hupcollective

Hearts On Fire:
The Struggle for Justice in New Orleans
Reflections on anti-racist organizing, solidarity and collective liberation

by Ingrid Chapman

“The people of New Orleans will not go quietly into the night,
becoming the homeless of countless other cities while our own homes
are razed to make way for mansions, condos, and casinos. We will join
together to defend our claim and we will rebuild our home in the image
of our own dreams!"
(People’s Hurricane Relief Fund and Oversight Coalition)

Introduction

I hope that this article speaks to people who have gone to the Gulf Coast
to work in solidarity and those organizing in solidarity around the
country. I hope that it clarifies for my allies and friends from and
living in New Orleans why I was there and why this struggle and all of you
have so deeply inspired me.

This reflection was written over the past year upon my return from New
Orleans in the Fall of 2006. This article briefly contextualizes New
Orleans before and after Katrina. It gives my reasons for going to New
Orleans, the organizations I worked with and some of their strategies for
organizing the year following Katrina. It addresses some of the struggles
residents and social justice organizations were and are up against. In
particular I focus on how racism hinders the work of social justice
organizers, activists and volunteers in the relief and reconstruction
effort and how that racism creates barriers for movement building. I look
more deeply at the racism internal to one of the organizations I worked
with and our strategies and attempts at challenging it. I then get into
more detail about the particular work I was involved with over the course
of two 3-month periods in New Orleans in the spring and summer of 2006.
In particular, I highlight anti-racist organizing with other white people
and the Black led struggle for justice in the Lower Ninth Ward. I then
share some of the key lessons I drew from this experience and why I am
deeply committed to the struggle against racism and for collective
liberation.

To Read More:
http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=30&ItemID=13721

Like most of you, two years ago I spent several days watching in horror and grief as the City of New Orleans was first hit by a fierce hurricane, then flooded, then abandoned by a racist, corrupt government.

Two years on, thousands of residents are still displaced, many neighborhoods are still without services like water and electricity, opening schools is a huge struggle, and the eye of the nation has turned elsewhere. A blogger friend recently pointed out the discrepancy between the amount of mainstream media coverage of the 10th anniversary of the death of Diana Princess of Wales in comparison with the amount of mainstream media coverage of the two year anniversary of Katrina. It’s sickening.

We have a responsibility to remember, to refuse to forget what happened in New Orleans and what is ongoing in New Orleans; to keep our eyes open, to demand the right of return for displaced residents and the rebuilding of New Orleans. In September we’ll be posting a list of grassroots organizations working for justice for New Orleans and the gulf coast, which a comrade is currently compiling; for now, please check out this compilation of articles written about New Orleans and the aftermath of Katrina on this second anniversary .

In solidarity,

Rahula Janowski
For the Heads Up Collective



And Still They Rise: Confronting Katrina by Dave Zirin

New Orleans Hit By Another "Hurricane of Racism, Greed and Corruption" - Community Activist Malik Rahim on Democracy Now!

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A Farewell Letter on the Second Anniversary of Katrina A Message from an Organizer to the Left and Progressive Forces inside the USA by Curtis Muhammad

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Two Years Post Katrina: Racism and Criminal Justice”

Colorlines has a special section on their website for this anniversary ( Collapse )

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New Orleans After 24 Months By Greg Palast

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From color of change comes this: ( Collapse )

Another resource is cws.workshop.org/katrinareader which will eventually have a whole bunch of second commemoration materials up.

Hurricane Katrina: The Black Nation’s 9-11! By Saladin Muhammad

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Two Years Post-Katrina:
Racism and Criminal Justice in New Orleans
By Jordan Flaherty
August 29, 2007


Two years after the devastation of New Orleans highlighted racism and
inequality in the US, the disaster continues. New Orleans' health care
and education systems are still in crisis. Thousands of units of
public housing sit empty. Nearly half the city's population remains
displaced. A report released this week by the Institute for Southern
Studies reveals that, out of $116 billion in federal Katrina funds
allocated, less than 30% has gone towards long-term rebuilding—and
half of that 30% remains unspent.

