One year after Katrina

The Institute was out in force at the Southeast Social Forum held here in Durham, NC this weekend. The gathering is a run-up to the U.S. Social Forum being planned for Atlanta in 2007, part of the World Social Forum movement of the last few years.

It was an interesting gathering of many grassroots and social change groups in the South. A big issue was the lasting importance of Hurricane Katrina, and the Institute sponsored a dinner reception/forum on Saturday, June 17 (along with the African American/Latino Alliance, the New Orleans Network, and other co-sponsors) titled "One Year After Katrina.

The goal of the forum was to jump-start the conversation about what progressives should be doing for the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, which is only two months away. The event was well-attended and there was wide-spread agreement that we needed to build on this landmark moment to:

(1) Support people and groups in the Gulf, as well as those displaced around the country, working to ensure people have the help they need and can return home if they wish; and

(2) Put Katrina back on the national radar, to hold our leaders accountable and again raise the issues of race and poverty that were quickly ignored after the storms.

The forum brought out lots of excellent ideas. Aesha Rasheed talked about the efforts of the New Orleans Network (along with the Institute) to coordinate efforts among New Orleans groups about projecting a clear agenda for change that comes from those affected.

Ajamu Baraka of the U.S. Human Rights Network discussed his group's campaign to raise the issue of Katrina's crimes to the United Nations, especially internationally-recognized standards for helping "Internally Displaced People" -- standards which should apply to the U.S. and its handling of Katrina victims.

I talked about the Institute's plans to release a one-year report on the status of the Gulf, similary to our widely-circulated "Mardi Gras Index," which reported on rebuilding in New Orleans six months after the storms.

Making the one-year anniversary of Katrina a meaningful and powerful moment will require a national, coordinated effort. The Institute will be working with groups in the Gulf, "survivor councils" and other networks of those displaced, and national organizations to ensure this opportunity isn't squandered.

We can't let our nation's leaders forget the unnecessary tragedy and suffering that continues from the storms of 2005.

Are you interested in being part of a national campaign connected to the one-year anniversary of Katrina? Contact us if you have ideas or want get involved.