Rebuilding New Orleans after Katrina
By Leenie Halbert 
Green Party of Louisiana

Three months after the levees broke and flooding devastated New Orleans, many Greens returned to New Orleans to find their homes, jobs and lives completely altered.

Slim, a recently registered Green and resident of the Ninth Ward in New Orleans, came back to find he was illegally evicted from the apartment he had resided in for the past decade. "My landlord didn't even tell me he was kicking me out. All of my stuff is gone, and he's rented out my home to some people from Pittsburgh for $1,000 a month. I used to pay only $300. It's disgraceful." 

Common Ground Collective's Thanksgiving dinner for the 9th Ward  neighbors and volunteers. Photo: Daniel Starling / Green Pages

Nearly half of all New Orleans residents are tenants; many have resided in the same homes for years. Throughout New Orleans, displaced tenants are returning only to find they have been evicted from their homes and their belongings hauled away. Landlords across the city tripled rents in the unflooded neighborhoods, which now have electricity. Nearly 60 percent of the city currently has no electric service, and the corporate energy supplier, Entergy, claims their New Orleans division is bankrupt. 

The state treasurer of the Louisiana Green Party, Robert Caldwell, has been working closely with several grassroots efforts aimed at bringing residents back to New Orleans and protecting tenants' rights. "The lack of affordable housing works hand in hand with a lack of electricity to keep residents from returning and rebuilding," Caldwell explains. Through the New Orleans Housing Emergency Action Team (NOHEAT), Caldwell has focused on grassroots action against evictions. He is also involved in the New Orleans-based group Community Labor United and serves on their hurricane fund's Economic Justice and Political Oversight Committee.

Andrea Garland, also a Green activist and resident of the Ninth Ward, evacuated to Texas after the storm with her husband, Jeffrey Holmes. Through their local effort, Get Your Act On, they quickly began collecting donations of food, cleaning supplies and generators. They were among the first activists to return to downtown New Orleans, along with the author, Leenie Halbert. 

Garland says "It was important we came back into our homes immediately because our city was occupied, and there was no reason why we should have been kept out. …No relief was going on. The military and police were only patrolling, and the venerated Red Cross was feeding the troops, not the residents. There is no doubt that this is a deliberate ethnic cleansing. Many of these people cannot return even if they want to. They were sent far, far away." 

Garland and Holmes had to withstand much police harassment. The New Orleans Police Department arrested Holmes on a bogus charge of "disturbing the peace," in retaliation for their "Toxic Art" display, which had garnered national media attention and angered the authorities. They are currently helping neighbors in the lower Ninth Ward by doing daily mobile feeding and supply runs.

Malik Rahim at the 9th Ward Thanksgiving feast, thanking the many  volunteers who came to help. Photo: Daniel Starling / Green Pages

Just prior to the storm, veteran New Orleans Green Malik Rahim had been planning a run for the 2006 mayoral race. Rahim weathered the storm at his unflooded home in the Algiers neighborhood, situated on the west bank of the Mississippi River. Rahim still had phone service and was able to start giving accurate reports to the media on the devastation and dereliction that had occurred. He quickly recognized that New Orleans was only going to be helped by New Orleanians. 

Rahim started the Common Ground Collective, which has gained national prominence by supporting grassroots self-help rebuilding efforts. Activists from around the country have come to New Orleans to volunteer at Common Ground's free medical clinic, help with repairing roofs, or cleaning houses in Algiers and the Ninth Ward. Common Ground has also distributed tools, food, generators and other much-needed supplies. 

Rahim has committed himself to running once again for mayor in New Orleans' primary election in Feb. 2006. He explains, "I'm running for mayor to make sure what transpired during this hurricane doesn't happen again, and to make sure that New Orleanians play a part in the rebuilding process." Rahim believes the city needs to be rebuilt green, and is committed to making New Orleans a place the displaced residents can return to and live in sustainably. 

Leenie Halbert is acting co-chair of the Green Party of Louisiana. She is currently focused on opening the New Orleans Food Co-op, where she is a board member. You can reach her at leenie@leenie.com. 

Links to Katrina Efforts supported by Louisiana Greens: 

• www.LAGreens.org
• www.no-heat.org
• www.rebuildgreen.org
• www.commongroundrelief.org
• www.communitylaborunited.net
• www.getyouracton.com
• www.nolafoodcoop.org
• Read GNOGP webmaster Bart Everson's daily blog at http://b.rox.com.

Back to Winter 2005