Five Years After the Storm: Honoring Strength and Courage

The people of the Gulf Coast have traveled so many miles in the face of adversity. Just five years after the catastrophic events of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, BP Oil has upended lives and livelihoods. And yet again, the people of the Gulf are responding with enormous strength and courage. Today, on the Fifth anniversary of Katrina, we stop to honor the extraordinary work of women, families and communities on the Gulf Coast who fight everyday for a just and equitable recovery.

Immediately after the levees broke, the Ms. Foundation for Women trusted in the wisdom of those closest to the ground who knew best what their families and communities needed. We supported organizations including Families and Friends of Louisiana's Incarcerated Children (FFLIC), Mississippi Low Income Child Care Initiative (MLICCI), Mississippi Immigrant Rights Alliance (MIRA), Mississippi Workers' Center For Human Rights and the United Houma Nation that harnessed their own power and stayed on through the aftermath, saving and revitalizing their communities. (Read more about the Katrina Women's Response Fund.)

On the first anniversary of Katrina we told the stories of extraordinary women facing life threatening challenges who refused to let their communities be destroyed by either natural or man-made disasters. (Read their stories and listen to the radio documentaries they produced.) As Sara K. Gould the Ms. Foundation president and CEO says, "The extraordinary courage and commitment of the women on the Gulf Coast as they responded to disaster and stepped up to lead the long, arduous process of rebuilding their communities is one of my most powerful memories."

These women continue to be the bedrock of the region and we are deeply grateful to have the opportunity to partner with them in their continuing efforts. Women like Carol Burnett, from MLICCI, who was honored with a Women of Vision Award this year. Burnett has been a strong advocate for access to affordable quality child care for low-income women and families and has recently taken on the State of Mississippi, urging it get rid of eligibility barriers and release millions of dollars in unspent TANF funds for child care.

Gina Womack from FFLIC continues to work for reform within Louisiana's juvenile justice system, and is currently building a campaign to stop the "School-to-Prison Pipeline," and counter the huge number of suspensions, expulsions and school arrests.

In the last year MIRA and other community-based human rights organizations helped to defeat twenty anti-worker/anti-immigrant laws. MIRA works tirelessly to organize the immigrant rights community in the region and help build a strong base from which to address immigration reform, racial profiling, health concerns and educational equality.

These are just a few of the inspiring stories from our grantees in the Gulf Region. They have not and will not step down and we at the Ms. Foundation are honored to support their continuing work. On the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, we take a moment to honor these women as they fight for better lives for themselves, their families, and their communities.

Photo: by Elizabeth Rappaport, Mississippi Immigrant Rights Alliance, December 2008

The Gulf Coast Catastrophe: Let's Put Our Trust in Women's Solutions

Fifty-eight days. Sixty million gallons of oil. Despite BP's ongoing attempt to cover it up, there is simply no denying that the effects of the oil pouring into the waters, marshes and wetlands of the Gulf spell devastation for generations to come. The ecology of the Gulf (and beyond) has been changed forever by BP's malfeasance -- and so have the lives of the people who live there, many of whom make their living off these waters that are now closed for business.

That is no small matter to communities that are still recovering from the profound effects of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita -- and who continue to battle the longstanding history of economic injustice that is synonymous with the region. In the face of gross government neglect, grassroots organizations across the Gulf Coast that have spent the last five years rebuilding homes and business are now faced with the reality that entire economies may never come back. Fishermen and their families also stand at the front lines; a trade that has been passed down from generation to generation among Gulf Coast families may very well have seen its last days.

Brenda Dardar Robichaux, chief of the United Houma Nation, whose 17,000-plus members live along Louisiana's coastal marshlands, knows firsthand how ecological disasters can destroy the economic underpinnings of coastal communities. After the hurricanes, she worked alongside others to ensure the survival of her tribe. These days, as the crude continues to invade fishing waters, she sees a whole way of life on the brink of disappearing. In a recent interview with NPR's Michel Martin, she described the economic devastation her community faces:

People are not able to go out on their fishing vessels anymore. The season has been closed and that's the way that they earn their living. Where other people live check to check, we live catch to catch. Those fishing nets are not in the water, so they are not catching anything. And they're not able to provide for their families.

