Chairman Thompson calls for WPA-like Program to Rebuild Gulf Coast

Dear all,

Great news! I have just received an email from Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren informing us that the idea for a Gulf Coast Civic Works Project has made it into a major public policy address made today by Congressman Bennie Thompson, Chair of Homeland Security. Click here to read.

Finally, a national leader has called for what we have been saying for two months.

We need a WPA-like program to rebuild the Gulf Coast. We should be thrilled that we have made so much progress in such a short time.

However, let us remember that the work has just begun. We will need to continue organizing and advocating in order for Congress to develop legislation for 100,000 civic work jobs.

We are currently developing the next stages of our campaign. They include:

1. Nation-wide Summit on College Campuses: "Post-Katrina Awareness Summit: "We Can't Stop! We Won't Stop!" 2nd week of April
2. Congressional Petition and Phone-in Campaign
3. Asking Questions to Presidential Candidates
4. Pass Non-Binding Resolutions in City Council and State Legislatures

Read the Position Paper for more details. Join the the campaign, email us gulfcoastcivicworks@gmail.com.

And while it is great that we were mentioned in Congressman Thompson's speech, we have a long way to go before we get this idea introduced into Congress and passed.

Contact Congressman's Thompson's office & ask him to introduce the Gulf Coast Civic Works Project as legislation: Click Here.

May the Great Work continue!
best, scott ml

‘Louisiana Winter’ Comes to a Close: Students Vow to Continue to Advocate for Civic Works Legislation

NEW ORLEANS, LA /PRNewswire/ --On the last day of the Louisiana Winter campaign—students rallied in front of the Iberville Housing Development, gained key support from local leaders at the third Community Congress meeting of the Unified New Orleans Plan, and then held a BBC World Service Radio interview in the front of a destroyed house in the Lower Ninth Ward.

As the Louisiana Winter students exited the bus in front of the Housing Development, they noticed a crime scene less than 100 yards away. When they asked what had happened, a community resident told them that a young person had been murdered twenty minutes earlier, and another resident stated, “just another day in New Orleans.” At the rally, the students highlighted how 100,000 Civic Works jobs will provide a pathway out of violence and the ability to rebuild their own communities.

Scott Myers-Lipton, Associate Professor of Sociology at San José State University, met with Dr. Edward Blakely, Executive Director for Recovery Management, at the third Community Congress meeting. Dr. Blakely expressed enthusiasm and support for the Gulf Coast Civic Works Project. Paul Waidhas, Vice President of Burk-Kleinpeter, one of the organizations developing the New Orleans redevelopment plan, also provided initial support for the Civic Works Project and proposed a solution to the issue of where to house the “civic workers” returning to rebuild their communities. Mr. Waidhas recommended that the workers live in the 1000s of units of housing currently unoccupied, but that could be repaired relatively quickly by the workers themselves.

Louisiana Winter students did not want to leave New Orleans without meeting Ms. Linda Jackson, who is a Lower Ninth Ward resident and who is active in the rebuilding of her community. Her story of courage and determination to remain in the Lower Ninth Ward inspired the students. Ms. Jackson stated that the Mayor’s Office has not included her community in the redevelopment plans. When she went to meet the Mayor’s staff, she noted that the staff could not even produce a map of the Lower Ninth Ward. Ms. Jackson commented, “Basically, we are not on the map…it’s like we don’t even exist.” BBC World Service Radio was there to record the meeting between Ms. Jackson and the students.

The following four points are a summation of the testimonies voiced by hundreds of Gulf Coast residents:

• A living wage should be no lower than $12, but $15 is more appropriate

• Rebuilding the 260,000 homes destroyed is one of the top priorities. Other top priorities include building schools, hospitals, parks, community centers, and roads

• Training is imperative. Paid apprenticeships should be provided to learn the skills of construction, plumbing, electrical work, and brick building

• The government response has been inadequate and ineffective

The students believe that the government must include these principles when drafting federal legislation based on the Gulf Coast Civic Works Project.

As Louisiana Winter concluded, students vowed to return to their communities to continue advocating for civic works legislation. Students agreed to form coalitions on their respective campuses. Students from Xavier University and Tulane University are considering a national call of action to their fellow students for this coming spring. In addition, the faculty involved in Louisiana Winter has proposed to form a national coalition of human rights organizations and anti-poverty groups to ensure passage of this legislation.

