My heart broke all over again. Though it's been broken since August 29, 2005.
All the good Christian people -- particularly those out of the Midwest this summer, who said "those people" were too lazy to leave and then just sat around with their hands open waiting to be taken care of should view this film several times, preferably in their churches, with the other members of their congregations around them. But you know they won't. Can't have facts getting in the way of their ugly, selfish and dearly beloved bigotries, our myths about ourselves (we Midwesterners are different than those people!). Over and over you see how it was faith, faith in Jesus, their Jesus, that keeps those people going. Their Jesus is very different from that of other Christians, it appears. One gets a feeling that their Jesus is much more like the Jesus of the New Testament than is the Jesus of these megachurches and self-righteous Christians who are waiting for Rapture and -- yes, the 'left behind.' These are the left behind, and they love Jesus, and they know who left them behind, and it wasn't Jesus
This is one of the projects of Danny Glover's Louverture Films. You can learn more about Trouble The Water on their site, or on the Trouble The Water site.
Every new documentation that comes out shows another dimension of the catastrophe. For instance, for Kimberly and Scott, their location in the Upper 9th Ward subjected them to flooding earlier than the other areas. So they were flooded while the hurricane was still blowing and raining.
The strength of these people is overwhelming. What their relationship has been through and subjected to -- the Katrina devastation was just one more thing. Their relationship is clearly as strong as any two people's can be.
Since it was hard on us to watch it, I can only begin to imagine what it was like for those who actually experienced all this. This group is just one of tens of thousands who have gone through this, and are still going through this. For the victims of Katrina and the failure of the levees, it is still going on.
The uglies out there mistake 'uneducated' for stupid. They are anything byt stupid. In fact, they were better prepared by their life to survive this abandonment than any college educated, middle-class suburban white person who might be trapped like this, with NO HELP COMING FOR DAYS AND DAYS.
They know exactly why what happened to them happened. They knew they needed to get out of NO, but there was no way for them to get out. They had no car, no credit cards. They prepared for the hurricane as best they could. They had food, water, drinks prepared. They had prepared their house as you do for a hurricane, covering the windows and so on. When the area began to flood, they brought in their neighbors and shared everything they had. Scott rescued so many people -- by himself, and then with the help of another member of the neighborhood, a person who was his enemy prior to the flood, and who now is a brother for life. Everyone in this nation's black communities knows what happened, how it happened and why. As a cousin of Kim's in Memphis said, "My boy was telling me he wanted to enlist, join the Army. After this I'll scrub floors every day of my life to keep that boy going to college. He is not going to put his life on the line for this country that doesn't think we are a part of it."
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more at http://stateoftheblackworld.org/savethedateSBWC.html
First Black Post-Election Gathering to Develop Policy Proposals for New
Administration
NEW ORLEANS (August 23, 2008) - New Orleans. A group of national and local
African American leaders gathered at the Ashe Cultural Center Thursday to announce plans to hold the State of the Black World Conference (SOBWC) in November 19- 23 in New Orleans.
The conference, anchored by the New York-based Institute of the Black World 21st Century (IBW), is centered on the theme Return to the Source, Restoring Family, Rebuilding Community, Renewing the Struggle. A major goal of the
conference is to focus national and international attention on the
continuing struggle for fair and equitable recovery in New Orleans and the
Gulf.
"We come to New Orleans with a mission: to help rebuild New Orleans; to express our resolve in helping in any way we can," said veteran activist and IBW President Dr. Ron Daniels. "We understand that rebuilding New Orleans is
an important part of what we must do to rebuild our cities and to rebuild America."
SOBWC will be the first major gathering in Black America after this historic presidential election. As a result, the conference is organized as a kind of post- election political convention where a policy agenda for revitalizing Black communities in the U.S., the Caribbean and Africa will be developed to
present to the new Administration.
"Because it is after the election, we recognize it is not a time to relax but a time to go to work," said Dr. Daniels. "We will be leaving here with specific proposals and specific models for action because we are about
solutions. We will learn from each other and gain ideas and specific tools to take back to our local communities to make a difference."
IBW has already begun its policy effort with an innovative anti-violence initiative, Community in Action Neighborhood Defense and Opportunity (CANDO) designed by Kenneth E. Barnes, founder and President of ROOTS, Inc. (Reaching Out to Others Together) of Washington D.C.
Barnes, whose son was murdered, described the legislation as "a
comprehensive approach to saving lives - not the band-aid approach."
The effort has gained the support of US Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Chicago) who will be introducing the CAN DO legislation in the next session of Congress.
SOBWC will also feature a "who's who" of Black America ranging from elected officials to hip hop. Sess 4-5, New Orleanian hip hop activist and CEO of Nothing but Fire Records, was on hand to express his support for the
gathering and welcomed the focus on New Orleans.
"Hip Hop is an integral part of the State of the Black World Conference. It is an integral part of Black politics and revolution," said Dr. Daniels. "Malcolm came through this kind of 'realness' to become one of the most important revolutionaries that ever lived. There are many, many hip hop
artists that come out of that tradition of commitment and uplifting our people."
Other confirmed participants include actor and humanitarian Danny Glover; syndicated talk show host Bev Smith; Rev. Al Sharpton, President, National Action Network; Dr. Julianne Malveaux, President of Bennett College; Marc
Morial, President/CEO, National Urban League; Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, President, National Rainbow/Push Coalition; Dr. Elsie Scott, President/CEO, Congressional Black Caucus Foundation; Atty. Faya Rose Sanders, Founder of the Voting Rights Museum in Selma, Alabama; Susan Taylor, former Editorial
Director, Essence Magazine; Dr. Iva Carruthers, General Secretary, Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference; Dr. Maulana Karenga, Creator of Kwanzaa and Professor of Africana Studies and Chairman of Black Studies at California State University at Long Beach; Haki Madhubuti, author, poet and
Distinguished Professor, Chicago State University; Sonia Sanchez,
internationally acclaimed author and poet; and Charles Ogletree, Harvard Law Professor.
For further information contact: Walter Umrani, 504.723.3976 or Tara Young
202.758.8804 -- website www.stateoftheblackworld.org
This document you will enjoy reading, despite its length. It was discussed and tweaked, for about a year, before finally done.
I've seen it.
Nevertheless, it's good to have it up again.
Love, C.
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