[IMC-Boston-Editorial] Re: Boston-editorial Digest, Vol 31,
Issue 17
Svea Eppler
sveasca at yahoo.com
Wed Nov 16 17:44:46 PST 2005
Friday night at 6pm kiddo.
At LPC?
xo
s.
TDForsyth <TDForsyth at alfredalum.com> wrote: When is the BIMC collective meeting?
-----Original message-----
From: boston-editorial-request at lists.indymedia.org
Date: Wed, 16 Nov 2005 11:53:57 -0500
To: boston-editorial at lists.indymedia.org
Subject: Boston-editorial Digest, Vol 31, Issue 17
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> Today's Topics:
>
> 1. Column by Katrina evacuee on returning home & the unnatural
> disaster of racism (Betsy Leondar-Wright)
> 2. new feature? (per request) (Sofia JarrinT)
> 3. feature? (another request) (Sofia JarrinT)
> 4. new feature? (per request) (visnusdream at juno.com)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Tue, 15 Nov 2005 17:44:03 -0500
> From: Betsy Leondar-Wright
> Subject: [IMC-Boston-Editorial] Column by Katrina evacuee on returning
> home & the unnatural disaster of racism
> To:
> Message-ID:
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1"
>
> Greetings,
> I wonder if you¹d be interested in running this op-ed by a Louisiana wo> man
> who just returned home after evacuating during the hurricane.
> Regards,
> Betsy Leondar-Wright
>
>
> An Unnatural Disaster
> by Emma Dixon
>
> When Hurricane Katrina tore up the roof of my house, it didn¹t care tha> t I¹m
> black. My white neighbors, like my black neighbors, saw trees fall on the> ir
> homes and saw their refrigerators rot and mold. They, like I, lived witho> ut
> electricity or phone for over a week after that color-blind natural
> disaster.
>
> But an unnatural disaster hit us as well, the institutionalized racism th> at
> began centuries ago. The flooded areas of New Orleans were three-quarters
> black, while in dry areas, African Americans were a minority. Over the
> years, many well-off white people have left the city for gated suburban
> communities. The remaining whites tend to live on higher ground.
>
> The unnatural disaster of racism swept away the savings accounts and cred> it
> cards with which poor black people could have bought their escape. A cent> ury
> of Jim Crow laws barred black families in the South from certain schools > and
> jobs. Social Security benefits were not available at first to domestic an> d
> agricultural workers, the occupations of most African Americans at that
> time. Due to discrimination, most black WWII veterans were unable to use > the
> GI Bill, which gave most white veterans the homeownership and college
> educations that have made their children and grandchildren so prosperous.
>
> The unnatural disaster of racism swept away the cars with which poor blac> k
> people could have escaped Katrina. Almost a third of residents of the
> flooded neighborhoods did not own the cars on which the evacuation plan
> relied. If the promise to the freed slaves of 40 acres and a mule had bee> n
> kept, then six generations later, their descendents would own more assets> ,
> and the mule would now be a Buick.
>
> Nor has this unnatural disaster abated today, as I learned from my own
> experience. Almost immediately after Katrina hit my town, I saw
> spray-painted signs warning that looters would be shot and killed. I was
> warned by a white neighbor not to move around too much lest I be mistaken> as
> a looter.
>
> When my daughter came to get me from my damaged house and drove me to her
> home in Indiana, we were turned away by a white motel clerk in Illinois o> n
> the pretext that there were no vacancies. A later phone call confirmed wh> at
> their sign said, that rooms were available. I also experienced first-hand
> racial discrimination in gas lines, and in food and water distribution li> nes
> by a police officer.
>
> The world noticed that the evacuees stuck in the SuperDome and those turn> ed
> back at gunpoint at the Gretna bridge were mostly black. But who noticed
> that the first no-bid federal contracts went to white businessmen, cronie> s
> of white politicians?
>
> It¹s hard for me to believe, but this persistent racism is invisible to> many
> white people. A Time Magazine poll taken in September found that while th> ree
> quarters of blacks believe race and income level played a role in the
> government response to Hurricane Katrina, only 29 percent of whites felt > the
> same.
>
> The color of money is green, but the color of poverty has a darker hue.
> Families in the flooded black neighborhoods of New Orleans had a 2004 med> ian
> income of only $25,759 a year, barely more than half the national average> .
> Why? Louisiana is a low-wage, anti-union state. Many workers have pay so > low
> that they receive public housing and food stamps. New Orleans voters made
> history by approving a citywide living wage in 2002, but a court blocked > it,
> allowing poverty wages to continue.
>
> Last week I drove home to Louisiana. In my neighborhood I hear the consta> nt
> buzzing of chain saws removing uprooted trees, and the sounds of hammerin> g
> as roofers repair endless numbers of damaged roofs. The fragrances of Pin> e
> Sol and bleach tinge the air as residents attempt to save refrigerators a> nd
> rain-soaked carpets. I thank God that my family and I survived the storm,
> and that the recovery has begun.
