What Do You Do When You Get There?:The Katrina Rebuilding Effort

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The Sunday New York Times ran a special comprehensive spread today on progress in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The much needed full issue dedication is pretty timely,especially in light of the "Weekend Inspiration" emailed out to friends on Friday-- a copy of my sermon ,What Do You Do When You Get There?-A Reflection on the Poverty Initiative's January 2006 Katrina Relief Team Trip to the Gulf Coast. It chronicles last year's mission trip to the Gulf Coast,Ocean Springs,Biloxi and New Orleans while at the same time, wrestles to make some sense of the devastation in the face of slow motion recovery and rebuilding efforts. I am happy to be in such good tune with current events. I hope that edge will inspire healing in the form of timely, equitable and effective rebuilding in the great city of New Orleans.

To date, the move towards progress continues at a snail's pace even for real estate mogul Donald Trump, who has a $400 Million Dollar High Rise project currently at stake and in parked status in New Orleans. Trump is committed to the city and is involved to do whatever he can to help the city out.

However, the overall delay in rebuilding New Orleans seems to be facing ostensibly begs the question,"What seems to be the hold up?" A more probing follow up would inquire what continues to be the underlying problem with unifying people and forging ahead for the good of all the city's residents?

From my experience,usually when there's a delay in major activity on a scale of this magnitude,it usually means one or two things. Either there is strong disagreement among the key players, money is in short supply or there has been a delay in processing it due to cash flow issues or even worse,no one quite knows how to approach the problem.

Based on an assessment of the current situation, there appears to be a web of overlapping issues that continue to contribute to the murky state of rebuilding efforts in New Orleans. First of all, I suspect there may be some tension behind the fact that the levees are still not up to par. The Army Corps of Engineers released a report recently on that issue as reported in the New York Times.

Then,there is theBaker Bill. Grassroots community organizers and membership organization,The Color of Change,has a campaign underway which opposes the bill, claiming it caters to the rich and powerful real estate interest,encouraging gentrification, while sacrificing the poor and placing them in the untenable position of being uprooted from their life long homes and being forced to live elsewhere.

Then there is HR 1227 which is a Bill to allow public housing residents back into the city after being forced out indefinitely after Hurricane Katrina. There is also the Gulf Coast Civic Works Project which is designed to give the citizens of New Orleans the right to return to rebuild their homes themselves without the gentrification threat community leaders feel the Baker Bill poses.

There has been a move afoot to organize the community to support these two pieces of legislation which grassroots organizers feel will better provide pre-Katrina homeowners a fair and fighting chance to come back to New Orleans and rebuild.The bills are important.They also interplay dynamically with the issues of poverty,racism and poor structural support for the levees and would seem to inform any plans by developers and master builders to restore New Orleans.

I suspect that Trump's as well as other real estate developer's projects may have gotten bogged down by the cloud of uncertainty that continues to hover over New Orleans. Further, the Army Corps of Engineers doesn't seem to have much promising news about the ability of the levees to withstand another deluge of water and wind from future hurricanes.There are probably a whole slew of additional "hidden" issues that have not even surfaced yet that contribute significantly to and perpetuate the current inertia.

When the Poverty Initiative's Relief Team first arrived in New Orleans in January of last year we met with a real estate developer(more on that story here), someone who could provide us with a pretty straightforward summary of the rebuilding quagmire."Press", almost a year and one half ago was concerned with the fate of the Baker Bill which he supported as a viable means of proceeding with rebuilding efforts.However,that now seems to be facing grassroots opposition. It seems efforts to spread awareness concerning the need for passage of HR 1227 and the Gulf Coast Civic Works Project continues as a grassroots priority.

The latter gives long time residents of New Orleans who are being permanently displaced due to Hurricane Katrina,the muscle to stand their ground and successfully fight to save and remain in their homes. They can also be gainfully employed in the process by rebuilding New Orleans and receive compensation for their efforts.The former is a provision that would allow residents of public housing to return to the city,because now they are being blocked. Many poor feel New Orleans is being stolen right out from under them and that rich and powerful development in the city will unjustly squeeze them out.

