redstar504's blog

Mid-Summer Voting in New Orleans: Legacy of failed Reconstruction

2008-08-10T15:35:32-05:00

Three years after the floodwaters of the Hurricane Katrina subsided, the people of New Orleans voters are plagued by barriers to voting, misinformation and disenfranchisement .

In late July, I received a call from a United Teachers of New Orleans phone banker. Before Katrina, UTNO was the largest union in the state, and they have often promoted property tax renewals as a revenue stream for public schools. These millages go to general upkeep of the schools, air conditioning, textbooks, educational materials and teacher salaries. I figured this was an important vote and committed to going to the polls. It turned out that actually figuring out where to vote was a more difficult task.

My attempt to vote began with a morning reminder call. They told me that my polling place is Drew Elementary in the 9th Ward. However, I can’t actually vote at Drew; my updated voter registration reflects a new address.

After shuffling through stacks of papers, I finally located my new (two month old) voter registration card to verify that my polling place had changed. The voter card said that my polling place was Jesuit High School. I showered and dressed.

An hour after the call, I’d arrived at Jesuit. High school kids played basketball in the gymnasium. No sign of a polling place. I walked around the block searching for the polling place. Finally I saw signs for a different ward laying on the lawn in front of a nearby building, but the doorI was locked. Around the block, I found a different door with something taped on it – at last, it was a polling station!

Through the door, the poll was set up for two precincts only. After I presented my voter card and ID, I learned that neither of them were mine. In fact, I am not even sure of my ward or precinct, as they are not noted on my voter registration card. One poll worker insisted that she knew my precinct and told me to head to "Sheriff Foti's Jail" to vote. (Foti was replaced by Marlin N. Gusman as sheriff five years ago, and I know that Orleans Parish Prison is nowhere close to my precinct). One sympathetic poll worker strained to look at my card two or three times then called her supervisor. Eventually she determines that I am in Ward 5, Precinct 8. Sure enough, in the corner of the card with no other designation is 05/08. I – and the poll workers – had earlier assumed those numbers simply noted the date of issue. Finally we determine my polling place: Albert Wicker Elementary, some 20 blocks away. Luckily, I drive a car.

In the early afternoon, I arrived at Wicker. Friendly precinct workers verified my voter eligibility. I pulled back the curtain to go into the voting booth. Four ballot propositions make up the millage. I quickly pulled the lever and leave.

My voting precinct has changed only once since Hurricane Katrina. But my polling place has changed four times! All of the trouble was worth it. Everyone predicted that this election would have low turnout, and some guesses ran as low as 15%. With those numbers, rich white uptowners (who send their kids to private schools) had a real chance to vote down the millages.

Fifteen percent ended up being optimistic. The nightly news reported the voter turnout at just over 7%! Of those 7%, some 85% of Orleans Parish voters approved the property tax renewal dedicated to improving the public school system. Since the measure was not a tax increase and was supported by local government, charter schools, and most good government groups, the news reported that it was not a controversial election, and therefore didn't attract voters. Further, due to abysmal voter turnout, this would be the last time that New Orleans will have summer voting.

The side I critically supported in this vote won. But the lesson I take away from the ordeal is not that “civic participation counts,” that UTNO won because they mobilized their too thin base, or that “voter turnout was low because of summer heat and the millage was not controversial.” The main impression was that three years after Katrina people have to fight to be able to vote.

Blue Vinyl (2002) Movie Review

2008-07-20T08:25:53-05:00

Blue Vinyl (2002) http://www.bluevinyl.org/ , by Judith Helfand and Daniel B. Gold begins and is centered around the blue vinyl residing of the exterior of Judith's parents' modest suburban house. I watched the film at my New Orleans home on the Sundance channel in summer 2007.

The film tells a story about the production of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) from the plant to the consumer. It focuses on workers and surrounding communities' exposure to toxic chemicals from plants during the production phase. Judy travels from home to Lake Charles and Baton Rouge Louisiana, to Italy and back searching out the truth that corporate executives knew all along…. PVC makes workers sick, but petrochemical companies hide that so they can rake in the money. By the time the public knows, the corporations are awash in profit (and capitalists can reinvest that profit into other industries).

