[Bookstoprisoners] Hurricane relief benefit show this Friday at La Casa Co-op

[Sarah Lazare]

***Please forward widely***

This Friday, September 16, La Casa Co-op will be hosting a 
benefit show to raise money for the Hurricane Relief 
Initiative of the New Orleans People's Committee.

Who:
Karina Lepeley
Spark and Run
Dylan Lamar 

Where:
La Casa Co-op
906 South Maple in Urbana (Maple intersects with Washington)

When:
Friday, September 16, 8pm

Cost:
$3-$10 sliding-scale
All money will be donated to the Hurricane Relief Initiative 
of the New Orleans People's Committee. Here is some 
information about this group:

Press conference:
Tuesday, September 6, 2005
4:00 p.m. CST outside the Reliance Center at Kirby and McNee

New Orleans Black Community Leaders Charge Racism in 
Government Neglect of Hurricane Survivors 

Press conference to announce plan to save lives and 
demand role in rebuilding effort 

HOUSTON – A national alliance of black community leaders will 
announce the formation of a New Orleans People's Committee to 
demand a decision-making role in the short-term care of 
hurricane survivors and long-term rebuilding of New Orleans.

Community Labor United (CLU), a New Orleans coalition of 
labor and community activists, has put out a call to 
activists and organizations across the country to work on 
a "people's campaign" of community redevelopment. Organizing 
efforts will take place across hundreds of temporary shelters.

The population of New Orleans is 67 percent black and over 30 
percent of the population lives below the poverty line, 
reflecting the current demographic of hurricane survivors 
displaced all over the South.

While the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the 
White House, and Governor Blanco attempt to regain the 
public's trust by evading the question of who's to blame, a 
short and long-term plan for New Orleans hurricane survivors 
has remained in a political vault of silence. 

"This is plain, ugly, real racism," states Curtis Muhammad, 
CLU Organizing Director. "While some politicians and 
organizations might skirt around the issue of race, we in New 
Orleans are not afraid to call it what it is. The moral 
values of our government is to 'shoot to kill' hungry, thirsty
black hurricane survivors for trying to live through the 
aftermath. This is not just immoral—this has turned a 
natural disaster into a man-made disaster, fueled by racism." 

Leaders of CLU, in alliance with nearly twenty other local 
organizations and several national organizations will discuss 
their plan at a press conference on Tuesday, September 6, 
2005, at 4:00 p.m. CST outside the Reliance Center at Kirby 
and McNee. The coalition will announce:

The formation of the New Orleans People's Committee composed 
of hurricane survivors from each of the shelters, which will:

1. Demand to oversee FEMA, the Red Cross, and 
other organizations collecting resources on behalf of
the black community of New Orleans

2. Demand decision-making power in the long-term
redevelopment of New Orleans

3· Issue a national call for volunteers to assist 
with housing, health care, education, and legal
matters for the duration of the displacement

Tax-exempt donations for the People's Committee and
the national coalition can be made out to: 

Young People's Project 
440 N. Mills St. 
Suite 200 
Jackson, MS 39202 

or visit www.qecr.org <http://www.qecr.org/>.
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