Photo caption: Linda Jackson, (second from right) a resident of the Lower Ninth Ward, speaks to Louisiana Winter students about losing her house during Hurricane Katrina as they stood on a concrete floor that was once a house. Photo by Diana Diroy

The Gulf Coast Civic Works Project is the national effort to develop federal legislation to create 100,000 jobs to rebuild the region using Gulf Coast residents. Louisiana Winter brought together 130 students from 25 colleges to the Gulf Coast for a week-long campaign to make this vision a reality.

Date: Friday, January 20, 2007 Contact: Dr. Scott Myers-Lipton at +1-510-508-5382 Darcie Kiyan at +1-408-204-6635

‘Louisiana Winter’ Students To Hold Mass Rally In New Orleans To Support The Gulf Coast Civic Works Project

Dear Editor,

One hundred and thirty students from across the nation who call themselves “Louisiana Winter” have traveled to the Gulf Coast talking to residents, going door-to-door, conducting town hall meetings and promoting the Gulf Coast Civics Works Project (GCCWP).

The GCCWP is a student initiative that would bring 100,000 career-oriented jobs to Katrina-effected communities all over the Gulf Coast with the intent to reinvigorate neighborhoods by building housing, schools, hospitals, roads, etc.

Students hosted town hall meetings at Gulfport, MS, and New Orleans , LA, where residents discussed the GGCWP and shared their ideas and input on such an initiative. Concerns with wages, work-training, temporary housing, the building of schools, the distribution of the jobs, and other issues were brought to the floor and discussed.

This student week-long trip will culminate in a mass rally at the Iberville Housing Development from 11am-1 pm tomorrow, Saturday, January 20, 2007. The Iberville Housing Development is located at the corner of Basin and Conti.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Scott Myers-Lipton or Victoria Chavez.

For the Gulf Coast Civic Works Project Team

Scott Myers-Lipton, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Sociology Department
Community Change Concentration
San Jose State University
(510) 508-5382

Victoria Chavez
Sociology major at San Jose State University
Community Change Concentration
(408) 887-9981

For more information, please visit http://www.solvingpoverty.com

Image Caption: Louisiana Winter Students Hold Town Hall Meeting In New Orleans
Image Courtesy of Diana Diroy

“Louisiana Winter” students set up shop at MGCCC

Photo: Students from San Jose St. University speak with Pass Christian residents during “Louisiana Winter” Jan. 17

Public Information Office, Contact: Bill Snyder
Office: (601) 928-6315; Cell: (228) 323-4816
For Immediate Release January 18, 2006

“Louisiana Winter” students set up shop at MGCCC

In the 1960s, college students flocked to the South to try and spur on the Civil Rights movement. In 2007, students representing 25 colleges and universities are in Louisiana and Mississippi taking the same approach to a new challenge. It doesn’t matter where they’re from, the goal is the same: make a difference for the people still trying to recover from Hurricane Katrina.

Welcome to “Louisiana Winter,” a week-long civic-works project aimed at promoting the drafting and passage of legislation that would give 100,000 displaced and dispossessed workers jobs rebuilding their own communities in the wake of Katrina.

“I’ve wanted to come to this area ever since the storm hit,” said Kwame Thomas, sociology major at San Jose State University. “This is my chance to be part of something and really make a difference.”

The journey began at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College’s Jefferson Davis Campus with breakfast, then a short walk to the auditorium, where students listened to riveting stories from Katrina survivors.

“As one lady told her story and started to cry, that made me cry,” said Carolina Avalos, another San Jose University student. “That’s what made me come here. I always put myself in their shoes, and think to myself, ‘what if that was me?’ My family has been in situations where we needed help, so now it’s my chance to give back and help someone else.”

Avalos and five others spent a chilly afternoon canvassing the streets of Pass Christian, a city that was nearly wiped off the map by Katrina. Students went door-to-door to inform residents about the legislation and encourage them to contact their senators and representatives to ask them to write and pass the Gulf Coast Civic Works Project legislation.

Along the way they got a ground-zero look at the devastation that still remains 17 months after the storm. They also interacted with Pass Christian residents like Leon Roberts. He lost everything in Katrina and said he’s more than happy to support the idea.