In light of the foregoing,I'd like to offer some suggestions to those in New Orleans making valiant or otherwise efforts to rebuild based on my observations as a member of the Poverty Initiative's Fact Finding Mission Trip last January. The following course of action may get some rebuilding activity going.

If you haven't already,you may want to:

-meet, talk and form alliances with grassroots community,religious and civic leaders

-meet with long time residents,residents of public housing units and other people who will likely be permanently displaced if they are not allowed to return to the city

-Reach out. Become familiar with their stories,their pains,their anguish,their losses

-Take a look at Jonathan Demme's "Right to Return" movie on New Orleans

-View Spike Lee's documentary-"When the Levees Broke"

Other Suggested Resources:

"Katrina":Listening With Our Hearts",as well, found on the Poverty Initiative's website

A sermon reflecting on the trip to New Orleans,which was preached in Union Theological Seminary's James Chapel on February 6,2006. You will find it here, or just scroll down to the blog entry prior to this one.

There are still so many uncertainties. However,if people can come together in the spirit and vein of "Rich and Poor Alike" ,working together in solidarity to rebuild,then,I think you may get some movement on this...

Peace,

Cynthia(Revcoolc)

Related Photos and Blogs:



Above Photos taken by Cynthia D. Wilson from Moving Van(passenger side) upon approach to New Orleans-January 13,2006. The Poverty Initiative of Union Theological Seminary- Hurricane Katrina Relief Team Trip

Related Blogs:

What Do You Do When You Get There?( A Reflection on the Poverty Initiative's January 2006 Katrina Relief Team Trip to the Gulf Coast)

www.heavieroctaves.org: January 11, 2006- Ocean Springs, Mississippi-Rich and Poor Alike-More Photos

www.heavieroctaves.org: Jan 13-New Orleans-Final Stop on Katrina Trip-Part I

www.heavieroctaves.org: Jan. 13-More Pictures of New Orleans Area...5 Months After Katrina- Part II

The photos in the link immediately above and the ones below depict the remains of Lower Ninth Ward Homes in Jan.2006



For further information, email cynthia@cynthiadwilson.com

What Do You Do When You Get There?(A Reflection on the Poverty Initiative’s January 2006 Katrina Relief Team Trip to the Gulf Coast)

The following is a sermon I preached at Union Theological Seminary's (UTS) James Chapel on February 6,2006 during the special "History of the Black Church Series"- Sponsored by the UTS Black Caucus as part of its African American History Month Celebration.

The scripture text which guided this sermon was Isaiah 6:8-11,one of the scriptures selected for the Poverty Initiative's accompanying Bible Study Course resources for the January 2006 Immersion Course trip to the Gulf Coast.

In our scripture today, Isaiah, the 8th Century prophet stands in the presence of God and receives directly from God his commission. He sets forth how the prophet is to bring judgment upon “this” people” through the context of disaster. God commands Isaiah what to say and do, and sets out the purpose of those words and actions.

He is to tell the people to look but not understand; he is to prevent the people from understanding, hearing, or seeing lest they see, listen and comprehend and “turn and be healed.” Isaiah’s mission is clear: He is to prevent repentance and healing. While Isaiah does not expressly object to this commission, he does raise a question.. This question is viewed as his prayer of intercession for the people. He asks God, “How long?"

We all know that the contemporary call to respond prophetically to the social ills of racism, poverty, and other forms of injustice is experienced predominantly in our churches in the context of prayer and worship. Unless, of course, you’re a member of the Union community. You give that prayer and that worship “feet”. Most of us are convicted to raise awareness and demonstrate concern by going directly to the people and the problems they face, taking corrective action.