>
> Yet I ask myself when the other recovery will begin.
>
> Katrina revealed the racial wealth divide in New Orleans and the unnatura> l
> disaster that caused it. When will we rebuild our society so that everyon> e,
> regardless of race, has the means to escape the next disaster?
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~
>
> Emma Dixon, of Mandeville, Louisiana (dzkem at i-55.com ) is a financial
> literacy educator with United for a Fair Economy.
>
>
> 697 words
>
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Betsy Leondar-Wright
> Communications Director, United for a Fair Economy
> (617) 423-2148 x113
> 29 Winter Street
> Boston, MA 02108
> http://www.FairEconomy.Org
>
>
> United for a Fair Economy is an independent national organization
> that raises awareness of the damaging consequences of concentrated
> wealth and power.
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Wed, 16 Nov 2005 07:22:44 -0800 (PST)
> From: Sofia JarrinT
> Subject: [IMC-Boston-Editorial] new feature? (per request)
> To: BIM Editorial
> Message-ID: <20051116152245.3281.qmail at web30915.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
> hi,
> Wanted to know if it's ok to center this? It's more of an announcement > than news, but I'm a big fan of Boston Direct Action Project.
>
> Anyway, I'll wait for at least 2 of you to ok it before proceeding.
>
> cheers,
> Sofia
>
> jonathan wrote: Date: Wed, 16 Nov 200> 5 10:13:33 -0500
> Subject: IMC
> From: jonathan
> To: Sofia Jarrin
>
> You still work with the IMC folks? I saw an article by you not too long
> ago...good work.
>
> Anyway what do you think about having this article centered on Boston IMC> ?
>
> http://boston.indymedia.org/newswire/display/45066/index.php
>
> Peace, hope all is well
>
> -Jonathan
>
>
>
>
>
> ---------------------------------
> Yahoo! FareChase - Search multiple travel sites in one click.
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>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 3
> Date: Wed, 16 Nov 2005 08:20:22 -0800 (PST)
> From: Sofia JarrinT
> Subject: [IMC-Boston-Editorial] feature? (another request)
> To: boston-editorial at lists.indymedia.org
> Message-ID: <20051116162023.9594.qmail at web30910.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
> I'm inclined to say no, since we mostly do local stories and have no pol> icy on op-eds? What do you guys think? Maybe we can refer them to someo> ne else?
>
> peace,
> sofia
>
> Betsy Leondar-Wright wrote: Greetings,
> I wonder if you¹d be interested in running this op-ed by a Louisiana wo> man
> who just returned home after evacuating during the hurricane.
> Regards,
> Betsy Leondar-Wright
>
>
> An Unnatural Disaster
> by Emma Dixon
>
> When Hurricane Katrina tore up the roof of my house, it didn¹t care tha> t I¹m
> black. My white neighbors, like my black neighbors, saw trees fall on the> ir
> homes and saw their refrigerators rot and mold. They, like I, lived witho> ut
> electricity or phone for over a week after that color-blind natural
> disaster.
>
> But an unnatural disaster hit us as well, the institutionalized racism th> at
> began centuries ago. The flooded areas of New Orleans were three-quarters
> black, while in dry areas, African Americans were a minority. Over the
> years, many well-off white people have left the city for gated suburban
> communities. The remaining whites tend to live on higher ground.
>
> The unnatural disaster of racism swept away the savings accounts and cred> it
> cards with which poor black people could have bought their escape. A cent> ury
> of Jim Crow laws barred black families in the South from certain schools > and
> jobs. Social Security benefits were not available at first to domestic an> d
> agricultural workers, the occupations of most African Americans at that
> time. Due to discrimination, most black WWII veterans were unable to use > the
> GI Bill, which gave most white veterans the homeownership and college
> educations that have made their children and grandchildren so prosperous.
>
> The unnatural disaster of racism swept away the cars with which poor blac> k
> people could have escaped Katrina. Almost a third of residents of the
> flooded neighborhoods did not own the cars on which the evacuation plan
> relied. If the promise to the freed slaves of 40 acres and a mule had bee> n
> kept, then six generations later, their descendents would own more assets> ,
> and the mule would now be a Buick.
>
> Nor has this unnatural disaster abated today, as I learned from my own
> experience. Almost immediately after Katrina hit my town, I saw
> spray-painted signs warning that looters would be shot and killed. I was
> warned by a white neighbor not to move around too much lest I be mistaken> as
> a looter.
>
> When my daughter came to get me from my damaged house and drove me to her
> home in Indiana, we were turned away by a white motel clerk in Illinois o> n
> the pretext that there were no vacancies. A later phone call confirmed wh> at
> their sign said, that rooms were available. I also experienced first-hand
> racial discrimination in gas lines, and in food and water distribution li> nes
> by a police officer.