No fishing. No tourism. No jobs. Massive ecological impact. The problems propagating on the Gulf Coast are many, and multi-layered -- yet both the government and BP have proven they are sorely outmatched when it comes to taking action to save what is left of these communities and the natural environment they call home.

So what is left? Where can we turn to find the expertise needed to craft the solutions that will recover livelihoods and protect families and communities? If the aftermath of Katrina and Rita is any indication, the answer lies with women like Brenda, in communities all across the Gulf Coast.

In the days and months after the hurricanes hit in 2005, organizations led by low-income women and women of color -- who were disproportionately impacted by the hurricanes -- found ways to meet the urgent needs of their communities as few others could. They knew better than anyone the real problems families were facing -- in large part because they were from these communities themselves. They understood how disempowered and betrayed families who had lost everything felt in the face of inexcusable government neglect. They knew firsthand how the imposition of solutions and unjust policies from above further reinforced disenfranchisement in already marginalized communities. Despite their own profound losses they stayed home when they could have left and organized to ensure that representatives of their communities had seats at the table when decisions were being made about how to bring the Gulf back from the brink of disaster.

The power, expertise and leadership of women in these communities is something we put our trust in from the very beginning. Immediately after the hurricanes the Ms. Foundation for Women created the Katrina Women's Response Fund, and over time invested more than $3 million in 40 organizations led by low-income women and women of color across the Gulf. We used that money to help build the leadership and capacity of both existing and emerging grassroots and state-level organizations to advocate for a just and sustainable recovery -- and to promote the policy solutions of women across race and class.

We continue to see the wisdom of investing in women's solutions, and are moved by the conviction our grantees demonstrate day after day, as they show up and stand up, demanding seats at the table as decisions about their communities are made. Because of their commitment, lives were changed, and saved, five years ago -- and their work continues to have enormous impact to this day.

Now, as the Gulf Coast faces another disastrous summer, we must remember how crucial women's voices have been to improving the lives across the Gulf, and include them in this new recovery process as quickly as possible. Already KWRF grantees like Dardar Robichaux and former grantee Sharon Hanshaw of Coastal Women for Change in East Biloxi, MS have stepped up and are speaking out about how the spread of oil is threatening the people in their hometowns. They are organizing a response that reflects the complexities of life lived in these Gulf communities: by bringing diverse groups of fishing families and restaurant workers together to share their concerns; by providing them with essential information that is in short supply; and by providing local children with outlets to share their fears about the oil disaster.

Fifty-eight days. Sixty million gallons of oil. That's an awfully big mess to clean up. Fixing this problem -- and ensuring it never happens again -- will require not just a little commitment from a few of us, but a huge commitment from all of us to build a new way of life that protects our environment and our coastal communities from disasters of the man-made variety. And engaging and investing in women's solutions is one sure step toward making that ideal a reality.

Susan Wefald
Executive Vice-President and COO
Ms. Foundation for Women

This piece originally ran on AlterNet.org.

Gustav Media Blackout Continues; Underlying Causes Exacerbate Destruction of Houma Communities

The virtual media blackout continues with regard to the disaster wrought by Hurricane Gustav on the Gulf Coast. Brenda Dardar Robichaux, Principal Chief of the United Houma Nation, whose initial blog entries during and after the storm were shared on the Ms. Foundation blog, had this to say:

It [is] obvious that the local and national media do not consider us worth covering. Once again the United Houma Nation and its tribal citizens have been ignored and our People have been left to fend for themselves in the face of this overwhelming catastrophe.

Robichaux continues to share first-hand accounts of her efforts to reach her communities and understand the devastation they face -- not once forgetting the underlying causes:

Friday morning was the first day that I was allowed access to Isle de Jean Charles. A first responder brought me pictures the night before, but I had not yet seen the Island personally. So my husband Mike, my 11 year old daughter Felicite and I, wearing our rubber boots, headed to Isle de Jean Charles, one of the hardest hit communities. Island Road, the highway that leads to the settlement, lay covered with dead trout, drum and red fish. We parked our truck at the beginning of the Island and walked several miles to the end. The pictures did not prepare me for what I was about to see. We witnessed homes off their foundations that had floated on levees and piles of rubble that were once homes. After years of coastal erosion and without a good protection levee this community was very fragile. Hurricane Gustav showed no mercy. I became very angry that something had not been done sooner to protect the barrier islands that would have given my community a fighting chance. I remember stories told to me of how there were acres of land on which children played baseball, and pastures where horses roamed. To see the state of the Island now was overwhelming.