That’s what we did by traveling as part of the Poverty Initiative’s fact finding trip to the Gulf Coast. We traveled to not only find answers to our questions. But we wanted to provide “hands on” relief and address “head on” the problems of Hurricane Katrina. We wanted to “intercede” on behalf of the people.

Here I am lord send me. I want you to use me in whatever way you see fit. I want to be your instrument of mercy. I want to link up with other people of good will and become a force of one to overcome poverty, racism, hatred and other social evils. But, guess what? A funny thing happened when I got there.

My eyes saw things that I could not comprehend. My ears heard things that I could not filter. I just did not want to listen to them. My heart was overwhelmed by emotions that I could not contain. And, I wondered how a God so good, so merciful, so loving, so kind and so omnipotent could let this kind of devastation occur. I and others witnessed a region of the land fall to such unimaginable ruin. Here I am O Lord. Send me. But what do I do when I get there?

God, there are just so many questions still flashing through my mind. Is this man’s punishment from the hands of an angry and wrath filled God? As in Isaiah’s time? In this day and age is the judgment which Isaiah was to give the people in his times still warranted? Is this repairable? Is the devastation so huge that it can never be repaired? And, if so, what are we doing here? What purpose are we serving? Can we really make some useful sense out of all of this?

I didn’t have the kind of money the people I was there to help needed. I didn’t have enough resources to make a difference. I still think about Carol Burnett from the Union class of 1981 who runs an early childhood development program through the United Methodist’s Moore Community House in Biloxi, Mississippi. Eight of her buildings were essentially wiped out by the hurricane. She had 36 employees that were displaced and the neighborhood surrounding Moore is all but desolate. Except for the newly built mixed income housing project close by, most of the neighborhood is uninhabitable.

What can you do when you sincerely want to help? But, some people and governmental institutions seem to thwart and discourage at every turn? What can you do when you have every good intention? Well, you know what they say about good intentions. People don’t always see eye to eye. In fact, many times they don’t. And when and if they ever come to a consensus, it is the result of a lot of time and effort to get them to arrive at one.

That is one of the main reasons I would venture to say, that rebuilding efforts are taking so long in New Orleans. There are political disagreements on who should do it, how it should be done and who and how much they should be paid. Press, a real estate developer in New Orleans gave us a window into how complex the rebuilding issues can be or become if the necessary legislation is not passed.

I thought about Rev. Patrick Keen, a Lutheran pastor who spoke very candidly to us about his beliefs about the levee malfunction in New Orleans during the storm. He believes that they were intentionally blown up. And that the 9th Ward, a lower income area where most of the blacks live was sacrificed to save the French Quarters. There is nothing I knew that I could say to convince him otherwise. Quite frankly, he made a pretty strong case. He even recommended a book, “Rising Tide”, in support of his position, saying how the book shows how it was done before. What do you do when you get there? Can I get a witness?

Then Ted Quant of Ache Community Center shared with us his view. By then, most of our group was still completely stunned that such a thing could happen or that the belief itself could even exist. He didn’t believe that the levees had been intentionally destroyed. But that there was so much hatred demonstrated against the black community that he could see how it could be perceived by them that something like this could really happen. So, what do you do to allay people’s apprehensions to calm their fears? Many of the residents of the 9th ward are not returning to New Orleans because they simply fear for their safety. God, how long? What do you do when you get there?

The conditions there were the worst of any ruin you could even imagine or experience in your worst nightmares. Yet on the other side of town, the “Garden District” where all the aristocrats live, it was life and business as usual. You would not even know that a hurricane had ever been through the city of New Orleans, ever. Here Am I O’Lord Send me. What Do I do now that I’m here?

Well. We had a chance to make a difference no matter how small or large in the end it may be viewed by others. Here We Are God. Send us! What did we do when we got there?

I tell you. We did not pronounce judgment upon the people. We instead interceded with our loving and caring actions which translated into Isaiah’s prayer of intercession, when he responded to his commission by asking God, How long?