Blue Vinyl is a fun documentary. It makes use of animated sequences, has good cinematography, and employs the best comedic techniques of a skilled muckraker. It delivers on the information. I knew Louisiana's chemical corridor was vast, but had no idea that almost half of PVC plants in the US are in Louisiana. The documentary also finds hard targets: the petrochemical industry, corporate managers, the Vinyl Institute (industry trade association), and even Habitat for Humanity. As a result of the film's stand, in March 2004, builders broke ground on the first PVC free Habitat for Humanity house in New Orleans. Oh, and the film has one of my favorite lawyers, Monique Hardin of Advocates for Environmental Human Rights.

The political weakness is the film' consumer-oriented approach. Hefland admits that affordability is a key selling point of vinyl, and that the alternative to vinyl siding she used at her parents house was not affordable. Despite this, she reverts to the consumer choice mantra. The organizers of "My House is your House" http://www.myhouseisyourhouse.org/, a non-profit set up at behest of the filmmakers- engage in corporate campaigns, but their main focus- and the focus of the film- is primarily on making the information available. Increasing the information available to consumers is useful, but consumer protection under capitalist "choice" has obvious limits.

Judy highlights some innovative alternatives by visiting a green building materials conference in California. Unless and until these "alternative" building methods become the new standard (through legislation and building codes) they will remain obscured in a certain California niche of those who can afford it.

In the film Helfand shows us that chemical workers are often the most at risk. First the workers get sick, then though collective action (union and/or class action lawsuits) they raise the profile and hopefully enact contract and policy changes. In parallel, the adjacent (often low income) community engages in calls for reduced emissions, careful monitoring, and maybe even plant closures. But even this is not enough. A very small percentage of the population works in a PVC plant or lives in the adjoining communities. And the petrochemical industry is tough. Collective approaches need to be more explicit: stronger workplace protections, tougher regulations (OSHA enforcement and stronger EPA), and an outright ban on PVC.

Background information/ research A-
Entertainment Value B+
Political Conclusions D

For more information:
http://www.bluevinyl.org/
http://www.pvcinformation.org/

Thoughts on Aid to the People of Burma

2008-05-16T14:18:43-05:00

The recent Solidarity front page on the cyclone in Southeast Asia (borrowed from International Viewpoint) is in line with my own reflections on the politics of aid in the wake of 'natural' disasters.

Disasters like Hurricane Katrina, like Jean and Georges in Haiti, the Tsunami, and the most recent earthquake in China get everyone's attention. By putting a spotlight on parts of the world that sometimes seem distant to most in the US, they open a space for dialogue with friends and family on international issues and politics. The always insufficient relief efforts following disasters - whether they are "natural" or "manmade" - offer an opportunity to discuss the conflict between human need and the profit motive. As Marxists, these tragedies provide us a chance to educate ourselves, as revolutionaries, the occasions motivate us to demand a fundamental shift in social relationships, and as activists and humanists they call on us to organize material relief, even when modest.

After going through the social, political, and ecological devastation of Hurricane Katrina firsthand a few years back, water and wind disasters like the recent cyclone in Burma are more personal for me. My experience was that most material assistance for the people of New Orleans came from grassroots sources, with many offers of international assistance (such as offers from Cuba and Venezuela that were turned down.) I feel compelled to offer what material support I can for the people affected by the cyclone, but getting material aid to Burma is very difficult. Western relief agencies are very limited, and access is heavily restricted.

Belonging to an international revolutionary current sometimes provides some pointers in providing aid that will both help affected people, avoid corruption and raise the profile of political comrades in the area. For supporters of the Fourth International, when the Tsunami hit Sri Lanka, we could give to comrades in the Nava Saja Samana Party, Sri Lanka's New Socialist Party. When the earthquake hit Pakistan, we could support the work of comrades in the Labor Party of Pakistan. Unfortunately, the activists who would have been our most likely fraternal comrades in Burma were brutally suppressed or killed off in the late 1940s and executed or exiled from China 1947-52.

Since I know very little about the current or historical situation in China, I will leave that to other comrades and speculate on Burma. The Communist Party of Burma, Aung San Suu Kyi's NLD, and the remnants of the Democratic Party for New Society all have some interesting features - but none are fully supportable as political vehicles. I think it's important to look at the recent social motion in the country.

In a "former life" I was a Theravada Buddhist monk, ordained at a Burmese monastery in Austin, TX. It might be difficult for some secular activists to think about giving to a religious or even a secular but monastic-led organization, but the Buddhist monks in Burma- as in Sri Lanka-are ubiquitous and represent different class viewpoints. Some sections of the Sangha have a long history of social struggle.