“I think these kids are on the right track,” Roberts said. “People around the country think we’re all right now, but we’re not.”

The goal is to stir up enough interest in the Gulf Coast Civic Works Project and turn it into legislation. Not only do these students want to create 100,000 jobs, but they also want to restore personal empowerment and hope, and also restore people’s faith in government.

“People have plenty of questions,” Thomas said. “We don’t have all the answers, but we want to find them.”

The event concludes with town-hall meetings, followed by a mass rally in New Orleans on Jan. 20.

‘Louisiana Winter’ Students Hear How the Independent Spirit of Mississippians and the Civic Works Project Go Hand and Hand

GULFPORT, MS /PRNewswire/ --The bus carrying the students from Louisiana Winter—a college initiative that believes that the social suffering in the Gulf Coast is this generation’s human rights struggle—left Xavier University in New Orleans at the crack of dawn, and arrived a few hours later in Mississippi.

The students’ goal today was to discuss the Gulf Coast Civic Works Project with the communities of Gulfport, Pass Christian, and Long Beach. The Louisiana Winter students believe that the government should develop federal legislation that would hire 100,000 local residents to rebuild their communities. If the civic workers do not have the skills, they would be trained to be plumbers, electricians, bricklayers, and air conditioner technicians.

At Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, students heard about how Mississippians have a strong independent streak, but at the same time, many feel let down by the government’s inadequate response to Hurricane Katrina. Kay Bethea, who lives on the beach in Gulfport described how a 26-foot surge of water from the Gulf Coast hit her house. She stated that “Gulf Coast people are very tough-minded, and independent. I have taken care of myself—for what feels like 100 years. I do not expect much from my government, and I have even got less. My neighborhood would still be stinking and rotten if I depended on the government. From the top on down to the city level, I would pretty much say…” and then she blew a raspberry.

Many of the people in the community are rallying to support the idea of 100,000 jobs for Gulf Coast residents. An instructor at the community college, LeeAnn Rasmussen described that, “In light of our independence, self help, and strong will, I decided to support the Gulf Coast Civic Works Project because it makes sense and it is practical. If we can rebuild our own communities, we can rebuild not only the houses that we lost, but our spirit as well. We can get our voice back.”

Students spent the late morning and afternoon handing out fliers and dialoguing with the residents about the idea of a public works project. The leafleting will continue on Thursday, January 18, culminating in a town hall meeting at the Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College-Jefferson Davis Campus Auditorium that night at 7 pm.

One of the participants in Louisiana Winter is Rachel Recore, a first-year student at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. Standing in the midst of destroyed houses, she noted, “It is obvious that we need to rebuild our community. Just look at the destruction all around us.” She went on to describe how in the first several days after Katrina, people of the Gulfport desperately needed help. The U.S. government did communicate to the residents that help was on the way, but they didn’t show up until 5 days after the Hurricane. In fact, the Canadian Mounted Police arrived in Gulfport before the U.S. government.

She concluded by saying, “The reality is that we are still suffering, and you cannot imagine until you come down and actually see it. That is the reason that I love the Gulf Coast Civic Works Project because it has the possibility to jump-start the rebuilding, and it is taking into consideration the needs of my community.”

After the town hall meeting in Mississippi, the students will then return to New Orleans this Friday, and flier and dialogue in the St. Tammany community and the Vietnamese American community in New Orleans East. On Friday, January 19, a town hall meeting will be held at Watson Memorial Teaching Ministries at 7 pm. The public is invited to both town hall meetings.

The goal of these town hall meetings will be to hear from the community, and to begin the process of coalition building that will be necessary to pass a federal bill in Congress. The week-long campaign will culminate in a mass rally, which will demonstrate to the nation that the people of the Gulf Coast want Congress to enact a bill based on the Civic Works Project.

In the previous evening, the Louisiana Winter students gathered at Tulane University, and met with Dr. Cornel West, one of the leading thinkers in the country on the issues of race and democracy. Dr. West fully endorsed the Gulf Coast Civic Works Project, saying that, “he is one-hundred and twenty percent behind the Civic Works Project” and that “he wanted to be of service in any way that he could be.”

Phone numbers of community members and students:

Kay Bethea (228) 896-2513
LeeAnn Rasmussen: (228) 324-4044
Rachel Recore: (228) 760-9190
For more information, please visit http://www.solvingpoverty.com


The Gulf Coast Civic Works Project is the national effort by students to develop
federal legislation to create 100,000 jobs to rebuild the region using Gulf Coast residents.

