The Common Ground Collective was initiated by Malik Rahim, a long-time resident of Algiers, a former Black Panther and a soon to be candidate for mayor of New Orleans on the Green Party ticket. Common Ground Collective formed during and after the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina. Our New York road-trip mission was to assist with the rebuilding and renovating of flooded houses, assisting in relief operations, distributing supplies and carrying out political agitation with the residents of New Orleans. Volunteers also worked with Community Labor United, another vital regional coalition, helping to mobilize for an upcoming Right to Return Rally for evacuees.

Common Ground, like Momma D and the Soul Patrol (a community volunteer boat rescue team) jumped to the desperate needs of New Orleans residents aiding and rescuing people directly. They are the unsung heroes of Hurricane Katrina. While the national media focused on largely unsubstantiated stories of criminality – much of it stories of people taking goods to feed themselves, these collectives of individuals saved people, secured supplies and established clinical aid without government assistance and in much of the cases – in spite of hostile government repression. Several days after the breaking of the levees and saving countless people – the Soul Patrol was forced at gunpoint to evacuate by the “FEMA authorities” – later to be dispersed across the country to places remote from their homes as Nebraska. Literally hundreds of thousands have been displaced and evacuated forcibly with no option of proper return.

Algiers (which can be likened to the South Bronx of NYC) was a Black community that did not face flooding as did the 7th, 8th and 9th Wards did – all largely Black communities. This provided a physical space untouched by the flooding to launch their direct relief efforts. Malik Rahim and others resisted the call to “evacuate” or as others would describe “depopulate” and instead launched the Common Ground Collective. They have since helped to distribute over $27 million dollars (yes $27 million) worth of aid with a rotating volunteer force that has come from all over the country.

SINCE THE FLOOD

Since Katrina and the breaking of the levees, many people had a crash course on the racist and shameful history of New Orleans that can be traced back to the not too distant past of slavery and Jim Crow. To paraphrase Danny Glover’s quote, Katrina’s wrath did not create Third World conditions - it exposed them. After the PR fiasco and the onslaught of criticism led by stars such as Kanye West, even President Bush had to pay lip service to this whitewashed history of racial oppression and poverty that afflicted the Gulf region.

While coverage of the hurricane has subsided, it cannot be overstated that the situation in the New Orleans and the Gulf Region is still extremely dire. It is not clichéd to say that there are no words to describe the level of devastation that still exists and after three months how criminal the handling of the disaster was - as is the ongoing neglect of New Orleans. Electricity is still out for much of the city, especially in the former working class Black Communities. Hundreds of thousands cannot return and for people who have returned they receive no support for their cleanup efforts and many are exposed to mold and asbestos without proper equipment. Garbage mounds are piled on the streets, remaining uncollected in the Black communities, while the French Quarter and largely white communities show little signs of wear and tear. New Orleans is presently at about 20% occupancy (C.L.U.).

A substantial amount of the former Black working class majority has been successfully “ethnically cleansed” or spatially deconcentrated for a host of reasons. Many rightly believe that the land is being “banked” for near-future gentrification efforts. Regions that I was not able to visit in the Gulf Region of Mississippi are still facing tremendous obstacles in bare recovery. Those afflicted span the demographic charts, Native Americans, Asians, Latinos and whites, largely working class and poor.

Evacuees from all over the country are not given proper and timely information - if at all - about FEMA policies, relief aid, lost relatives (dead bodies are found daily and 6,000 still remain missing – Common Ground). Many evacuees from all over the country are held securely so as to avoid political agitators from reaching them. Organizers can be expelled for distributing literature in these areas, making political mobilization even more difficult – but not impossible. All the institutions and relief efforts that are necessary for the return of working class evacuees are not in place. Schools, electricity, sanitation and social services are barely operational.

