Katrina Racism & Catholic Social Teaching

Slide 1: Katrina, Racism, and Catholic Social Teaching

Slide 2: Goal is Justice not Guilt

Slide 3: Racial Justice Economic Justice Gender Justice Are Intertwined

Slide 6: Brothers and Sisters to Us U.S. Catholic Bishops Pastoral Letter on Racism

Slide 7: Racism is a sin

Slide 8: Racism is a sin: a sin that divides the human family, blots out the image of God among specific members of that family, and violates the fundamental human dignity of those called to be children of the same Father.

Slide 9: Not Just White and Black

Slide 10: Isn’t Racism Over?

Slide 11: Because the Courts have eliminated statutory racial discrimination and Congress has enacted civil rights legislation, and because some minority people have achieved some measure of success, many people believe that racism is no longer a problem in American life.

Slide 12: Racism is Prejudice Plus Power

Slide 13: Distinguish Between Personal Prejudice and Personal Acts versus Systemic and Institutional Preferences for Whites

Slide 14: What is Structural Racism?

Slide 15: The structures of our society are subtly racist, for these structures reflect the values which society upholds. They are geared to the success of the majority and the failure of the minority. Members of both groups give unwitting approval by accepting things as they are.

Slide 16: Importance of Structure

Slide 17: Can You Restrict With One Wire?

Slide 18: Depends on How You Arrange the Wires

Slide 19: Structural Racism Directs Us to Examine the Way the Wires (Institutions) Are Interconnected

Slide 23: Movement toward authentic justice demands a simultaneous attack on both racism and economic oppression.

Slide 24: The continuing existence of racism becomes apparent when we look beneath the surface of our national life.

Slide 25: Look beneath the surface

Slide 26: Bishops point to 5 areas that illustrate continuing racism: Employment Education Housing Criminal Justice Opposition to Affirmative Action

Slide 27: But First, Who Was Left Behind When Katrina Hit?

Slide 28: Race & Katrina Gender & Katrina Class & Katrina (Property Ownership) Cannot understand Katrina Without Analysis

Slide 30: 25% of New Orleans Do Not Own Car

Slide 31: Officials already knew that: 100,000 people, 27% of New Orleans, Lived below poverty line

Slide 32: Who was left behind?

Slide 41: 8300 Prisoners Left in Cells

Slide 42: Many Never Made It Out 1,700 direct deaths

Slide 44: One Million Displaced

Slide 45: Employment

Slide 46: 204,000 People Lost Their Jobs September 2005

Slide 47: People Have Lost Jobs, Health Insurance, Hospital, Doctor, Dentist, Pharmacy, Records

Slide 48: June 2006, Black evacuees nearly 5 times more likely to be unemployed than white evacs, - U.S. Department of Labor.

Slide 49: Women Louisiana lost 180,000 workers after Katrina, 103,000 were women. In New Orleans after Katrina, men’s median annual income rose to $43,055 while women’s fell to $28,932; Two-thirds of single mothers have not returned to New Orleans; In Mississippi only one of the state’s women crisis centers remained open – covering four counties in the disaster area.

Slide 50: Dramatic Reduction in Public Education, Healthcare, Housing, Transportation, & Childcare Equals Reduction in African American Women Workers in NO - From 51,000 to 17,000

Slide 51: Education

Slide 52: 110 Public Schools Destroyed or Severely Damaged

Slide 53: Pre-K - 56,000 students in over 100 public schools Katrina hits -public schools put in receivership -Best schools converted into charters 2006-2007 - 25,000 students -69% in Charter Schools

Slide 54: September 15, 2005 School Board Converts First Schools to Charters – Meeting in Baton Rouge

Slide 55: September 30, 2005 U.S. Department of Education Gives $20.9m to Louisiana Charter Schools Only

Slide 56: LA Legislature Strips NO School Board of 102 Schools

Slide 57: Largest Union in Louisiana United Teachers of New Orleans DECERTIFIED after 35 years 7500 people lose jobs

