New National Coalition To Push for Faster Rebuilding
CHICAGO, Feb. 28 /PRNewswire
Holding candles and signs while singing hymns, hundreds of congregations across
the country will include a time for prayer and reflection in their services, conduct
prayer vigils and visit their congressional representative to mark the six-month
anniversary of the Katrina disaster. Major denominations, national faith-based
organizing groups, organizers of Gulf Coast survivors and national policy and
organizing groups will call for six weeks of prayer and action, starting on the weekend
of March 3-5.
"Too many victims of this unprecedented disaster are still waiting for
relief. The federal government must provide immediate and long-term help that
will revitalize these devastated communities for everyone. The survivors now
in New Orleans must be helped as well as survivors dispersed throughout the
country," said Professor john powell of the Kirwan Institute and an advisor to
the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation.
A new coalition, the National Alliance to Restore Opportunity to Gulf
Coast Survivors, is calling on the Washington leadership to:
-- Rebuild the region,
-- Improve the lives and destinies of Gulf Coast residents
-- Provide opportunities and support for displaced Gulf residents and
communities that received them
-- Bring federal resources to the region without cutting other human
needs programs.
"My fellow Katrina survivors and I have experienced more tragedy in the
last six months than most people have in a lifetime. We have lost relatives,
friends and our community. The federal government should live up to its
responsibility to rebuild," said Dorothy Stukes of Houston, a spokesperson for
the ACORN Katrina Survivors Association.
"The 1,600 Muslim, Jewish and Christian congregations of Gamaliel will be
urged to act. We anticipate that at least 500 congregations will hold some
type of event, using a common prayer and litany as well as visiting their
Congressional representatives. Members of ACORN and PICO, who are Katrina
survivors, will speak at several vigils," said Rev. Kevin Turman of Detroit,
Chair of Gamaliel President's Table.
"Our congregations in the Gulf Coast were unbelievably devastated by
hurricanes. The continued lack of response from the federal government has
devastated them once again. We must see action from Washington now to abate
the suffering of our people," said Fr. John Baumann, Executive Director of the
PICO National Network.
The NAACP (the National Association for the Advancement of Colored
People), the Gamaliel Foundation (a network of 1,600 congregations in 18
states), ACORN (the nation's largest grassroots citizen group and organizer of
Gulf Coast survivors), the People Improving Communities Through Organizing
(PICO, a network of 1000 congregations in 17 states, including LA),
Sojourners, Call to Renewal, Smart Growth America, the Kirwan Institute,
Policylink, TIKKUN Community, Clergy Strategic Alliances, Equal Justice
Society, IRP (Institute for Research on Poverty), Environmental Justice
Resource Center at Clark Atlanta University, the Center for Justice,
Tolerance and Community at University of California, Santa Cruz, the Civil
Rights Project of Harvard University, Center for Social Inclusion and Earth
House are the primary organizers of the event.
Spokespeople:
-- Rev. M. William Howard, Newark, NJ, former President of New York
Theological Seminary and pastor, Bethany Baptist Church
-- Rev. Kevin Turman, Chair of Gamaliel President's Table
-- Rev. Michael Battle, President of the Interdenominational Theological
Center
-- Fr. John Baumann, Ex. Dir. of PICO, People Improving Communities
Through Organizing
-- Manuel Pastor, Co-Director of the Center for Justice, Tolerance and
Community, University of California, Santa Cruz
-- Dr. Beverly Wright, founder and director of the Deep South Center for
Environmental Justice at Xavier University located in New Orleans,
Louisiana
-- Professor john powell, Executive Director, Kirwan Institute for the
Study of Race and Ethnicity and Katrina consultant
-- Don Chen, Director, Smart Growth America
-- Dr. Ann Smith, President of the Gamaliel Foundation
-- Dorothy Stukes, Katrina Survivor and ACORN member
-- Angela Glover Blackwell, Policylink Director and Katrina consultant
-- Robert D. Bullard, Director of the Environmental Justice Resource
Center at Clark Atlanta University
-- Joanna Macy, Director, Praises for the World
CHICAGO, Feb. 28 /PRNewswire
Holding candles and signs while singing hymns, hundreds of congregations across
the country will include a time for prayer and reflection in their services, conduct
prayer vigils and visit their congressional representative to mark the six-month
anniversary of the Katrina disaster. Major denominations, national faith-based
organizing groups, organizers of Gulf Coast survivors and national policy and
organizing groups will call for six weeks of prayer and action, starting on the weekend
of March 3-5.