####

Dr. Cornel West with 'Louisiana Winter' Students at Tulane University

What an absolute honor for the students to be in the presence of Dr. West!

On January 16, Dr. Cornel West, one of the leading thinkers in the country today on the issues of race and democracy, met with the Louisiana Winter students at Tulane University, and fully endorsed the Gulf Coast Civic Works Project. Dr. West stated that, "I am one-hundred and twenty percent behind the Civic Works Project" and that he wanted to be of service in any way he could be.

A Rebuilding Surge in New Orleans: ‘Louisiana Winter’ Students Call for 100,000 Civic Works Jobs

NEW ORLEANS, LA /PRNewswire/ --Today, over 100 students participating in Louisiana Winter—a college initiative reminiscent of the human right’s campaign of Mississippi Summer in the 1960s—called for a rebuilding surge in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast through the development of 100,000 civic work jobs.

Students met with community members from Uptown, Gentilly, and Pontchartrain Park, and they were greeted with strong enthusiasm for the idea of a housing and job surge. John Pecoul of Uptown, stated, “As a result of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, we have a region that has a depressed economy, and it runs from the Alabama-Mississippi border to the Texas-Louisiana border. We had a storm surge, but what we need is a building surge.”

As the student’s bus drove by 1000s of destroyed homes, Darcie Kiyan of San Jośe State University commented, “It is criminal to keep the people of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast waiting while spending billions in Iraq. They have waited long enough—it’s time for action.” She noted that the Gulf Coast Civic Works Project, which is the idea for 100,000 public work jobs, needed to be developed immediately by Congress in order to replace the 200,000 homes destroyed by Katrina.

When the students drove into Gentilly, their bus was met by Nikki Najiola, a community resident, who gave the students a tour of her neighborhood. When asked about the need for a rebuilding surge, she stated, “I think a Civic Works Project is an excellent idea. In fact, that is exactly how our city park was built here in Gentilly in the 1930’s. The Work Projects Administration brought in thousands of people and built our park. It just makes sense to do the same thing now.”

As the students ate lunch at Cafe Roma, which had reopened only eight days ago, Trinity Smith, a New Orleans resident, and security officer for the students, suggested that, “We need to literally work it out---100,000 jobs would surely and indeed spark a growth in the economic stability of New Orleans.”

In Pontchartrain Park, students were led through the almost abandoned community of Norma Hedrick, who has lived there for three years. Picking up on the need to develop parks, Hedrick stated, “I see a Civic Works Project rebuilding our parks, which were completely destroyed. They could also rebuild Mary Coghill and Parkview Schools, as well as the Joe Bartholomew Golf Course—which was named after the first black golf course designer.” She wants New Orleans to “green it up”, since she believes that green space is connected to lower crime rates. She concluded: “I think a Civic Works Project is a great idea. We really need this right now. And what happens here has national implications because the issues in New Orleans are the same ones as Baltimore, Oakland, and Detroit.”

As the bus left Pontchartrain Park and headed back to Xavier University, where the students are staying, Amelia Thompson, a recent Vassar College alum, reflected: “Flooded, drained, and abandoned. Entire communities are being forced to desert their homes, their histories, and their vision of returning. The Gulf Coast Civic Works Project provides the opportunity for our national government to honor the rights of the displaced members of our national community.”

Phone numbers of community members and students:
Norma Hedrick 504-481-7817
Nikki Najiola 504-458-5708
John Pecoul: 504-400-2895
Trinity Smith: 504-504-3845
Darcie Kiyan: 408-204-6635

For more information, please visit http://www.solvingpoverty.com
The Gulf Coast Civic Works Project is the national effort by students to develop federal legislation to create 100,000 jobs to rebuild the region using Gulf Coast residents.
####

‘Louisiana Winter’ Students at MLK School in Lower Ninth Ward

Image Caption: Joseph Nance Speaks At Louisiana WinterRally In Front of the Martin Luther King, Jr.,Elementary School for Science and Technology, Locatedin the Lower Ninth Ward.