We helped people regain their sense of compassion and confidence that there is a God and that there are people out there who still serve a merciful one.

There was Mr. Edinburgh, an 80 something black man that could not live in his home due to the level of toxic mold remaining on the walls after the flood water receded. When we arrived at his home, the customary “water line” and “recovery team” codes, were outside, indicating whether the house contained a dead body, was covered by insurance or had a pet inside. Mr. Edinburgh was outside his house shoveling scraps and particles of debris out from his curbside when we arrived. He was downcast when we first got there. But, after members of the team helped to strip the molded basement walls in an effort to save his home, he was happier. He told us thanks for coming to see about him.

When the cities lay in ruin and despair is all around?

What do you do?

When suspicion and accusations of hatred are there?

What Do You Do?

When educational institutions are laying crumbled in the dirt before you?

When entire communities have been left to rot and go to the dogs?

When the social structures and signs of civilization like freeways and bridges have been crumpled up like accordion instruments?

You reach out and touch somebody and show you care about their plight. Always ready to step up to the plate with the response that becomes a proclamation.

Here am I. Lord. Send Me!!!


Related Blog Articles:

Raising Katrina Consciousness

Raising Katrina Consciousness: Poverty, Neglect, Hatred and Greed Meet Neighborly Concern and Compassion:The Real Humanitarian Relief

Come See About Me (My Space Blog)

www.heavieroctaves.org: Rosie O'Donnell's- For All Kids Foundation-Help for Katrina Survivors

A Missing O'Donnell Observation

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An audio mp3 of this sermon can be found at the following link(Coming soon!)

The book "Katrina:Listening With Our Hearts,the cover of which starts off the above photo slide show, is a compilation of blogs,sermons,reports,photgraphs and other information which was created or gathered during the trip to Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans and other parts of the Gulf Coast.You may purchase the book at www.povertyinitiative.org

Oscar Winner Demme Sees Extended Katrina Project

Jonathan Demme
(More...)

Hurricane Katrina.The memories of our trip to the Gulf Coast early last year on a trip sponsored by Union Theological Seminary's Poverty Initiative are not pretty. The wreckage and debris I would suspect still remains even today in some places.At least that is what I've heard from some reliable sources, some who have traveled as recently as last month on mission trips to the New Orleans area.

I still have plenty of video footage and photographs that were taken from a journey that spanned from Atlanta,Georgia to Biloxi,Mississippi.I also have plenty of information still floating around in my memory bank about the terror people experienced when the flood waters and winds came swirling through the town and the levees gave way.

I am glad to see that Oscar winning producer and director Jonathan Demme is going to do some follow up. I am interested in keeping an eye on his efforts and seeing what the results yield.

If you're interested in reviewing some of the photos that were taken by myself and other seminarians on our Katrina mission,follow the links below. In addition, a very thorough and enlightening account of the 'Katrina Aftermath' can be found in the book to which I contributed two articles,as a blogger and member of the Katrina Relief Team-"Katrina :Listening With Our Hearts".

Purchase Link

This development is very encouraging. It is very inspiring indeed. It's good to know that Demme and Spike Lee and other film makers of their caliber maintain an interest in capturing this experience on camera. The cathartic process of telling and sharing the stories of Katrina victims can only contribute to the healing and physical rebuilding that must take place.

Peace and hope,

Cynthia

Some of My Photos from Katrina Mission last January:






Here are related links to the Heavier Octaves Photo Blog:

www.heavieroctaves.org: January 11, 2006- Ocean Springs, Mississippi-Rich and Poor Alike-More Photos

www.heavieroctaves.org: Jan. 13-More Pictures of New Orleans Area...5 Months After Katrina- Part II

Related Blog Articles:

Raising Katrina Consciousness

Raising Katrina Consciousness: Poverty, Neglect, Hatred and Greed Meet Neighborly Concern and Compassion:The Real Humanitarian Relief

Come See About Me (My Space Blog)

www.heavieroctaves.org: Rosie O'Donnell's- For All Kids Foundation-Help for Katrina Survivors

A Missing O'Donnell Observation

....Is Peace Possible?