Slide 58: Spring 2006- FEMA trailers More than one-fifth of the school-age children who were either not in school, or had missed 10 days of school in the past month

Slide 59: Pre-K - 56,000 students in over 100 public schools Katrina hits -public schools put in receivership -Best schools converted into charters 2006-2007 - 25,000 students -69% in Charter Schools

Slide 60: School Daze • Disaster in RSD public schools • Charters looking good

Slide 61: Non-Charter Public Schools Failing • John McDonogh, a public high school November 2006 • 775 students - teachers, textbooks and supplies remained in short order months after school opened. • Students described the school as having a “prison atmosphere.” • No hot lunches and • Few working water fountains. • Girls’ bathrooms did not have doors on them. • Library had no books at all, not even shelves for books. • “Our school has 39 security guards and three cops on staff and only 27 teachers,” one McDonogh teacher reported in fall 2006.

Slide 62: High School Entrance

Slide 63: Fight for public schools continues

Slide 64: Housing

Slide 67: 300,000 homes uninhabitable

Slide 69: Black & Poor Neighborhoods Suffered Disproportionate Damages Lower Elevation

Slide 71: Who ended up in shelters?

Slide 72: September 10, 2005 in Shelters • 64% Renters • 55% Did Not Have a Car • 93% African-American • 67% Employed • 76% Had Children under 18 In Shelter Too • 57% incomes of Less than $20,000/year

Slide 73: “We finally cleaned up public housing in New Orleans. We couldn’t do it, but God did.” Richard Baker, U.S. Congressman (R-La) Days after Katrina

Slide 74: St. Bernard Parish: September 2005 Rent Only to Blood Relatives Ordinance

Slide 75: Jefferson Parish Council Passes Resolution Opposing Tax Credits for Housing. Member Chris Roberts: \"With the number of jobs out there, nobody should be on public housing unless you're ignorant or lazy.\" October 2005

Slide 76: We do not want “thugs” and “trash” from New Orleans public housing projects. Everyone with dreadlocks or che-wee hairstyles will be stopped by law enforcement.” Sheriff Jack Strain St. Tammany Parish

Slide 77: Noose Around New Orleans for African- American and Moderate Income Renters

Slide 78: New Orleans is Majority Renters

Slide 79: Rents Soar – 39% - 70%

Slide 81: Pre-Katrina, 5000 families lived in public housing

Slide 83: June 2006 - 1040 families allowed to return to public housing HUD Announces Demolition of 4500 Apartments

Slide 84: Lower 9th Ward No Drinkable Water For One Full Year

Slide 85: 1 Year After - 298,000 people living in FEMA trailers on Gulf Coast

Slide 86: Over 65,000 Families on Gulf 240 sq ft. Trailers – Oct 07

Slide 87: Demolition of 4500 affordable apartments by government will give clear message to private sector about who is welcome back

Slide 88: Criminal Justice

Slide 89: ACLU Report Abandoned & Abused

Slide 93: Surviving or Looting?

Slide 95: Criminal Courthouse Closed No Jury Trials No Witnesses No Victims Accused Still Lost in System

Slide 96: 6000 criminal case backlog – May 2006 • Judges only in courtrooms part-time • Insufficient #s Public Defenders • Problems with Jail Facilities • Absent retired or quit NOPD officers • Evidence problems • District Attorney problems • Displaced victims, witnesses • Backlog cut to 3000 by October 06; • Backlog cut to 2000 by December 06;

Slide 97: Seven Police Officers Charged with Murder

Slide 98: National Guard Still Patrols New Orleans

Slide 99: Opposition to Affirmative Action

Slide 100: Opposition to Immigrants

Slide 101: Migrant Workers Abuse June 7, 2006 – UCAL Berkeley & Tulane Report on Migrant Workers. Half the reconstruction workers in NOLA is Latino; 54% of group is undocumented – 87% already living in us at time of Katrina Routinely mistreated.

Slide 103: Migrant Workers Abuse (cont) INJUSTICE FOR ALL Report by Advancement Project

Slide 104: Where did the money go?

