ITEM OVERVIEW
In August 2005, thousands of New Orleans residents—overwhelmingly poor, largely people of color—were left to face one of the worst "natural" disasters in US history on their own. They were left to die in prisons, in nursing homes, and on the streets. Survivors were criminalized as "looters" for struggling to obtain essentials of life
that no one else could or would provide.
As Katrina's waters receded and the body count soared, an ugly truth (re)surfaced: The lives of those who are poor, who are vulnerable, and who are not white are not valued by the US government. Commentators across the political spectrum, and other observers expressed outrage that the US government would let this happen to even "those Americans". Millions outside of New Orleans live without adequate health insurance; clean air and water; decent education, housing, nutrition, health care, and work; as
well as freedom from police brutality and state repression. The state and it's long systemic failure to address these issues was answered by many radicals, anarchists and community organizers from around the country in the gulf coast on a scale not seen in recent history.
In this book you hear from the people who organized amid the chaos, navigated around FEMA 's bureaucracy and the difficulties systemic racism and oppression have on communities. It takes readers beyond the Superdome and explores the complexity of this turning point in US history from the grassroots.
This short and accessible anthology, features many voices including several anarchist perspectives that have largely been left out of the dialog around Katrina and New Orleans including: INCITE! Women of
Color Against Violence, Suheir Hammad, Jordan Flaherty, Dylan Rodriguez , Malik Rahim, Lisa Fithian and scott crow of Common Ground, with an afterword by Joy James.
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