I should have said something about this earlier, but there was very little to go on except from black entertainment websites:
Between December 8-10, in Jackson, MS, and in New Orleans, LA, survivors of Hurricane Katrina, along with activist groups, politicians, unions and other grassroots organizations, will attend a State of Emergency Conference and Survivors General Assembly to call attention to displaced black Americans and families under stress and in need since Katrina.
They will also stage a mass march for New Orleans on Saturday.
The People’s Hurricane Relief Fund and The Mississippi Distress Relief Coalition have organized these two-city events under the umbrella of the Center for Community Change, a Washington, D.C.-based agency that helps thousands of urban and rural communities nationwide organize for positive change. Its board of directors include Ron Dellums, Peter Edelman, Winona LaDuke and Phil Tom.
In Jackson, more than 50 black organizations, including labor unions and civil rights groups are convening for the State of Emergency Conference to form a national action plan to “rescue” blacks who are dependent on the federal government to help them rebuild their lives. Organizers said the event will allow Katrina survivors to share and document their experiences.
Tomorrow on Saturday, December 10 (also the date of International Human Rights Day), Katrina survivors and their supporters are going to march to support a list of demands that later will be presented to local and Federal authorities.
These demands include the right of return without poverty and with dignity and reparations for negligence, criminal indifference shown to victims and survivors before, during and after the disaster.
Amy Goodman’s Democracy Now! program and website included a mention of the Conference as well as discussion-critique and highlights from Leah Hodges and Dyan French’s testimony before Congress.
More information can be found on these websites:
http://www.neworleansvfp.org/?q=node/256
http://eurweb.com/story.cfm?id=23825
And no, C-Span isn’t carrying these events.