Photo Source

The following is an excerpt from a sermon I delivered at the Jan Hus Church on Sunday,April 15,2007 on the subject of war,entitled "Same Tray,Different Waiter: Is Peace Possible?" The guiding scripture text was Matthew 24:6-8 concerning Jesus' reference to "War and rumors of war..." I address the subject from the standpoint that it seems as though our world has always been full of war,violence and fighting. It appears to have remained a constant from Jesus' time until today. What can we do to bring about peace? Is peace really possible?

The contemporary musical selections chosen for the service because of their thought-provoking lyrics and related peace themes were John Lennon's Imagine and John Mayer's Belief,which was performed(covered) by me as the pre-sermon music with accompaniment provided by the Church's musicians.The balance of the music consisted of traditional songs and hymns including "When Will People Cease Their Fighting?","This Little Light of Mine" and "Let There Be Peace On Earth".

Dr. Martin Luther King's speech "Beyond Vietnam-A Time to Break Silence"delivered at the Riverside Church in April 1967 opposing the Vietnam War is also referenced in my sermon.

Here is an excerpt:

War is pervasive. It is almost a force all its own. Can I get a witness? Can you recall a period in your lives when there were no wars or rumors of war? When there were no television or radio broadcasts giving the recent updates on the bombings or the death toll?

It seems no matter how often or how tremendous anti-war and pacifist efforts are, a war manages to pop up eventually on the global scene. Let’s face it, war is a stark cold reality of life that we all face daily. Those engaged in direct combat and its fall out experience it to a greater extent than others.

Every one of us has probably lost a close friend or relative to one World War or a Vietnam War, a Desert Storm, an Iraqi War, the war in Afghanistan, various and sundry other ethnic wars that go on around the world marginally reported. The conflict in the Middle East, the genocide in the Sudan, the Congo--you name it. Do any of these hit close to home? Have you lost a relative? Do you know of someone in your neighborhood, your community that has suffered human loss?

The human cost of war in Iraq continues to mount. Not only are soldiers loosing their lives, but civilian losses continue to climb as well. The American body count in Iraq now stands at 3,299 with 24,476 wounded and/or disabled. A report was just released by the ACLU on April 12,2007 which lists civilian death claims filed by Iraqis and Afghan civilians with the US government for the non-combat loss of the lives of relatives...The Iraqi civilian body count is 67,364 (Anti-war.com).

Do the Math.The cost in terms of dollars and cents soars into the billions. According to the National Priorities Project, which is an online database, our government to date has spent $456 billion dollars on the war in Iraq(as of 4/15/07). The following is how the cost of war breaks down for each taxpayer:

• $4,100 for every American household;
• $1,500 for every American;
• $11 million per hour and;
• $275 million per day.

Even in light of this exorbitant budget, the President is scheduled to submit an additional request before congress of $100 billion more. The same money could have been used to provide: (these are rounded figures)

-55 million children a year of Head start
-249 million children health care for one year
-7 million public school teachers for one year
-To build 4 million additional housing units
- 20,230,681 students four-year scholarships at public universities

...Even with all that to consider, the case for peace can and still must be made. It is our responsibility and calling as Christians, even though evidence may substantiate the opposite...

A full transcript of the sermon can be downloaded here (Link coming soon).


Peace,

Cynthia

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*An mp3 recording of the sermon and music was made,but is not entirely audible.Once the necessary technical adjustments have been made,it will be made available.In the meantime,enjoy the reading.

Heavier Octaves Radio Program Update

This is Friday and it is time for the weekend inspiration.Today's blog is short,sweet and to the point.

I'm thinking about beginning each weekend with a Radio Program Update and Summary,which will provide a brief rundown on important issues and developments in the world of pop culture which includes social and humanitarian action.You are probably already aware of some of the developments, if you've read the emails I've sent out earlier this week.