"Too many victims of this unprecedented disaster are still waiting for
relief. The federal government must provide immediate and long-term help that
will revitalize these devastated communities for everyone. The survivors now
in New Orleans must be helped as well as survivors dispersed throughout the
country," said Professor john powell of the Kirwan Institute and an advisor to
the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation.
A new coalition, the National Alliance to Restore Opportunity to Gulf
Coast Survivors, is calling on the Washington leadership to:
-- Rebuild the region,
-- Improve the lives and destinies of Gulf Coast residents
-- Provide opportunities and support for displaced Gulf residents and
communities that received them
-- Bring federal resources to the region without cutting other human
needs programs.
"My fellow Katrina survivors and I have experienced more tragedy in the
last six months than most people have in a lifetime. We have lost relatives,
friends and our community. The federal government should live up to its
responsibility to rebuild," said Dorothy Stukes of Houston, a spokesperson for
the ACORN Katrina Survivors Association.
"The 1,600 Muslim, Jewish and Christian congregations of Gamaliel will be
urged to act. We anticipate that at least 500 congregations will hold some
type of event, using a common prayer and litany as well as visiting their
Congressional representatives. Members of ACORN and PICO, who are Katrina
survivors, will speak at several vigils," said Rev. Kevin Turman of Detroit,
Chair of Gamaliel President's Table.
"Our congregations in the Gulf Coast were unbelievably devastated by
hurricanes. The continued lack of response from the federal government has
devastated them once again. We must see action from Washington now to abate
the suffering of our people," said Fr. John Baumann, Executive Director of the
PICO National Network.
The NAACP (the National Association for the Advancement of Colored
People), the Gamaliel Foundation (a network of 1,600 congregations in 18
states), ACORN (the nation's largest grassroots citizen group and organizer of
Gulf Coast survivors), the People Improving Communities Through Organizing
(PICO, a network of 1000 congregations in 17 states, including LA),
Sojourners, Call to Renewal, Smart Growth America, the Kirwan Institute,
Policylink, TIKKUN Community, Clergy Strategic Alliances, Equal Justice
Society, IRP (Institute for Research on Poverty), Environmental Justice
Resource Center at Clark Atlanta University, the Center for Justice,
Tolerance and Community at University of California, Santa Cruz, the Civil
Rights Project of Harvard University, Center for Social Inclusion and Earth
House are the primary organizers of the event.
Spokespeople:
-- Rev. M. William Howard, Newark, NJ, former President of New York
Theological Seminary and pastor, Bethany Baptist Church
-- Rev. Kevin Turman, Chair of Gamaliel President's Table
-- Rev. Michael Battle, President of the Interdenominational Theological
Center
-- Fr. John Baumann, Ex. Dir. of PICO, People Improving Communities
Through Organizing
-- Manuel Pastor, Co-Director of the Center for Justice, Tolerance and
Community, University of California, Santa Cruz
-- Dr. Beverly Wright, founder and director of the Deep South Center for
Environmental Justice at Xavier University located in New Orleans,
Louisiana
-- Professor john powell, Executive Director, Kirwan Institute for the
Study of Race and Ethnicity and Katrina consultant
-- Don Chen, Director, Smart Growth America
-- Dr. Ann Smith, President of the Gamaliel Foundation
-- Dorothy Stukes, Katrina Survivor and ACORN member
-- Angela Glover Blackwell, Policylink Director and Katrina consultant
-- Robert D. Bullard, Director of the Environmental Justice Resource
Center at Clark Atlanta University
-- Joanna Macy, Director, Praises for the World
FBCO in the News
March 01, 2006
March 01, 2006