Got this from my friend and mentor Don Rojas as we observe the Katrina anniversary.

NEW WEBSITE CALLS FOR EQUITY AND INCLUSION IN THE GULF COAST

On the occasion of the 2nd anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s devastation of communities in the Gulf Coast region, the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation (LDRF) in collaboration with many partners has launched a new Web site ( www.equityandinclusion.org ) to focus regional and national attention on the continuing plight of grassroots organizations working on behalf of those displaced and impacted by hurricanes Katrina and Rita in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Texas.

With Gulf Coast community news, blogs, podcasts, commentaries and calendars of events, the site aims to be a focal point on the Web for community organizations and coalitions to engage each other and collaborate in an ongoing campaign to adequately inform the nation and lift the public’s awareness.  

“Two years after Katrina, hundreds of thousands of poor and marginalized people are still shut out of the recovery and rebuilding of the region,” said Ashley Shelton, interim Chief Operating Officer at LDRF.

The site will also promote consistent advocacy at both the Federal and State levels and will demand of all the candidates who are seeking to be the next president of the United States to make an equitable, just and fair Gulf Coast recovery a top priority in their campaign planks.

As the Equity & Inclusion campaign site grows and expands, there are plans to publish Web content not only in English but in Spanish and Vietnamese as well, thus reflecting the three main languages spoken in the communities that were hardest hit by the storm.

The campaign’s Web site content will inform the general public about Gulf Coast realities with sound evidence, scientific data and credible research, all of which would come together to make the argument that the recovery, to date, has not been equitable, has not been balanced, has not been inclusive, has not been fair.

“The poor and the powerless have been left out of the recovery because racism and classism have been prevalent in the decision-making process”, said Don Rojas, creator of the E&I campaign’s site. “The job of this campaign is to expose these injustices and imbalances and to mobilize broad public pressure on the political leadership in Washington and also in the State capitols.”

Rojas added that close to a million people of good will from all across the United States and from as far away as Japan and Europe have traveled to Coastal communities over the last two years to volunteer selflessly their time, energy and money in the rebuilding process.

“We are all grateful and appreciative of their generosity. But when they return to their homes they go back to a reality of relative isolation, deprived of a steady flow of information about the ups and downs of Gulf Coast rebuilding. Their empathy for the plight of those in this region who are being shut out of the recovery process will wane and dissipate if we do not keep them engaged and informed, if we do not call on them to organize in their own communities and to pressure their Congressional representatives to deliver on their promises to make the Gulf Coast region whole again. This will be one of the main objectives of the campaign and the site.”

“And then, of course, there is the “Katrina Diaspora,” the tens of thousands of displaced Gulf Coast residents who are living across the 48 contiguous states of the US, most of whom want to return to their homes and communities and to a bright and secure future,” added Shelton.

“Their right to return is a basic human right, a basic constitutional right that this campaign must advocate for consistently and vigorously.  Like the volunteers, people in the Katrina Diaspora are also starving for up-to-date information and analysis on the recovery. They have an invaluable role to play in mobilizing public support and this campaign should place a high priority on reaching out to them and keeping them engaged,” she said.

The new site ( www.equityandinclusion.org ) is powered by PromoSuite Interactive.

Contact: Don Rojas

Tel: 443-834-9693 Email: donrojas30@gmail.com