Katrina Information Network - 5 for 5
On the fourth anniversary of Hurricane, the Katrina Information Network has five actions you can take now to keep a just recovery on the public agenda.
Thousands will gather to commemorate the fourth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s landfall this Saturday, August 29th and take stock of the region’s progress toward recovery. Activity highlights will include artwork, music, memorial services and volunteer opportunities as Gulf residents, those displaced and those simply acting out of solidarity and goodwill are gathering to ensure America never forgets Katrina and its aftermath.
Although New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin has said that the city’s official commemoration should focus on the “city’s progress,” <http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2009/08/new_orleans_mayor_ray_nagin_to.html> many of the commemorative events hope to shine a spotlight on ways recovery has been stalled
“The anniversary has become an important milestone for all of us to look back and reflect on what really happened in our communities and why,” says New Orleans activist Corlita Mahr. “With more than 100,000 families still trying to get back and thousands here in the region homeless and jobless, this is no time for patting ourselves on the back.”
As resources dwindle and many of the communities hardest hit have yet to receive significant aid or public investment, residents are still hopeful that change will come to the Gulf. “President Obama spent a significant part of his campaign talking about how his Administration would make recovery in the region a priority,” says Jaribu Hill of the Mississippi Workers Center for Human Rights. “We are doing our part – rebuilding, working together with coalitions of workers and their families, making a way out of no way as our grandparents would say. Now, we need the Administration to do its part.”
Commemoration activities will culminate on August 29th with events organized by such diverse groups as the city of Biloxi, local churches, community groups and Tulane University students. “Commemorations are a way of celebrating how far we’ve come. That part is important but we are also still striving -- to live in dignity, for our rights as human beings,” Mahr says, “It all comes down to the basics.”
The web site www.katrinaaction.org has served as a clearing house to distribute information and updates. On the site the public can join the Katrina Information Network (KIN) and support efforts to move the recovery process forward. In-depth information regarding issues and policy matters including letters, legislation and links are also accessible. KIN can be followed on both Facebook and Twitter. Note that a listing of available contacts and scheduled activities follows for your convenience.
ABOUT THE KATRINA INFORMATION NETWORK –The Katrina Information Network (KIN) is a collaboration of groups in the Gulf and across the country that have come together to focus public pressure on a just recovery for the Gulf Coast region. KIN provides technical assistance to support media reporting on the region and acts as a communication vehicle to ensure factual information is available to the public. For more information please visit www.katrinaaction.org.
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Commemorating the 4th Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina
August 25th-August 29th, 2009
Compiled by the Katrina Information Network
DVD Release of Trouble The Water
Date: Tuesday, August 25th, 2009
Order the DVD today http://www.troublethewaterfilm.com/buythedvd
Description: TROUBLE THE WATER takes you inside Hurricane Katrina in a way never before seen on screen. It's a redemptive tale of two self-described street hustlers who become heroes-two unforgettable people who survive the storm and then seize a chance for a new beginning.
Abriendo Puertas / Opening Doors: A photographic look at what we all have in common.
Date: August 27th, 2009, 5-8pm
Event Sponsor: El Pueblo & the Ohr O'Keefe Museum of Art
Contact: www.usm.edu/katrina/opening- doors.
Description: Abriendo Puertas / Opening Doors: A photographic look at what we all have in common. USM Gulf Coast Campus, Katrina Resource Center: 3rd floor of the library.
4th Annual Katrina Walk
Date: On Friday, Aug. 28, 2009
Event Sponsor: Catholic churches of east Biloxi
Description:The Catholic churches of east Biloxi will conduct the fourth annual Katrina walk. Transportation will be provided from St. Michael’s to Our Mother of Sorrows at 4 p.m. The walk will begin at 5 p.m. from Our Mother of Sorrows and end at St. Michael’s at 8 p.m. Prayer will be at Blessed Seelos and the Vietnamese Martyrs Church.
Press Conference / Report Roll-out for Katrina Citizens Leadership Corps and Steps Coalition
Date: Friday, August 28th, 2009- Church of the Redeemer
Event Sponsor: Katrina Citizens Leadership Corps/STEPS coalition
Contact: www.stepscoalition.org, Penny: 228-297-7648 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Description: 9am Continental Breakfast, 10am- Interfaith memorial service: remembering and letting g: 11am- Press Conference, 11:30am - Lunch & Panel discussion- 610 Water Street, Biloxi, MS.
