hupcollective

here is an update from Ingrid of the Catalyst Project, followed by an update and appeal from the Coalition to Stop the Demolitions:

Hello friends and family, 12-18-07

Clare Bayard and I have just returned back to Oakland after 2 weeks in
New Orleans. We were there as part of our ongoing Catalyst Project New
Orleans Solidarity Program.

I am so happy to be able to share with you some victories from just
this last week in New Orleans. The struggle to stop the demolition of
4,600 low income public housing units is far from over but the
Coalition to Stop the Demolitions has had some victories this week
that have slowed them down. Hopefully the victories and some more time
will help us build a stronger force for the ongoing struggle for
justice and the right of return of all residents.

Below my email is a letter from the Coalition to Stop the Demolitions,
which lists a bunch of ways national solidarity is needed!

Links to short films from this last week and more:
http://bravenewfilms.org/blog/22079-the-battle-over-new-orleans-
http://bravenewfilms.org/blog/21862-new-orleans-police-attack-

Just this last week in New Orleans…
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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

SOLIDARITY WITH KATRINA SURVIVORS

FEATURED SPEAKER: KALI AKUNO, Executive Director of People's Hurricane Relief Fund

Also:

“Down But Not Out” A Film on the Gulf Coast Resistance

Music by Desert Rat and Spoken Word by Biko and Mission High Artists

April 7th, at 7 pm
Centro del Pueblo, 474 Valencia St., S.F.
(@ 16th Street; near 16th St. Mission BART)

Donation requested at door; No one turned away for lack of funds.

Sponsored by PHRF-OC, Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, Bay Area Katrina Solidarity Committee,
Revolution Youth, The Organizer Newspaper, Colectivo Media Insurgente, CRUCS,
Mission High Black Student Union, June Jordan SFE Black Student Union
For more information, call 415-646-6469 or 504-301-0215.
labor donated/2007

MARK YOUR CALENDARS: APRIL 7 IN SAN FRANCISCO

Join Us For an Evening in Solidarity with the Katrina Survivors!

Fundraiser to Build Support for the International Tribunal on Katrina and the Second Survivors Assembly (end of August 2007)

Fundraiser Date: Saturday, April 7, 2007

Time: 7-9 p.m.

Place: Centro del Pueblo, 474 Valencia St. (@16th St in the Mission District, one block from Mission-16th St. BART station) in San Francisco

Keynote Speaker:

Kali Akuno, Executive Director, People's Hurricane Relief Fund-Oversight Committee (PHRF-OC)

Also Solidarity Statements from:

Clarence Thomas, Co-Chair, Million Worker March Movement

Daniel Gluckstein, Coordinator, International Liaison Committee of Workers and People (ILC), France

Javad Jahi, Malcolm X Grassroots Movement

Chloe Underdue, Revolution Youth, Mission High School, SF

Also:

"Down But Not Out" -- A Film on the Katrina Survivors by David Zlutnick

and Music by Leith Kahl and Spoken Word by Bay Area artists

Sponsored by:

PHRF-OC, Bay Area Katrina Solidarity Committee, Million Worker March Movement, International Liaison Committee of Workers and Peoples (ILC), Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, Revolution Youth, and The
Organizer newspaper

(If you cannot attend, please send a financial contribution to build support for the Katrina Tribunal and the Second Survivors Assembly -- both of which will be held at the end of August 2007. Make check
payable to PHRF and send to PHRF-OC, 1418 N. Clairborne #2, New Orleans, LA 70116. Please mark April 7 SF Fundraiser on Memo line of your check.)

(Parts of this article originally appeared in the March/April issue of
Colorlines Magazine, on newsstands now. Check out Colorlines online
at www.colorlines.org, and www.racewire.org)

New Orleans Community Spaces in Crisis
By Jordan Flaherty
March 7, 2007

Community centers have long been central to New Orleans organizing,
serving as a gathering location for people, culture and ideas. One
activist recently explained, "organizing here looks like neighborhood
get-togethers, potlucks, block parties, and conversations on a
neighbor's porch. Its about culture and community." But 18 months
after Katrina, many of New Orleans' community spaces, vital resources
in the reconstruction of the city, remain shuttered. Traditional
sources for support, such as foundations or charities, often miss this
aspect of New Orleans' community, and many of these spaces have
received little outside assistance.

In a city where many people are still in crisis, most federal support
still has not arrived, insurance companies have evaded responsibility,
and every repair seems to take longer than expected, a lot of these
spaces need help. Few of have received anything close to the funding,
resources, or staff they need for their work, and some are working
unsustainable hours while living in a still-devastated city. Because
New Orleans' education and health care systems have been dismantled,
many have either personal or family issues around health or school
that they must deal with.

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