As Robichaux points out, years of coastal erosion have left Indigenous communities along the Gulf extremely vulnerable to storms. Government inaction is largely to blame. The Institute for Southern Studies writes,

While there are a number of public efforts underway to restore degraded coastal lands and thus better protect Louisiana's residents from storms, none of them comes close to the minimum estimate of $14 billion needed for truly sustainable restoration. If the federal government does not take action soon, the problem will only grow much worse -- and Louisiana's wetlands are already disappearing at the fastest clip in the nation, with up to 40 square miles lost each year.

Years, centuries really, of discrimination and economic injustice, have certainly played a role, too. Last week, after visiting the destruction of Indigenous communities on one end of Isle de Jean Charles, Robichaux visited a camp, or resort, at the other end. She soon realized that its buildings hadn't sustained nearly as much damage as the more humble homes of her fellow Houma:

As we approached the end of Island, we saw a stark contrast as camps owned [by] non residents were often left totally intact, without any visual signs of damage. We met one of the camp owners on his was out who exclaimed that although the hurricane was bad he thought it was going to be a lot worse. He must have repeated those thoughts a half dozen times. I could not believe what he was telling me. NOT THAT BAD…COULD HAVE BEEN A LOT WORSE…FOR WHOM? Surely not the residents of the Island! As we continued to walk the next camp owners spoke from the balcony of his perfectly intact camp and expressed with pride how his camp has withstood the last three hurricanes without any damage because it is built with 32,000 wood screws. Our people can’t afford HOMES built with 32,000 wood screws. So we are left with homes totally destroyed and may have to consider relocating, leaving the land we love while non residents with resources can build CAMPS that will sustain hurricanes force winds and coastal erosion. Why hasn’t something been done sooner to protect our community? Is it because the Island is a poor Indian community so it doesn’t matter what happens to us?

Please visit the United Houma Nation website, whose United Houma Nation Relief Fund is a current grantee of the Ms. Foundation's Katrina Women's Response Fund, for additional eyewitness reports and photos.

Photo: Gustav Damage, 9/5/08
Credit: United Houma Nation

Ms. Foundation Grantees Commemorate Third Anniversary of Katrina With Calls for Action

On Friday 29 August 2008, Ms. Foundation grantees in New Orleans, Providence and New York City will be commemorating the third anniverary of Hurricane Katrina with solidarity actions in their own cities.

New Orleans
In New Orleans, grantees Safe Streets, Strong Communities and Families & Friends of Louisiana’s Incarcerated Children (FFLIC) will be part of the Katrina commemoration second line and rally on Friday at 1 pm. The event, "Sankofa: Remembering Storms of the Past, Building a Brighter Future," will "shine a spotlight on the ongoing disaster of bad public policies that continue to stall communities and prevent thousands of residents from returning after three years since Katrina made landfall."

"Neighbors from across the city will stand together with displaced New Orleanians to demand the right to determine our city’s future – a future that supports children and families, not these profiteering corporations," says Norris Henderson of Safe Streets, Strong Communities. "We want to expose the disastrous policies that have been imposed on us without our input or consent and present a better way to build a safe, strong community."

The New Orleans event [more details] is partially sponsored by the Right to the City Alliance, a national network of community organizations working to address access to housing, services and quality of life in urban areas. It is also sponsoring events in eight other cities, including New York and Providence.

New York
In New York, Ms. Foundation grantees FIERCE and CAAAV: Organizing Asian Communities are part of the events that will begin at a 2:00pm gathering at Sara Roosevelt Park in Manhattan, Grand Street between Chrystie and Forsyth Sts, followed by a march through the streets of the lower east side and Chinatown, ending with a vigil in front of 1 Police Plaza. At 7:30pm a fundraiser at Judson Memorial Church put on by the Artist Relief Collective and the Nola Preservation Society will close the day.
[For more information on the New York events contact Rob Robinson at Picture the Homeless 646-314-6423 or Brenda Stokley at the New York Solidarity Coalition with Katrina and Rita Survivors 212-969-0449.]