‘Louisiana Winter’ Students at MLK School in Lower Ninth Ward:
Dr. King’s Advocacy for a Public Works Program Highlighted
Date: Monday, January 15, 2007

NEW ORLEANS, LA /PRNewswire/ -- Standing in the front of the still-closed down Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Elementary School in New Orleans, the Louisiana Winter students, a group of 130 college students from 25 colleges, gathered to express their frustration and outrage that the MLK school is still shut down sixteen months after Hurricane Katrina. The event started with Dr. Scott Myers-Lipton, Associate Professor at San José State University, reminding the students, “we have come to the Lower Ninth Ward to dramatize the contradiction that exists between Dr. King’s vision of the beloved community–where all people’s basic needs would be met–and the reality that the school that bears his name is still closed.”

Myers-Lipton stated that the Gulf Coast Civic Works Project, an idea for federal legislation that would hire 100,000 local residents to rebuild their own communities, could rebuild and repair the MLK school, as well as schools that have been destroyed and damaged throughout the region by Katrina.

Kai Stinchcombe of Stanford University, and executive director of the Roosevelt Institution—a student think tank for progressive ideas—commented that FDR’s public works program built or improved 6,000 schools and 2,500 hospitals throughout the nation. He asked, “Why can’t we develop a Gulf Coast Civic Works Project that does the same thing today for New Orleans and the surrounding region?”

Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Democrat, from Oakland, California, wrote a special message to the Louisiana Winter students. In her statement, she commended the students, stating “I am so impressed by your passion and your commitment to re-create the Mississippi Summer Actions of the 60’s Civil Right’s Movement into a modern day Louisiana Winter of our MODERN-DAY Civil Right’s Movement.”

Joseph Recasner, Dean of Students at the MLK Elementary School, thanked the Louisiana Winter students for coming to the Lower Ninth Ward on Dr. King’s birthday. He reminded the students of the social suffering that is occurring in his community, but asked the students to not lose hope. Mr. Recasner told the Louisiana Winter students that, “As we look to the future and I look at your smiling and glowing faces, representing all colors of the rainbow—this is truly what Dr. King meant when he said that we should walk hand and hand, working and believing in a nation that promises freedom and justice.”

For more information, please visit http://www.solvingpoverty.com

GROUP RALLYING BEHIND FEDERAL LEGISLATION TO REBUILD NEW ORLEANS

SJSU professor aims to help city
GROUP RALLYING BEHIND FEDERAL LEGISLATION TO REBUILD NEW ORLEANS
By Leslie Griffy
Mercury News

Five weeks ago, it was just an idea -- get college students excited about helping the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast, and turn that excitement into federal legislation to improve the lives of people who live there.

Today at New Orleans' shuttered Martin Luther King Elementary School, San Jose State University sociology Professor Scott Myers-Lipton will see 150 students from around the country sharing his vision.

It's the first day of ``Louisiana Winter'' -- modeled after Mississippi Summer in 1964, a voter registration effort that brought hundreds of students to Mississippi.

The New Orleans project aims to drum up support for legislation creating a $3.1 billion public-works program, dubbed the Gulf Coast Civic Works Project. The money would put 100,000 locals to work rebuilding homes, schools and parks.

On this trip, students from 24 colleges hope to rally Gulf Coast residents behind the plan and to find out what locals would like to see included in any proposed law.

San Jose State sophomore Noelle Mundy arrived in New Orleans on Saturday, shocked to discover how little the city has recovered.

For Mundy, who helped get the word out to other colleges about the program, the legislation would be a chance for the government to make up for its poor performance a year and a half ago, when Hurricanes Katrina and Rita battered the region.

At the time, Mundy was moving to San Jose from Los Angeles to start school.

As she settled into life in San Jose, she nervously watched the news, worrying about family members who lived along the Gulf Coast.

Getting residents excited about the plan won't be easy, Mundy said. After a year and a half of promises, she said, ``They've lost hope.''

The students, though, want to turn that attitude around.

``Once people see how dedicated we are to this, they'll have to believe,'' said San Jose State sophomore Pamela Germany, who's also on the trip.

The idea is gaining some support in Congress. Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, sent a statement to be read at King Elementary School this morning. The students will report the findings from their trip to Mississippi's Rep. Bennie Thompson, a Democrat.

The group wants to find out what residents need from a public-works project through town-hall meetings scheduled in New Orleans and Mississippi.

