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In Remembrance…
FROM THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT – CBCF UPDATE – AUGUST 23, 2010 SPECIAL ISSUE As we commemorate the five-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation is continuing its outreach to residents of the Gulf Coast. I want to share with you some of our work for the past five years, as well as our current and future efforts to help in the restoration of an area where millions were directly and indirectly affected by vast devastation. On September 21, 2005, the eve of our 35th Annual Legislative Conference, CBCF announced the launch of our Katrina Relief Fund. While we decided to go ahead with ALC, there was no way we could sit back and conduct business as usual. We used the conference as an opportunity to raise awareness about the issues surrounding the aftermath of Katrina while also reaching out to evacuees. During 2005, we collected and donated more than a quarter of a million dollars to organizations on the ground in Louisiana and in Mississippi. In April 2006, CBCF participated in Unity ’06 to help ensure voting rights for the displaced New Orleans residents. That year, we also increased our efforts to launch Avoice – African American Voices in Congress – an online library with information about historical and contemporary African American policy issues important to researchers, academics, educators and students. The destruction by Katrina brought to light the fragility of historical artifacts. In April 2007, CBCF partnered with the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation to convene a District Level Forum in Baton Rouge to provide information on federal and private resources available to organizations and individuals. That same year, I participated in the second year observance of the breaching of the levees in New Orleans. Seeing empty buildings downtown and the lack of life in many areas, increased my resolve to find ways to be supportive as an individual and as an officer of the Foundation. In 2008, CBCF prepared a report, “Examining the Long-Term Racial Disparities in Health and Economic Conditions Among Hurricane Katrina Survivors" and financially supported a book, The Katrina Tragedy: The Case of New Orleans, published by the National Conference of Black Political Scientists that focused on the human tragedies related to Katrina. We also previewed the Academy Award-nominated, Trouble the Water, during our 2008 ALC and sponsored travel for the two New Orleans residents who were the subject of the film. We have kept an account with Dryades Savings Bank, a minority-owned bank, and in observance of the fifth anniversary of Katrina, will increase our deposit there. Since 2005, we have provided $30,000 in scholarship assistance to New Orleans students through the CBC Spouses Scholarship. One of the recipients wrote “…as a Louisiana resident attending an out-of-state school in Florida, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Scholarship was essential. I did not have any income and I was an out-of-state student. I used the scholarships to purchase books, other school supplies, and school fees. I was very grateful to receive the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Scholarship in spite of the adversity caused by Hurricane Katrina.” In addition, four New Orleans area students participated in CBCF‘s Congressional Internship. During the presidential inauguration in January 2009, the Foundation hosted eight Hurricane Katrina survivors, ages 82 to 100, for the People’s Inaugural Project. This special group has lived through segregation, integration and then the devastation of Katrina and yet they still give back to their community through their churches and other outreach programs. Bringing them in for this special inaugural was one way to let them know how much they were valued. While the water has subsided, the hard times and rebuilding efforts remain. To commemorate this experience, CBCF reached out to the Batiste Cultural Arts Academy, a school that has been in failing status for the past five years. At the middle school section, specifically, the students are scoring less than 15 percent of grade level on their state exams. To maximize computer usage, the principal has requested that each child have a USB drive so they can download their school work and take it with them, whether it is home, the library or a friend’s house. The Foundation will match dollar for dollar the contributions from staff for the USB drives. Support for the Gulf Coast recovery has been a personal and professional commitment for me. I had family and friends who lost everything, and friends and associates who lost family members. Whereas, my family members have been able to move on with their lives, far too many others are still trying to piece their lives back together. I ask each of you to continue to reach out because Katrina is still very much still real for thousands of families. To watch CBCF's Annual Legislative Conference session on Hurricane Katrina coverage, click here. For more information, contact:
CBCF REMEMBERS KATRINA Foundation Donates Thumb Drives to New Charter School
Working to continue to provide assistance to Gulf Coast residents after one of the most devastating hurricanes recorded in history, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF) has adopted the Batiste Cultural Arts Academy in New Orleans and is providing the students with 21st century school supplies.
The school has been in failing status for the past five years. At the middle school section, specifically, the students are scoring less than 15 percent of grade level on their state exams. As a part of the new charter program, the school was able to get new computers in each of the classrooms and, to maximize computer usage, the principal has requested that the 200 students each child have a USB drive so they can download their school work and take it with them, whether it is home, the library or a friend’s house. CBCF staff and personnel responded by raising over $600.
“One third of the Foundation’s mission is to develop leaders,” said Elsie L. Scott, president and chief executive officer of CBCF and a Louisiana native. “The CBCF staff has enthusiastically embraced this project to raise funds to provide for the thumb drives and the Foundation will match employee contributions dollar-for-dollar.”