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the Mission youth group HOMEY is painting a mural at 24th and Capp streets which depicts struggles of indigenous communities and includes imagery of Palestine. ADL and the JCRC have organized to demand that the mural be altered. Please read the below message from AROC (Arab Resource and Organizing Committee), the sample letter (and send a letter of your own!) and listen to the KPFA coverage. and finally, make sure to swing by and take a look at the mural. I'll post updates ehre as I hear them...

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hi folks,

you may get stuff like this all the time in your inboxes, but i
strongly encourage you to sign this online petition about stopping a
mining project that would destroy ancestral native lands in arizona.
i had the chance to meet some of the people whose lands will be
affected by this bill last summer, and they are asking for support to
help defeat these two potentially devastating and unprecedented mining
projects.

another huge thing would be to edit and fax the sample letters at the
bottom to members of the committees responsible for voting on the
bill, as well as your local senators and representatives. even one
letter can help! the turn-around time is quick--- trying to get the
letters in by august 22. you can send them as an individual or from
an organization.

thanks, and let me know if you have any questions.
-molly
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lease support these courageous brothers!

Begin forwarded message:

From: SF-8 case <cdhrsupport@freedomarchives.org>
Date: August 22, 2007 10:53:35 PM PDT
To: cdhrsupport@freedomarchives.org
Subject: [Freethe SF8] Wednesday 8/22 Court Report: bail, discovery, DNA
Reply-To: FreetheSF8@riseup.net


Bail Reduced!


Addressing a tense courtroom packed with both supporters and police,
Judge Philip Moscone electrified supporters when he announced major
bail reductions for the six bailable defendants in the SF 8 case.

Ray Boudreaux: $ 385,000

Richard Brown: $ 420,000

Hank Jones: $ 600,000

Richard O'Neal: $ 200,000

Harold Taylor: $ 350,000

Francisco Torres: $ 660,000

Moscone noted that "danger to public safety" was not an issue in his
decision, and arrived at the varying amounts based on 1) the
seriousness of allegations against each individual in the Ingleside
charge and the overt acts of the conspiracy charge, and 2) likelihood
of appearance, noting that all the men have had stable residences for
a long time and have strong family and community ties.
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This is an e-mail from the Tyendinaga Support Committee which is a group in
Toronto that has quickly come together to gather support to Free Shawn
Brant.

In this e-mail...

********************************************************

1. August 29: Public Meeting to Demand the Release of Shawn Brant

2. Sign the Petition: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/supporttmt

3. Free Shawn Brant Website: http://www.ocap.ca/supporttmt.html

4. What you can do

5. Next Tyendinaga Support Committee Meeting

6. Join the Free Shawn Brant group on Facebook

7. Join the E-Mail List

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Racism and Resistance:
The Struggle to Free The Jena Six
By Jordan Flaherty
August 14, 2007


Almost a year ago, in the small northern Louisiana town of Jena, a group of white students hung three nooses from a tree in front of Jena High School. This set into motion a season of racial tension and incidents that culminated in six Black youths facing a lifetime in jail for a schoolyard fight.

The story that has unfolded since is one of racism and injustice, but also of resistance and solidarity, as people from around the world have joined together with the families of the accused, lending legal and financial support, adding political pressure, and joining demonstrations and marches.
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Of 'White Trees', Black Boys and Jena, Louisiana
[col. writ. 7/21/07] (c) '07 Mumia Abu-Jamal

I you asked me two weeks ago if I've ever heard the name of a little
town in Louisiana called 'Jena', I would've drawn a blank.

Jena? Never heard of it.

It made me think of the ill-fated Palestinian village called Jenin, that
Israel crushed into oblivion several years ago.

I think the incumbent president's daughter has that name (with and
additional 'n').

But, that's it.

When a friend sent me several internet articles about recent events
there, I was, quite frankly, flabbergasted.