Special scrutiny needs to be placed on Homeland Security and FEMA. The ongoing corporate looting has been carefully documented by The Institute for Southern Studies (reconstructionwatch.org). Billions of dollars are spent for “recovery” efforts that are ill accounted for and often times rewarded to companies without bids and mostly to those with political ties to the current administrations.
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/112805D.shtml www.pww.org/article/articleview/8119/1/295/

THE ROADTRIP FOR RELIEF

Over 200 national volunteers heeded the call for the Road-Trip for Relief. Though it was largely white and perhaps decidedly middle class, there were some Asians, Blacks, Latinos and many more working class volunteers represented. The organizations and individuals represented a spectrum of society. Among those represented were Code Pink, Indy-Media, Labor Community Strategy Center, Playback Theater, National Hip-Hop Political Convention (NY), Green Party, D.C. Infoshop, Food Not Bombs and several faith based charities – and more. Carpenters, cooks, union members, former marines, students, environmentalists, lawyers, a wide spectrum of progressives, medics, performers, cleaners, artists and retirees all heeded the call.

The work that ensued entailed learning new skills such as basic demolitions (not meant explosives), carpentry, renovations, a crash course in safety gear and procedures - as there was a lot of mold and asbestos to deal with. The delegation was also operating under military curfew and the constant threat of harassment from the local police agencies. However it was my opinion that the largely white delegation did provide a buffer from abusive treatment from the authorities. It also turned out that some of the National Guardsmen were not as hostile towards the Common Ground folk depending on the command. In many cases, the Guardsmen would override the authority of the NOPD as well as contributing to the relief supplies for Common Ground. There were some NOPD units who were favorable as well because their families had suffered greatly during the flooding.

Each night after a day’s work of house demolition work, relief supply distribution and political agitation – we advanced constructive political discussion concerning how to better support the local evacuees in taking over the reins of the relief work and how to build a broader base of support for social justice in the Gulf Region. The broad spectrum of political views made the discussions varied and creative, but in general very productive. There was a particular focus on sponsoring a more diverse volunteer force from all over the country for future delegation convergences.

Dependable shelter is an important necessity for the return of evacuees. Without a local place to stay, many have to travel long distances. For some who have been forced to places like New York, the cost of travel can be unaffordable. Foreshadowing the calls for turning New Orleans into a luxury resort, landlords are currently raising rents and evicting residents and their property – though many are not back or informed of their evictions.

During the week of the road-trip, the volunteers of Community Labor United won a significant legal victory. This legal victory is forcing landlords to go through FEMA in order to issue evictions pushing the deadlines from 3 days to 45 days after notice. This due process was important in laying a precedent for near immediate struggles. It was the first time that FEMA finally agreed to provide information on evacuees.

I worked in teams that canvassed the different wards to inform residents and evacuees on the “Housing State of Emergency” with the NO HEAT Coalition of Common Ground. It is essential to fight for every last bit of undamaged shelter in order to house people temporarily for the rebuilding of New Orleans. The Housing Authority of New Orleans (HANO) operating under the guidance of Housing Urban Development (HUD) is pushing to close the last remnants of public housing, much of it vital undamaged shelter that can bring back thousands of families that have been scattered in the forced evacuations. Many volunteers rallied in support of the residents of the BW Cooper Housing Complex and the Iberville Projects, which had their roots in the era of the New Deal. In a communiqué, NO HEAT Coalition stated “the failure of HANO to guarantee that residents will be able to return to their homes in New Orleans raises the spectre of ethnic and class cleansing.”

I also lent my volunteering services to Community Labor United, which was focused on locating and organizing the evacuees. Uniting the evacuees was critical because they are the potential critical mass for the progressive transformation of New Orleans. We canvassed major shopping areas like super markets, Wal-Mart and strip malls, distributing thousands of flyers.

It is important to envision that the rebuilding of New Orleans incorporate the building of affordable and sustainable living conditions and union protected “green” economies. While the conditions on the ground are extreme and seemingly overwhelming, my experiences were also filled with a sense of profound hope, and many possibilities.

