Katrina

I got this email in my inbox today, and am posting it because it was the first time I was inspired to actually get out my credit card. I've been agonizing somewhat about how best to help. I know the Red Cross is a safe bet, and I will probably send them some money and clothing as well. Habitat for Humanity is another organization who will be in there rebuilding.

ACTFORCHANGE ACTIVISM UPDATE: September 14, 2005

Political Justice for Hurricane Families

Shame on America. The horror of Katrina has revealed, not just to this nation but to the world, the growing fissures between the working poor and the ultra-rich, between African American and white citizens, between those who had the resources to get out of New Orleans and those who were left to drown.

You've given to relief. Now it's time to stand with those who were left behind to ensure that when the next Katrina hits, America does not fail the least among us. There are three ways to give.

Tell Washington: The common good depends on good government


Give now: $5 will help us put this billboard up in Grover Norquist's neighborhood


After you've given money to help evacuees with basic human needs, make a $5 donation to send a message to Washington, D.C. Our lawmakers need to know that the common good depends upon good government. Your token contribution of $5 will help us put this shocking graphic on a billboard outside of Grover Norquist's office at Americans for Tax Reform where 100 influential conservative leaders hold a weekly strategy session each Wednesday.




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Reunite families brutally separated by the haphazard and too-late evacuation

Give now: $99, $199, or $299 buys a one-way ticket to reunite a family tomorrow.


During the evacuation, mothers -- almost exclusively African American -- had to choose between remaining with older children and carrying infants to safety. Extended families boarded separate buses, unsure of their fate, only to find themselves separated by thousands of miles and trapped in shelters with no way out. Husbands and wives, parents and children, now in shelters, have to endure the continuing trauma of separation. You can reunite a family today by helping us buy one-way airline tickets which we are providing, without bureaucratic red tape, to families in shelters identified by our friends at the NAACP, ACORN and other groups on the ground.




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Help evacuees organize to demand a say in relief funds and reconstruction efforts

Give now: Don't let the government leave evacuees behind again.

As Van Jones of the Ella Baker Center puts it, the governing philosophy of the people who run our government is sink or swim for almost everybody unless you are a crony, and then different rules apply. We must act now to ensure that evacuees have a say in how resources are allocated to survivors and to protect the long-term redevelopment of New Orleans and other Gulf Coast communities from opportunistic cronyism. Corporations with close ties to those in power -- like Halliburton -- cannot be allowed to treat disaster recovery efforts as a corporate ATM. Humane treatment of survivors demands more than a handout -- it demands a sea change in politics as usual.

Make one donation to our Political Justice for Survivors fund and we'll support a range of local community-based organizations who won't pack up and leave once the media spotlight goes away. These groups include:


ACORN supports the political organizing of evacuees to get the respect they deserve from local and national political representatives and fight for humane treatment. A national network of community organizations, ACORN is headquartered in New Orleans and has been particularly hit hard by this tragedy.


New Orleans People's Committee was convened by Black community activists and organizers of color from Community Labor United. The goal of the committee is to unite evacuees to demand a role in reviewing and influencing how resources are allocated on behalf of survivors and to fight for decision-making power in the long-term redevelopment of New Orleans.


Long after the aid agencies and relief volunteers have gone, the New Orleans Network, Sparkplug Foundation, Biloxi-based Gulf Coast Community Foundation, and the Baton Rouge Area Foundation will still be working on the ground to help evacuees and the families of hurricane survivors as they forge new lives in the wake of Katrina.