>
> The world noticed that the evacuees stuck in the SuperDome and those turn> ed
> back at gunpoint at the Gretna bridge were mostly black. But who noticed
> that the first no-bid federal contracts went to white businessmen, cronie> s
> of white politicians?
>
> It¹s hard for me to believe, but this persistent racism is invisible to> many
> white people. A Time Magazine poll taken in September found that while th> ree
> quarters of blacks believe race and income level played a role in the
> government response to Hurricane Katrina, only 29 percent of whites felt > the
> same.
>
> The color of money is green, but the color of poverty has a darker hue.
> Families in the flooded black neighborhoods of New Orleans had a 2004 med> ian
> income of only $25,759 a year, barely more than half the national average> .
> Why? Louisiana is a low-wage, anti-union state. Many workers have pay so > low
> that they receive public housing and food stamps. New Orleans voters made
> history by approving a citywide living wage in 2002, but a court blocked > it,
> allowing poverty wages to continue.
>
> Last week I drove home to Louisiana. In my neighborhood I hear the consta> nt
> buzzing of chain saws removing uprooted trees, and the sounds of hammerin> g
> as roofers repair endless numbers of damaged roofs. The fragrances of Pin> e
> Sol and bleach tinge the air as residents attempt to save refrigerators a> nd
> rain-soaked carpets. I thank God that my family and I survived the storm,
> and that the recovery has begun.
>
> Yet I ask myself when the other recovery will begin.
>
> Katrina revealed the racial wealth divide in New Orleans and the unnatura> l
> disaster that caused it. When will we rebuild our society so that everyon> e,
> regardless of race, has the means to escape the next disaster?
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~
>
> Emma Dixon, of Mandeville, Louisiana (dzkem at i-55.com ) is a financial
> literacy educator with United for a Fair Economy.
>
>
> 697 words
>
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Betsy Leondar-Wright
> Communications Director, United for a Fair Economy
> (617) 423-2148 x113
> 29 Winter Street
> Boston, MA 02108
> http://www.FairEconomy.Org
>
>
> United for a Fair Economy is an independent national organization
> that raises awareness of the damaging consequences of concentrated
> wealth and power.
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Boston-editorial mailing list
> Boston-editorial at lists.indymedia.org
> http://lists.indymedia.org/mailman/listinfo/boston-editorial
>
>
>
>
> ---------------------------------
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> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 4
> Date: Wed, 16 Nov 2005 16:51:45 GMT
> From: "visnusdream at juno.com"
> Subject: [IMC-Boston-Editorial] new feature? (per request)
> To: sofiajt at yahoo.com, boston-editorial at lists.indymedia.org
> Message-ID: <20051116.085201.12364.147497 at webmail23.lax.untd.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain
>
> Personally, I am ambivalent towards that article as a feature. If you wan> t to center it, that's fine by me, but I think it reads more as propagand> a for a cause than actual news. I think this goes back to our vision for > the site as a group, which I think we need to discuss.
> In general, I like the idea of using the center column a lot more than we> do. No one should feel like they have to check in with me to center some> thing. I basically advocate changing the site every single day. I want th> e site to appear active. I would also be interested in being more toleran> t in what we allow with some of the postings in the comments sections. I > see a lot of right wing stuff getting shut out, for what appears to be ju> st plain ideological disagreement. I have no sympathy for military recrui> ters, but would we center an article like this with an opposite viewpoint> ? No!!! (but here in Massachusetts, right now) a right wing group campaig> ning for giving recruiters more access to youth would be more news worthy> than this so-called article.)I know we are not necessarily going for com> plete balance but I also want us to appear credible.
> I am not interested in editing a strictly left wing propaganda web-site. > I think we should host progressive discussion. This particle article may > be a an accurate telling of the truth but it lacks any analysis. Its basi> cally an advertisement for an activist's efforts. If we center it, lets n> ot censor Veteran or Sid when they say, "Yeah, but you stupid fuck, witho> ut a military and military recruiters we will all lose the right to prote> st at all." I mean, I don't agree with them, and sometimes they come off > as jerks, but these people need to be heard if society as a whole is goin> g to make informed decisions about these sorts of issues. (Most of the ti> me they destroy their own credibilty with their BS anyway. I think we can> trust our readers to see trash when its right in front of them. It can s> ometimes be difficult to determine what is genuine sarcastic commentary, > in the mood of a political cartoon, and what is simply 'disruptive.' Some> times,
the BIMC
editors seem to disagree about whn making this sort of de> termination, which is completely healthy, in my opinion. However, I advoc> ate that we err on the side of inclusion. We can center stuff like this, > but we should expect people to call us and the author names. We should al> so be willing to recognize that right wingers also make news, and I think> we should be ready to report that sometimes as well.)
> I hope that sheds light on where I stand.
> Jamie
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
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>
> End of Boston-editorial Digest, Vol 31, Issue 17
> ************************************************
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