Slide 105: Tens of billions of $ to be made

Slide 106: 2% Rule of Gulf Coast • 98% of the money distributed in a disaster ends up enriching corporations • 2% gets to the people.

Slide 107: Example #1 – Blue Tarps on Roof

Slide 108: Example #1 : Blue Tarps – 2% • SHAW GROUP 1st got $175 a square to put on the tarps. • Shaw subcontracted the work out to A1 CONSTRUCTION for $75 a square. • A1 subcontracted the work out to a WESCON corporation for $30 a square. • Who in turn subcontracted it out again to guys who did the work for $2 a square.

Slide 109: Shaw Group got contract for $175 a square (100 sq ft) -subcontracts for $75/square earns $100 each square- average roof is 1500 square feet – 15 squares X 15 Per roof!

Slide 110: A1 Construction gets $75/square subcontracts out for $30/square X 15 Per roof!

Slide 111: Roofers get $2 per square (of original $175)

Slide 112: Example #2: Ashbritt Inc of Florida • Received no-bid contract for $579 million to pick up trash in Mississippi • Miami Herald reports company does not own a single dump truck! • MH also reported the company gave $40,000 in previous 12 months to GOP lobbying firm

Slide 113: Example # 3: Circle B Enterprises - Georgia • Awarded $287 million no-bid contract to build FEMA trailers • Company filed for bankruptcy year before • Company does not have a website • Company had no license to manufacture trailers in GA.

Slide 115: Analysis & Lessons Learned

Slide 116: Lesson: Build and Re-Build Community

Slide 117: St. Augustine’s Church

Slide 119: Self-Reliance

Slide 120: Value every single life equally

Slide 121: Don’t Wait for a Leader- Become One

Slide 122: Lesson: Prepare for Love-Hate Relationship with Government

Slide 123: If government works for corporations before the disaster, why different after? After disaster is a hyper corporate friendly environment.

Slide 124: Privatization of New Orleans • Public Schools to Charter Schools • Public Housing to Private Developers • Public Healthcare to Private Providers • Public Oversight to • Private Oversight

Slide 125: If there is no struggle, there is no progress.

Slide 126: Disaster can be a lens to reveal structural injustices in our community race gender class Educational opportunity for us to learn about ourselves, our institutions, and our communities

Slide 127: Justice-based Reconstruction will NOT be funded

Slide 128: Radical Revolution of Values

Slide 129: “I am convinced that if we are to get on the right side of the world revolution, we as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values. We must rapidly begin the shift from a \"thing- oriented\" society to a \"person-oriented\" society. When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered.” Martin Luther King, April 4, 1967.

Slide 130: Love is the answer Justice work is a commitment for the long haul

Slide 131: Signs of Hope

Slide 133: Our Hearts Must Be Totally Open to Injustice and Pain and Totally Open to Hope and Love

Slide 134: Wherever you find tragedy and injustice You will also find resistance and inspiration

Slide 135: People Keep Fighting to Come Home

Slide 138: Church Groups Organize e.g. Jeremiah Group

Slide 139: “This is why we joined the service – to help people!”

Slide 140: Those Left Behind When Katrina Hit Are Being Left Behind Again

Slide 141: How start to combat racism?

Slide 142: Start with the understanding that racism is “hard-wired” into our society and institutions. It is like the electric wires in the walls, or the plumbing, or the air and heat ductwork. Invisible. Important. Always There. It is a life-long struggle for justice.

Slide 143: Be willing to move beyond your comfort zone

Slide 144: Transformative Education Educate Self and Community about history and reality of the barriers of structural racism How it affects us, How it affects others.

Slide 145: CREATE a safe environment for open and honest discussion

Slide 146: Study Bishops Pastorals “Brothers and Sisters All”

Slide 147: Listen to People of Color

Slide 148: There are resources for training & expert help

Slide 150: If you have come to help me you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us struggle together. Solidarity Lila Watson – Aboriginal Activist Collective

Slide 151: Justice Challenge? Never Again!

Slide 152: www.loyno.edu/~quigley/