at] collectiveliberation [dot] org

Crossroads Ministry www.CrossroadsMinistry.org
xrdsinfo [at] crossroadsministry [dot] org Ph: 773-638-0166

Dismantling Racism (drworks) www.dismantlingracism.org

Groundwork (Madison Wisconsin)

Leaven Center www.leaven.org; leavencenter [at] leaven [dot] org
Ph: 989-855-2605

Methodist MCC Damascus Road
http: //mcc.org/damascusroad/workshops/schedule.html

People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond www.pisab.org
Ph: 504-301-9292

Training for Change www.trainingforchange.org ph:215-241-7035

Unitarian Universalist Service Committee www.uusc.org
Ph: 617-868-6600

World Trust www.worldtrust.org
(Check out their video “Mirrors of Privilege: Making Whiteness Visible)
.
*** For a comprehensive list of anti-racist, anti-oppression workshops: See http://www.soaw.org/new/article.php?id=612. Compiled by
SOA Watch.

GENERAL BACKGROUND: Some Curriculum Guides for K-12 Educators

*** An Unnatural Disaster: A Critical Resource Guide for Addressing the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in the Classroom. NY Core: The New York Collective of Radical Educators. (http://www.nycore.org.) 12/2/05

*** Curriculum on Jena. Sept. 2007. Produced by NY Core. Available from (www.nycore.org and www.t4sj.org).

GENERAL BACKGROUND: Some Early Info from Grassroots Relief Groups

*** Grassroots Low-Income and People of Color Hurricane Relief. Compiled Sept. 14, 2005. http://katrina.mayfirst.org.

*** National and Local Groups Doing Katrina-Related Work. Prepared by the Center for Social Inclusion: A Project of the Tides Center.
(www.centerforsocialinclusion.org).

*** Movement Veterans in the Storm. Statements from Movement Veterans and Others. Veterans of the Civil Rights Movement. (http://www.crmvet.org/katrina/kathome.htm)

GENERAL BACKGROUND: Some Early Katrina Timelines

*** Timeline: Forshadowing the ‘Big One: 1998-Monday Sept.5, 2005.
(http://www.nola.com/katrina/timeline/)

*** Timeline of the events of Hurricane Katrina: Tuesday August 23, 2005-Wed. Oct. 5, 2005. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Hurricane_Katrina)

*** ‘Nobody Knows Anything: A short Katrina timeline: Jan. 2001-Sunday Sept. 4, 2005. ( http:www.nobody-knows-anything.com/2005/09/a_short_katrina_timeline.html)

*** Katrina Timeline Friday August 26-Sat. Sept. 3, 2005. Think Progress.
(http://www.thinkprogress.org/katrina-timeline)

*** Hurricane Katrina Timeline. Sept. 11, 1927- Sept. 5, 2005.
(http://hurricanekatrinatimeline.blogspot.com/2005/09/hurricane-katrina-t...)

*** From the Ground Up (a weekly column that chronicles rebuilding efforts by New Orleans residents, both in the city and in evacuee areas.
(Year 2006) Katrina Help Center: Archive.
(http://www.thebeehive.org/Templates/HurricaneKatrina...)

*** Landmarks in the History of Imperialism, White Supremacy and Male Supremacy in New Orleans: Before, During and After Katrina.
Challenging White Supremacy workshop, June 2006.