Ringing of Bells
Date: Saturday, August 29th, 2009
Event Sponsor: City of New Orleans
Description: New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin plans to mark the fourth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina by celebrating the city's progress since the storm and catastrophic levee breaches on Aug. 29, 2005.
Katrina Memorial Observance
Date: Saturday, August 29th, 2009
Sponsoring organization: City of Biloxi
Description: The city will hold a Katrina memorial observance on Saturday, Aug. 29 at 8 a.m. on the Biloxi Town Green. The 30-minute ceremony, which will involve several clergy members, will be capped by the unveiling of Marlin's marlin, a Marlin Miller sculpture created from a standing dead oak on the north side of the Town Green, near the Katrina memorial.
Documentary screening of Katrina & Biloxi
Date: Saturday, August 29th, 2009
Sponsoring organization: City of Biloxi
Description: The city of Biloxi and Cable One will air "Katrina & Biloxi," the city's award-winning documentary on Cable One Cable 13 at 8:30 a.m., 8:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.
Katrina anniversary film, March and Vigil
Date: Saturday, August 29th, 2009 @ 6pm
Event Sponsor: STEP Human Rights Committee
Contact: www.stepscoalition.org, Penny: 228-297-7648 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Description: 6pm Katrina Anniversary Film Sponsored by STEPS Human Rights Committee at the New Bethel Church, 255 Main St. Biloxi MS
7:30pm March from New Bethel to Henry Beck Park - Vigil sponsored by NAACP Youth
Community Celebration to mark Hurricane Katrina’s landfall featuring Harvey Jesus
Date: Saturday, August 29, 2009
Time: 5:30 PM
Place: Torres Park
Description: Coming together to celebrate and mark all that is good and enduring about the parish in its recovery and current growth pattern.
My Heart My Home Rebuild-A-Thon commemoration event.
Date: Saturday, August 29th, 2009
Sponsoring organization: Ashe Cultural and Arts Center
Description: The event is billed as “a day of service to commemorate the resilience of Louisiana residents in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.” Over 15 members of the Team Ashé will show up at Congo Square at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, August 29, 2009, the fourth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina to either assist with a garden project in the Gentilly neighborhood or in the Lower Ninth Ward; or a building project for a Central City church. The day includes a rally prior to participants being bused to service locations, and concludes with live entertainment. Those interested in donating to the cause may donate through our fundraising page, www.firstgiving.com/ashecac. Those donations will go directly to Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation.
Community Events Sponsored by St. Bernard Parish
Commemoration Ceremony
Date: Saturday, August 29th, 2009 -8:30 PM,
Location: Katrina Monument in Shell Beach at the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet
Description: St. Bernard Parish Government will hold a ceremony to commemorate the storm’s aftermath as well as commemorate the storm's aftermath as well as celebrating the ongoing progress and embracing the citizens' zeal about day-to-day steps in the parish's recovery.
This year, the public is invited to gather again in front of the granite monument that bears the names of 163 St. Bernard Parish victims of Hurricane Katrina who died as a result of the storm, whether it was during the actual event or because of the evacuation.
We Are Still Here Gallery
Date: Saturday, August 29th, 2009
Location: Torres Park
Time: 6:00-8:00 PM
Description: This year's Community Celebration will feature the music of Harvey Jesus from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Community Playground Amphitheater in Torres Park behind the Government Complex. Also, St. Bernard Parish President Taffaro is inviting all civic groups, government agencies and citizens to participate in a "We're Still Here Gallery," a series of tables to showcase items, icons and memorabilia that show what is good that has endured in our parish.
Contact: Contact Karen Turni Bazile at 504-278-4280 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) to reserve a table
Outreach Tulane
Date: Saturday, August 29th, 2009
Contact: Outreach Tulane- outreach.tulane.edu
Description: Students will participate in 18 service projects throughout the city. There will be a march to the 9th Ward followed by a health fair in the 7th Ward.
An Unforgettable Evening of Song-Celebrating the Spirit of Resilience, Commemorating the Fourth Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina
Date: Thursday, October 15, 2009, 8-10 p.m. Touro Synagogue, New Orleans, Louisiana.
Sponsoring organization: St. Bernard Project
Description: Featuring Neshama Carlebach, Reverend Roger Hambrick and members of
Visit the Katrina Information network, www.katrinaaction.org, or a comprehensive calendar of commeorative events around the country.
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