THE STAKES IS HIGH – A CALL TO ACTION

The battle that is being waged in New Orleans and the Gulf Region is bigger than the issue of disaster relief gone “awry” or “incompetence”. It is the manifestation of decades of radical Right-Wing attacks against working peoples and oppressed nationalities. It is very clear to me that everything thing in this debacle has been deliberate from years of underdeveloping the social infrastructure – to underdeveloping the social fabric since the times of slavery. Add to this mix the explosive entry of climate change gone wild, we have a perfect recipe in which the Radical Right forces are cashing in to implement what they call “command and control” operations under the guidance of Homeland Security that treats working people as the “terrorists.”

It is obvious to most that their so-called “relief efforts” were and are criminal. Thousands of people have died or are still missing. People were forcibly displaced with the full intention of ensuring that the evacuees do not return. What is worse is that many of the evacuees that were forcibly displaced may become destitute as FEMA funds dry up with no alternate recourse and charitable sympathy dries up.

Already, parasitic, exploitative profiteers, many with ties to the Bush administration have swooped in to feed on the remains of New Orleans, without an ounce of thought to the affected populations. There are grand schemes being spinned of building a casino fantasyland without a majority of the former working class residents, while repopulating New Orleans with the gentry and perhaps a new caste of exploited workers such as illegal immigrants. Accompanying these proposals the Bush administration has been trying to ram through anti-worker, anti-union, anti-green legislation into Congress bolstering these parasitic capitalists.

There is also the danger of having a historic Democratic voting bloc destroyed and even worse, the disenfranchisement of hundreds of thousands of Black evacuee voters throughout the county. While some may argue about the validity of the political process itself – it does not negate the right of Black peoples and peoples of color to vote. In reality, New Orleans, like many other southern Black communities was one of the obstacles to absolute Right-Wing dominance in the south.

In all sectors of democratic struggle – from housing rights, economic justice, union density, civil/human rights, social justice, class unity, criminal justice, environmental, to voting rights - the Gulf Region is a microcosm of all the struggles that progressive forces engage in on a daily basis. It would behoove the self-identified progressive forces to join the fray on some integrative strategic alliance with the work that has sprung forth in the Gulf Region around recovery, relief and political action. The Miami Workers Center, which is recovering from similar “command and control” operations of FEMA and the Right-Wing, has put out a timely analysis, “The State of the State” that can be downloaded at:
theworkerscenter.org/images/stories/disaster.pdf

The tragedy of the Gulf Coast and the flooding of New Orleans disproportionately affected poor working class Blacks, but a cross section of New Orleans and the Gulf Region has been affected. Understanding that we live in a “Post-Katrina” period is key, because this will allow us to analyze the shifting conditions and terrain of struggle. The very real opportunity of building a multi-racial alliance – a balance of forces led by the southern Black working class exists – if progressive forces on a national scale decide to weigh in.

The Radical Right sensing and fearing this possibility of multi-racial unity has unleashed a slew of rabid and vitriolic racist campaigns – from William Bennett’s infamous “abort all Black babies” commentary, to Pat Robertson’s doom-saying revelations to Neo-Nazi/Minutemen Militia mobilizations nationally. If we do not mobilize for the future, if we do not comprehend the totality of struggle and the emergence of decisive struggles – this calamity can very much end in a decisive defeat for democratic and working class forces in the Gulf Region and it will diminish all of our work on local levels for years to come.

-- John Kim is an organizer with the National Hip-Hop Political Convention (NY), R.E.A.C.Hip-Hop (Representing Education Activism and Community through Hip-Hop) and RELIEF (an Ad-hoc Asian American Arts Collective for Asian Katrina Victims).
www.hiphopconvention.org
www.hiphopliveshere.com
nosheetsleft.com/relief.html

Also check out:
www.commongroundrelief.org/
www.communitylaborunited.net/
www.reconstructionwatch.org
katrinaaction.org/
colorofchange.org/
naacp.org/
www.mxgm.org/

For Jordan Flaherty’s New Orleans Reports go to:
leftturn.org/
For Left Turn recommendations on Gulf Region orgs:
www.leftturn.org/Articles/Viewer.aspx