New Orleans, LA

On August 29, from 10am to 4pm, the convention center will be the site of an event involving prominent business, civic and entertainment organizations. The intent is to mobilize Americans in the hope that it will force the government to begin a true reconstruction along the lines of the Marshall Plan. The Marshall Plan was the US government dedicated rebuilding of Europe after WWII.

I hope it works but I don’t have much faith in the US Government doing anything for New Orleans. They are wiling to spend $1 trillion dollars (the current estimate of what the Irag war will cost us), but getting a few billion to rebuild New Orleans just seems to be out of reach.

“Enough is enough!” said Taylor, during the Essence Music Festival in New Orleans. “It’s the shame of the nation,” she said before tens of thousands gathered in the Superdome, “that the people of New Orleans and

the Gulf Coast have been abandoned and are suffering without the most basic necessary supports while our tax dollars are directed toward war.”

Determined not to allow the anniversary to come and go without action, a coalition has been formed to reach out to fraternities and sororities, civic and grassroots organizations and all faith-based communities to coordinate bus trips to New Orleans so that their constituencies can stand in unity for “A Day of Presence.”

“We urgently need as many people as possible to stand united on August 29,” said Tracie Washington, president and CEO of the Louisiana Justice Institute. “If you can drive or fly, get on the bus or sponsor a bus, we need you to join us in letting our leaders know that we want immediate action in the Gulf Coast region.”

“We are soliciting all people of conscience to join us for ‘A Day of Presence’ to show the people of the Gulf that we do care and to let the world know that the conditions in the Gulf Coast matter to all of us,” said Melanie L. Campbell, executive director and CEO of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation. For more information or to register, log on to http://www.louisianajusticeinstitute.org or call (504) 304-7947.

new orleans, katrina, day of presence, rebuilding