The weekend of January 28th, we were in Baton Rouge and New Orleans as part of the Finding Our Folk Tour. These are some pictures that were taken in New Orleans 9th ward while we were on the Finding Our Folks tour. Many of us became agitated when we saw various images on TV, but to see this damage in person is a feeling that cannot be expressed. What we saw were homes that were wiped completely out, not by Hurricane Katrina, but by the destruction of the levees.
What was explained to us by numerous citizens of New Orleans is that during these storms, politics plays a very huge part. When it became obvious that flood
waters may break the levee, the city officials made the decision to "sacrifice" the poorest part of the city so that the tourist spots wouldn't take such a harsh hit. Also many people said that they heard a loud "bang" right before the waters rushed into their homes. We were able to see part of the levee that was destroyed, but we could only get so close due to armed guards protecting the evidence.
While we walked through debris and cried from disbelief, we met a sister who told us about her struggle with FEMA. She told us that she had been trying to get her family into a trailer but was told that there were none available at the moment. Needless to say that on the way home we passed two slabs of land that held at least 200 empty trailers (as seen in one of our pictures).
On tour with us is a second line band called the Hot 8. When we heard of the FEMA Park in Baton Rouge, we wanted to take the band through the park to entertain the evacuees and give them a small taste of home. What we found was a scene straight from Schindler’s List. Surrounding the park was a barbed wire fence with armed guards inside the gate with the families. These people are literally living on a concentration camp. According to the residents they have a 7 p.m. curfew and if they are caught talking to the media they will be evicted.
Our people are still hurting from the destruction of the levees. We have voiced that this entire situation is merely an experiment to see how easy or hard it maybe to implement the King Alfred plan (Rex 84). It was New Orleans last year, this year who knows where it may be. We have to get back to the point that when one of us hurt, it hurts us all. Hopefully these pictures will aggitate us to the point to where we will say “NO MORE". Let us become active and proactive in the collective liberation of our people!!
LET'S RESEARCH, LET'S TEACH, LET'S ORGANIZE, LET'S GET FREE!!
UHURU
BROTHAS KEEPA