Providence
Starting at 3:30pm at the offices (340 Lockwood St., Providence, RI) of Ms. Foundation grantee Direct Action for Rights & Equality (DARE), the commemoration will feature local musicians, performers, and community leaders. A second-line style march through Providence's hurricane evacuation route will make stops along the way to highlight issues -- criminalization, gentrification, immigrant rights, foreclosures, and education -- that are affecting Providence, New York, and New Orleans and other communities across the country . The events are sponsored by DARE, Olneyville Neighborhood Association, and City Life/Vida Urbana (Boston).
[For more information, contact 401-351-6960 or 401-228-8996.]

The commemoration of the anniversaries of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita show both the scale of the challenges ahead and the strength of the grassroots leaders and local organizations working to seek a just and sustainable recovery.

An Email from Sangeeta on 'Trouble the Water' in New Orleans

From: Sangeeta Budhiraja
Sent: Wednesday, August 20, 2008
To: EVERYONE
Subject: "Trouble the Water" in NOLA update.

Hi all,

I'm back from NOLA and wanted to send out an update on "Trouble the Water." As you know, the Ms. Foundation supported the "sneak preview" of the film at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA) on Sunday afternoon. The New Orleans screening was organized by Amnesty International and co-sponsored by some of our grantee partners, many of whom were in attendance, including Safe Streets, Strong Communities, Families and Friends of Louisiana’s Incarcerated Children, and the Institute for Women and Ethnic Studies.

I spent significant time over the weekend with the Directors Tia Lessin and Carl Deal, Editor T. Woody Richman, as well as with Kimberly Rivers Roberts and Scott Roberts, the couple who are featured in the film. Danny Glover, who joined the film later as Executive Producer, also attended and participated in the post-screening panel. Tia spoke before the film about the Ms. Foundation's Katrina Women's Response Fund and acknowledged the importance of our support in bringing this film home to New Orleans. And Emily Ratner, from the New Orleans International Film Festival, added a later appreciation to the foundation for "trusting the folks on the ground to do an event that does right by our people, with an understanding of how rare and empowering that is."

The screening was both powerful and emotional, especially given that much of the audience were family members of Kimberly and Scott, or families and communities from Lower Ninth Ward who were featured in the film. During the post-screening Q&A, Kimberly gave one of the most insightful and thorough analyses of poverty I've ever heard.

I was also able to attend Kimberly's CD release party on Saturday night at the Blue Nile, which was packed with community and family showing their support. As evidenced by the film, and from the time I was fortunate to spend with her, I can say that Kimberly is a visionary who exemplifies our theory of change in the deepest way. As a young Black woman living in poverty who is now using her voice to inspire and empower young women and make change at all levels, Kimberly holds the answers to a just recovery in the Gulf Coast and beyond, and the solutions to political and social systems of inquality - answers and solutions that come directly from her and her family's lived experience (with violence, HIV/AIDS, the criminal justice system, racism, misogyny, and poverty). She is an example of the difference affording someone access to power and the opportunity to use her voice can make. She made connections with our grantees at the screening, and many of them have asked her to speak with their constituencies about her experiences and about healing, resiliency and hope. It is clear that Kimberly and Scott will continue to use their voices and visibility through this film to give back to their community.

The film's newly launched website includes a section called "Take Action" which features information about organizations -- including the Katrina Women's Response Fund -- continuing to work on rebuilding and recovery of the Gulf Coast. The film will also be screened at the Democratic National Convention. The directors, producers and cast will participate on a panel afterwards, along with Ray Nagin, Mayor of New Orleans.

Finally, for those of you who haven't seen the film - please do. It opens on Friday in New York and Los Angeles. All my talking about it over the last few months is nothing compared to experiencing it first hand. Once you do, all this will make much more sense and get you as excited as I have been, I'm sure.

Thanks for reading!

Sangeeta Budhiraja
Program Officer, Building Movements
Ms. Foundation for Women

Top photo: (from left) Scott Roberts and Kimberly Rivers Roberts do a television interview, while directors Tia Lessin and Carl Deal watch.

Bottom photo: (from left) Sangeeta Budhiraja and Kimberly Rivers Roberts.

(from left) Sarah Covert, Tia Lessin, Carl Deal, Kimberly Rivers Roberts, Scott Roberts, Sangeeta Budhiraja, Danny Glover, Emily Ratner.

(from left) Carl Deal, Tia Lessin, T. Woody Richman.

(from left) Carl Deal, Danny Glover, Tia Lessin.