``We want it to be something for people, something that they want,'' Mundy said. ``Otherwise, there is no reason to do it.''

Myers-Lipton said residents already have given him ideas that could go into the proposal -- such as the unemployed musician who suggested a program for entertainers left without work after the hurricanes wiped out the economy's tourism base.

Along with the two members of Congress interested in the project, the Louisiana NAACP invited the students to march with the group in the Martin Luther King Day parade in New Orleans. San Francisco-based Color of Change gathered 8,700 signatures online for petitions supporting the legislation's introduction. And the Southern Christian Leadership Conference invited the students to its 50th anniversary celebration this spring.

``I hope this is just the beginning,'' Mundy said. ``I hope the idea catches fire here, and then it will in the rest of the country. Then it will happen.''

Contact Leslie Griffy at lgriffy@mercurynews.com or (408) 920-5945.

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“Louisiana Winter” Students Arrive in New Orleans for Week-Long Campaign

“Louisiana Winter” Students Arrive in New Orleans for Week-Long Campaign

NEW ORLEANS, LA /PRNewswire/ -- Over 150 students from 25 colleges gathered at Xavier University to begin their week-long campaign to generate interest in the Gulf Coast Civic Works Project, which would hire 100,000 residents to build and repair houses, schools, and other structures in New Orleans and the surrounding region.

The students have chosen the name “Louisiana Winter” to describe their campaign in the Gulf Coast in honor of “Mississippi Summer”, a student-led effort in 1964 to register African American voters.

At the orientation, Joshua Barousse, a San Jose State University student, stated that the overall goal of the students was to get a bill introduced into Congress, and then passed, based on the idea of the Gulf Coast Civic Works Project. Barousse stated, “We are in Louisiana and Mississippi for three reasons: to impart information about the Gulf Coast Civic Works Project, to do fact finding so that the legislation reflects the needs of the Gulf Coast citizens, and to begin the process of creating a national movement to support the development and passage of the bill.”

At the orientation, student leaders highlighted the fact that 8,700 signatures had already been gathered in the past week by Color of Change, a human rights organization based in San Francisco, who have initiated an on-line campaign to petition Congress to develop and pass such legislation.

Students announced that their first pubic action is going to be at 8:30 am on Dr. King’s birthday in front of the still closed-down Martin Luther King School in the Lower Ninth Ward. At the event, a statement will be read from Congresswoman Barbara Lee, who has sent a message to the Louisiana Winter students for this rally. The students hope to dramatize the contradiction between Dr. Kings dream of an America based in justice and the social suffering of the citizens in the New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.

For more information, please visit http://www.solvingpoverty.com/

The Gulf Coast Civic Works Project is the national effort by students to develop federal legislation to create 100,000 jobs to rebuild the region using Gulf Coast residents.
####

Date: Sunday, January 14, 2007
Contact: Dr. Scott Myers-Lipton at +1-510-508-5382

100,000 Katrina survivors rebuilding the Gulf

From the ColorofChange.org

A bold plan exists to bring Katrina survivors home to rebuild the Gulf.
Now, Congress just needs to make it a priority.

Dear Friends,

Last week, the Democrats launched their "100 hours" agenda--a plan to begin a "new direction for our country." Sadly, it says nothing about the federal government's continued abandonment of those left behind after Katrina.

A plan to bring survivors home exists. The Gulf Coast Civic Works Project would hire 100,000 displaced residents who want to return, providing them with training and jobs to rebuild their homes and communities. It's a solution that would rebuild the Gulf by investing in its residents, but Congress won't act without massive public support.

More than ever, those of us committed to justice for Katrina survivors must make our voices heard. I've joined ColorOfChange.org in demanding that Congress put Katrina back on the agenda and implement a plan to help displaced residents return and rebuild. I wanted to you let about this effort and invite you to do the same.

Just click the link below:
http://www.colorofchange.org/gccw/

What's being proposed is nothing new.

During the Great Depression, the federal government believed it had a responsibility to ensure that those hit hardest did not fall through the cracks. It also knew that those Americans wanted a hand up, not a handout.

So, in 1935, Congress created a program to hire out-of-work Americans to get things done to benefit their communities. Within 2 weeks of launching this unprecedented project, over 800,000 people were hired; within 2 months, 4.2 million were working to build bridges, roads, libraries, schools and other public facilities.