I was astonished to learn that today, in the first decade of the 21st
century, in Jena High School, there is still a 'white tree', called that not
because the leaves are white, but because it is a generous giver of shade,
and only white students sit under it.

In Sept. 2006, a young student named Kenneth Purvis asked the school
principal for permission to sit under the 'white tree.' The principal
answered that he could sit where he liked.

So, they did.

The next day, the 'white tree' was festooned with three nooses, in
school colors.

In the South (or the North, for that matter), nooses have one clear
meaning -- they are threats of death.

People naturally got riled up, angry, or scared.

Jena's High School principal looked into the matter, found the three
white students responsible, and recommended that they be expelled.

The school superintendent felt otherwise, rescinded the expulsion, and
instead recommended a 3 - day suspension. Speaking to the Chicago Tribune,
the superintendent said, " Adolescents play pranks. I don't think it was a
threat against anybody."

(Perhaps he meant anybody important - or white)

For Jena's Black community, this was but the latest slap in the face.

Black students at the high school decided to resist by holding a sit-in
under the 'white tree' to protest the light suspensions given to the 3 white
noose-hangers.

When word got out about the pending sit-in, the local DA came to a Jena
school assembly, with several cops to threaten the students who dared to
think they could do what people did some 40 years ago throughout the South
(before the so-called 'New South'). He told them if they didn't stop making
a fuss about this 'prank' he could be "your worst enemy." To make the point
plain, he told the teen gathering, " I can take away your lives with a
stroke of a pen."

Several days later, a white Jena student, who reportedly made racist
taunts, including calling Black students 'niggers', got knocked down,
punched and kicked. The boy was taken to the hospital, treated and released.
That very night, he was well enough to attend a public event.

Within days six Black Jena students were arrested and charged with
attempted second degree murder. All six were also immediately expelled.

The 6 teens were given bails set from $70,000 to $139,000.

Bail at these ranges could've just as easily been set at $1 million, for
they were at rates that none of the local parents could afford. That meant,
of course, that all of the accused were held in jail for months, awaiting
trial.

And if money for bail was out of reach, what about money for attorneys?

Again -- out of the question.

That meant that public defenders were appointed by the court.

For one of the accused, Mychal Bell, this meant little better than no
counsel at all, for his trial was soon decided by an all-white jury, who
promptly convicted him of aggravated second degree assault, battery and
conspiracy.

Bell now awaits sentencing which may put the teenager in prison for the
next 22 years.

The public defender never challenged the all-white jury pool, put on no
evidence, and didn't call a single defense witness.

The law of aggravated assault requires the use of a deadly weapon. What
was the weapon?

Tennis shoes.

Families and friends of the Jena 6 are organizing against this case, and
are also being threatened by the local establishment. One woman told
Louisiana ACLU member, Tory Pegram, "We have to convince more people to come
rally with us.....What's the worse that could happen? They fire us from our
jobs? We have the worst jobs in the town anyway. They burn a cross on our
lawns or burn down my house? All of that has happened to us before. We
have to keep speaking out to make sure it doesn't happen to us again, or our
children will never be safe."

To contact the Jena 6 Defense Committee, write:
P.O. Box 2798
Jena, Louisiana 71342

Or on the web: jena6defense@gmail.com.

--(c) '07 maj

[Sources: Quigley, Bill, "Injustice in Jena: Black Nooses Hanging From the
'White' Tree", July 3, '07; Quigley@loyana.edu.; Mangold, Tom, " 'Stealth
racism' stalks deep South", BBC News, 5/24/07 online]

On Woman of color Blog I found a bunch of YouTube clips of things from the social forum.



clips from the Gender and Sexuality Plenary

Also (I didn't embed these) part one of market socialism vs parecon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Et91gXGMLwA&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fbrownfemipower%2Ecom%2F%3Fp%3D1713

(You can find the rest on YouTube if you like it!)

and here's page one of search results for US social forum on Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=US+social+forum&search=

You cna also search USSF, but about half the hits are military related.