I hope this audio provides reassurance that I am not out to wear your vision down with long blogs. In celebration of the weekend,just click on the link provided below and get the latest news prepared especially for you. After all,I have to provide some evidence that I "speak" to stay in line with the title of this blog(smile). Here you go:

Heavier Octaves Radio Program Update

If you care to subscribe to the podcast,go here and click on one or more of the feeds of your choice on our podcast page.


Talk to you on Monday.

Peace,

Cynthia

"Instant Karma":The Campaign to Save Darfur

Today,I lift up the subject of Darfur. I just received an email from Rock the Vote. I've been a long time supporter of their activities. As station host of the Heavier Octaves internet radio broadcast, I promoted a fair amount of their PSA's by celebrities encouraging young people to vote.They've sent out information regarding the release of the new "Instant Karma"benefit CD, a compilation of John Lennon songs covered by some of today's top established and emerging artists.

Lennon's widow Yoko Ono will donate the publishing royalties associated with the album to the cause.In a statement associated with the announcement of the CD project earlier this year,Ono stated:

"It's wonderful that, through this campaign, music that is so familiar to many people of my era will now be embraced by a whole new generation," Ono said in a statement. "John's music set out to inspire change, and in standing up for human rights, we really can make the world a better place."

Needless to say,I agree with Yoko.

I have been involved in an effort to keep the Darfur issue before a portion of the intelligentsia, as well as the popular culture through various blogs and an online publication on which I served as Senior Editor while a seminary student,Heavier Octaves High Notes,a blog which was more like a "blogzine"(my word for it anyway). An article on the Sudan genocide was written and contributed to that publication by Dr. Colleen Birchett,a colleague and friend who is also an author and educator. She travels to various churches and informs them how they can get involved. Click on the link below to review it:

Update On Sudan

And,for a short blurb about the CD project,click on the following link:

Instant Karma:The Campaign to Save Darfur

Darfur is a place and subject which is either in the forefront of your mind or placed in the far recesses of it out of sheer determination to preserve your sanity. The unfathomable atrocities that are being committed by humans against their fellow beings is something that you don't want to stay fixed in your mind's eye for too long. Unfortunately,however,it must be acknowledged in order to be resolved and an end put to it.

This is a "Daily Inspiration" column where I attempt to report on events and developments with an eye towards making us all feel better. After all, what more powerful tool can be used to channel effectively constructive energies from the masses? By making us hopeful, inspiration certainly goes a long way towards putting an end to the sense of hopelessness which usually envelopes these kinds of issues.

I mean what could I or you possibly do to save a life way over there? If a janjaweed militiaman came in either of our directions,we'd probably be at a loss. I don't even know how to shoot a gun less alone defend another against an assault by one.You probably don't either. And,hopefully,you nor I will ever have to come up against such a choice in order to make a qualitative difference.

I am happy to see the issue being stirred up, the information being circulated and the music getting out there. I have not had a chance to listen to the tracks in their entirety. As soon as I do I'll send you a review as a follow up along with an update on the crisis.

I just hope the Sudanese leaders and those doing the actual killing will call "time out" and really listen to the music and the message of each song.Let's keep singing the chorus in our hearts as we go through the day.

Spinning the music to inspire and generate activism is a step in the right direction. A prayer or two would also help... In fact, global prayer coupled with musical harmony and the world singing the finale in unison, may be the only action powerful enough to galvanize the forces needed to counteract this madness.

Peace,

Cynthia

Darfur

Darfur is a place and subject which is either in the forefront of your mind or placed in the far recesses of it out of sheer choice to preserve your sanity. The unfathomable atrocities that are being committed by humans against their fellow beings is something that you don't want to stay fixed in your mind's eye for too long. Unfortunately,it must be acknowledged in order to be resolved and an end put to it.