If we could put 4 million people to work in just 8 weeks in 1935, why can't we immediately put 100,000 people to work rebuilding the Gulf Coast?

The Gulf Coast Civic Works Project is a plan that makes sense--for displaced survivors, for the communities of the Gulf Coast, for the nation as a whole. It provides an opportunity to invest in Americans while reversing the most glaring problems that plague current rebuilding plans: gentrification, government waste, and massive corporate profiteering.

The Gulf Coast Civic Works Project is a great idea, but it can only happen with a groundswell of public support.

You can help by letting Congress know you're behind the idea--it only takes a moment:
http://www.colorofchange.org/gccw/

Thank you!

“Louisiana Winter” Students Set to Arrive in New Orleans

“Louisiana Winter” Students Set to Arrive in New Orleans

Date: Thursday, January 11, 2007
Contact: Dr. Scott Myers-Lipton at +1-510-508-5382

NEW ORLEANS, LA /PRNewswire/ -- In 1964, hundreds of college students from around the country came to Mississippi to register African American voters. In that spirit of democracy, 150 students from 24 colleges will return to the Gulf Coast this Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., weekend to participate in Louisiana Winter, this generation’s Mississippi Summer.

The goal of Louisiana Winter is to promote the development of federal legislation based on the idea of the Gulf Coast Civic Works Project, which would hire 100,000 residents to rebuild and repair houses, schools, levees, and parks in New Orleans and the surrounding region.

As Jeff Mendelman from Stanford University states, “After I studied about the civil rights movement of the 1960s, I have longed to truly help the plight of fellow Americans. Louisiana Winter embodies the spirit of this type of aid, because we cannot wait any longer while people needlessly suffer in the Gulf Coast. And while some mourn the loss of New Orleans, I want to rebuild it into an even stronger cultural haven.”

Louisiana Winter starts off its week of events on Monday, January 15 at 9 am in front of the closed-down Martin Luther King High School in New Orleans. On this day, when our beloved nation celebrates Dr. King’s birthday, the Louisiana Winter students will be in the Lower Ninth Ward, asking how is it possible for the nation to celebrate Dr. King’s vision of a “beloved community” on this day, while the school that bears his name remains shutdown sixteen months after Hurricane Katrina.

After this rally, the students will march with the NAACP contingent in the King parade, and will be leafleting the marchers about the Gulf Coast Civic Works Project and inviting them to a town hall meeting in New Orleans on Friday, January 19 at 7 pm at the Watson Memorial Teaching Ministries, and to a mass rally on Saturday, January 20, at 11 am at the Iberville Housing Development.

Throughout the week, Louisiana Winter students will be educating and organizing around the idea for 100,000 jobs for Gulf Coast residents in the following Louisiana communities: Algiers, Garden District, Gentilly, Lakeview, Lower Ninth Ward, New Orleans East, Pontchartrain Park, Pontilly, St. Bernard Parish, and Village d’Lest. Students will also be educating about the Gulf Coast Civic Works Project in the following Mississippi communities: Pass Christian, Long Beach, Gulfport, and Biloxi. In addition, a town hall meeting will take place in Gulfport, Mississippi on Thursday, January 18 at 7 pm at the Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College-Jefferson Davis Campus Auditorium.

For more information, please visit http://www.solvingpoverty.com/.

The Gulf Coast Civic Works Project is the national effort by students to develop
federal legislation to create 100,000 jobs to rebuild the region using Gulf Coast residents.
####

Louisiana Winter: Tee Shirt Winner Chosen

Tee Shirt Winner Chosen! Submitted by a friend of the project, Mark Macala. A big thank you to Mark and to all who submitted designs.

NEXT CONTEST!

To participating Students: We want to invite the students to submit a two-minute written and/or audio speech (in a mp3 format) about "what is at stake for America in the Gulf Coast."

The cut-off date for submission is Friday, January 12, at noon, PST. Please submit it to smlipton@sjsu.edu. A student team will select three or four of the most powerful speeches, and the winners will deliver them to the over 120 students at the orientation on January 14. You will be notified on Friday night, January 12, or Saturday January 13 if you have been selected to deliver your 2-minute speech. Good Luck!

Let 's bring 100,000 jobs to the Gulf Coast! Scott

p.s. if this is new to you, please visit www.solvingpoverty.com and join us!