In addition to assisting the school, CBCF has kept an account with Dryades Savings Bank, a minority-owned bank, and in observance of the fifth anniversary of Katrina, will increase its deposit there. Since 2005, the Foundation has provided the following outreach in the Gulf area:
Hurricane Katrina Aftermath
Words from a CBCF Intern and Katrina Survivor Four years ago, my family and I encountered one of the worst experiences in my short lived life. Although many tired of the countless stories about Hurricane Katrina, I have to live with its affects for the rest of my life. It is quite ironic that the same government that I desire to be a part of is the same one that contributed to the chaos after the storm hit. The first two and a half years after the storm, I was truly an emotional rollercoaster.
I finished my term as a board member of the Louisiana Community and Technical College System just prior to the storm and was transferring from Delgado Community College to the University of New Orleans in the Fall of 2005. I was a highly respected member of the Council of Student Body Presidents, I enjoyed a two year term as SGA president and vice president and coordinator of events at Delgado and I had a stellar mentor in the president of the college who helped prepare me to intern in the legislature. My career was really beginning to take off until that fateful day - August 29, 2005! My whole life flashed before my eyes as my fiancée, mother, brother and I all watched the waters attack my home street, which I have walked thousands of times, and hit our home with a thunderous crash and immeasurable force!
An event of this magnitude, combined with the resulting physical and psychological affects, reveals the true character and fortitude of a person. All ambitions of the past are thrown out of the window and survival takes its place. It has taken my family the entire four years of our subsequent stay in Houston, Texas to acquire some sort of normalcy! During this time, we had to contend with nervous break-downs, nightmares, depression, attempted suicides, drug addictions, homelessness, multiple deaths and illnesses. After all the government assistance, it became apparent that our new home would be the City of Houston. I had to make an intelligent decision: either to postpone college and help my family by finding a job; or, finish college and become the first female and second person overall in my family to graduate. In my mind, immediate needs trumps future aspirations, but to my astonishment, it meant more to my family for me to finish school than to help “make ends meet!” After all we have been through and are still enduring, for me to have walked across the stage in December of 2009 gave joy and hope to a family that has encountered so much sorrow.
It will be five years on August 29 since the storm and since then I have achieved so much, including my internship with the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF). My internship gave me experience that no classroom environment could ever match. It has made me a more capable and knowledgeable young leader. The world of politics is not for the weak of heart. It shines a bright light on the good and the bad. I have persevered amongst devastating circumstances during and after Hurricane Katrina. My internship at CBCF has allowed me to realize my full potential.
Through my CBCF internship, I learned the value of information on the Hill, networking with others and building relationships. I have also learned that although these things will help me reach my goals, it is my work ethic that will keep me on top. But above all this, I have learned that staying true to one’s self will truly make one a trusted leader in this day and time. I am grateful for my time in Washington D.C. and have equal gratitude for the CBCF for having such wonderful programs that touch so many.
Tonya Chissell-Williams New Orleans Native and CBCF Intern (Summer 2010) New Orleans Elections, 2006 Only one year removed from Katrina, Gulf Coast residents traveled to improvised voting locations to exercise their Constitutional right.  Katrina Survivors at the Inauguration of President Obama In January 2008, CBCF hosted eight Hurricane Katrina survivors, ages 82 to 100, for the People’s Inaugural Project. Six of the seniors reside in New Orleans, while one has relocated to Houston and one to Orlando. “I couldn’t help but cry,” said 90-year-old Sarah Ricks of New Orleans, describing the feeling she had as she watched Barack Obama becoming the nation’s 44th president. “The bible said it would happen, but I didn’t think I would live to see it. This is just beautiful.” Each participant was required to write a brief essay describing their experiences as Katrina survivors. Doreatha Williams, 86, also of New Orleans, wrote that she waved a white T-shirt to get the attention of rescue helicopters. After the water had reached the second floor of his house, 100-year-old Sylvester Williams, now of Orlando, was evacuated by boat to a helicopter and finally ended up on Interstate 10, where he waited for a day before boarding a bus to Houston. “This special group has lived through segregation, integration and then devastation with Katrina,” said Elsie L. Scott, Ph.D., CBCF’s president and chief executive officer and a Louisiana native. “Yet they still give back to their community through their churches and other outreach programs. Bringing them in for this special inaugural is one way to let them know how much they are valued.” The other seniors included Joseph Smith, 94, Louvenia Lewis, 92, Eddie Brumfield, 91, and Margie Lawrence, 82, all of New Orleans, and the Rev. Louis Phoenix, 83, now of Houston.  |
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