New Orleans, Blacks and Katrina

The State of Black New Orleans . . .

The 3rd RECONSTRUCTION

NEW ORLEANS 2005 - We regard the rebuilding and reconstruction of the city of New Orleans to be an important historical, practical, and cultural imperative for the US today. New Orleans ( a.k.a. African Orleans) is arguably the US city that most displays African cultural retention and traditions, effortlessly blended into everyday life. It is also a city that evidences how a diversity of human cultures blends into a mosaic that demonstrates the essence of the multicultural idea that America still dreams of. The Crescent city is one of the world's great "Cultural cities," with a grand musical, culinary, architectural, religious, life rhythmic, folk, artistic and literary tradition comparable to any in the world. Indeed, New Orleans represents an indigenous people's "way of life," and an extraordinarily unique human civilization.

Yet despite its great cultural assets, it is also a city with deep racial and class divisions rooted in the history of slavery, racial segregation and socioeconomic disparities and inequalities. The faces of Katrina gave living expression to the numbing statistics on the quality of life for a significant number of African Americans (that most social observers already knew). In our city;

Perhaps rebuilding the city offers a unique historical and practical opportunity to promote racial justice, equity and healing resulting from the centuries of racial oppression and exploitation, i.e., to "humanize" the city. The displaced African-American community and low income households of all races can be integrated into the "new" Orleanean economy in ways never imagined in the past. If the city is rebuilt, it must address such inequities so that the displaced population perceives New Orleans as a city of quality, opportunity, and justice with a dramatically improved quality of life.

We suggest that the hundreds of billions in state, federal and private resources be targeted to:

New Orleans could then become a model of the sustainable and just city in the global era. We suggest the following principles and Citizen Bill of Rights' as the framework and values orientation that should guide the Rebuilding, Reconstruction and Recovery process. We call on the Millions More Movement, the Congressional Black Caucus, Local and state officials and the displaced citizens of New Orleans to consider and include the Bill of Rights and these principles in the legislation and programs to rebuild the city.

We also respectfully request that the CBC initiate its own Commission to thoroughly investigate all aspects of the physical and human dimensions of the Katrina disaster. The AALP, NOLOC and other groups call on all displaced New Orleaneans to unite behind these principles and Bill of Rights as we proceed to rebuild and reconstruct our homeland. We invite the CBC, the MMM, city and state officials and all Orleaneans to join us in this 3rd RECONSTRUCTION"

We Shall Return

The Katrina disaster is one of the most tragic events ever to occur in the history of the United States. An entire city was physically destroyed, and its people and culture were significantly compromised. Yet this failure of local, state and federal government and their emergency systems have not destroyed the will of the people to survive and triumph. Conversations and listening sessions with persons displaced by Katrina suggest that this as a historical moment to dig deeply into the reservoir of human capacity and rise from the depth of the waters to produce a new and different society

We envision a city based on sustainability, equity and justice, and a radically improved quality of life for all who choose to be citizens of a "new" Orleans. Both the AALP and the NOLOC are committed to rebuilding such a city that everyone would want to return to a city free of racism, poverty, marginality and injustice that we believe the Creator would prefer.

Please feel free to circulate communication within your networks, and plan to be present if you can. On Wednesday, December 28, 2005 we will hold a reunion of all AALP and Local Organizing Committee participants, advocates and supporters. Let's see if we all can invite someone from our network to come home for the Holidays on any of the 3 special days. We also encourage you to celebrate Kwanzaa wherever you are, and seek to have a night of your local Kwanzaa dedicated to the citizens of New Orleans.

Spokesperson:

Mtangulizi Sanyika, AALP Project Manager
504-242-8353 (land), 713-376-3364 (cell)
e-mail: WAZURI@AOL.COM

Courtesy of Vincent Sylvain

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improving human development and capacity such as literacy, social entrepreneurship, job skills, cultural history and traditions, multiculturalism etc.
rebuilding the physical infrastructure such as roads, power, levees, flood barriers, bridges etc. and
rebuilding quality, affordable institutional services and systems such as health care, education, housing enterprises, the cultural economy etc.

35-40% of African-American are in poverty
40 to 50% are underemployed
62% of Black households earn less than $25,000 per year
31,000 children are undereducated each year
less than 20% own their homes in some neighborhoods
only 14% of the businesses are owned by African- Americans
we die from every type of illness earlier than others, our homicide and imprisonment rates are disproportionately high, and the overall quality of life is among the worst in the US.