Buddhist monks will undoubtedly be on the front lines of relief efforts. But for those of you who wouldn't feel right giving directly to a Buddhist temple, the following best group I've found funneling relief to front line workers- including leading "Saffron rebellion" leaders- is The Foundation for the People of Burma. (But don't take my word for it, they are also recommended by New Orleans anarcho-eco-socialist professor John Clark!)

Indian Guest Workers organizing in Mississippi shipyards

2008-03-10T13:18:17-05:00

Indian shipyard workers accuse their employer of human trafficking and forced labor; Guest Worker organizing continues in Mississippi and Louisiana
by Robert Caldwell & Damien Ramos

Shortly after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, hundreds of Indian welders and fitters were trafficked to the Gulf Coast. For a hefty fee of $20,000, the recruiters promised the workers good jobs, permanent residency, and a chance to bring their families to the US. Workers sold their homes, took high-interest loans, and plunged their families into debt to pay for the American Dream.

When they arrived they discovered that all of the promises that had been made to them were false. They learned that in fact, there were no green cards for them. They would not receive permanent status, and there would be no provisions to bring their family members to the United States.

Surely this was better than the way they had lived in India they were told, but many of the workers had worked in several countries and the accommodations here were the worst of all.

When these workers decided that they needed to organize for more humane treatment and to demand that the company make good on the promises made to them the company responded by sending armed guards into the labor camps, pulling the organizers out of bed, holding them captive for six hours. The pressure of being deported back to India with a $20,000 debt waiting at home drove one of the organizers to attempt suicide.

Indian Shipyard Workers on Strike!

On May 9, 2007, 300 workers went on strike at Signal International to demand the release of their organizers. The company backed down, released them – and fired them. The company then ran an intimidation campaign on its employees, forcing the workers to quiet down and accept the conditions of labor trafficking.

Indian Worker Congress continues to organize to fight international labor trafficking.

On March 5, 89 workers- members of the Indian Worker Congress/ Alliance of Guest workers for Dignity (housed in the New Orleans Workers’ Center for Racial Justice) walked out of labor camps and packed a Pascagoula meeting hall for over four hours. They met with other previously fired Signal shipyard workers, activists, and advocates to discuss plans for the next day’s action. Workers spoke Hindi, Tamil, and Malayalam, which was then translated into English, Spanish and Portuguese. There was no need to translate the pain expressed as one of the workers stopped mid sentence- holding back the tears- as he explained that the American Dream had cost far more than the twenty thousand dollars the recruiters charged but ultimately his home and his freedom. He realized that he couldn't go back home: he had sold his house; he we would be homeless.

The next morning, workers marched to the company gate, singing and singing “We shall overcome” in Hindi and chanting in Malyalam. At the perimeter fence workers held a short rally and left their hard hats to call attention to their continued abuses under the H2B visa program.

Workers then came to New Orleans, where the New Orleans Workers’ Center for Racial Justice held a festive event, celebrating the workers’ newfound freedom in a community gymnasium. The event was attended by 200 people, including Mexican strawberry pickers, Brazilian shipyard workers without work in Mississippi, Day Laborers and community organizers working in New Orleans and translated into five languages.

The Day Laborer Theater Troupe performed a moving play about the Signal Workers and H2B program, followed by an emotional poem and powerful testimonials. The event concluded with everyone singing and dancing to Indian folk songs and a New Orleans brass band. In the aftermath of Katrina and Rita gulf coast and people from around the world experienced and man made flood of false promises, greed, racism, and exploitation as contractors, business owners, and other opportunists sought to capitalize of some of the most economically disadvantaged, desperate and consequently most vulnerable citizens in the US and abroad. When the arrived, many workers found themselves in a much worse situation that they had been in.

But when the storm pulled into the region, it offered an opportunity to forge new alliances from these diverse communities into a common fight for human and civil rights.

The Indian Worker Congress has filed lawsuits against the labor recruiters and plans to ongoing actions to highlight human rights abuses and international labor trafficking in the U.S. and India.

To contribute to the Alliance of Guest Workers for Dignity’s strike fund, make a check payable to National Immigration Law Center, with NOWCRJ/ guest workers on the subject line, and mail it to: National Immigration Law Center, 3435 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 2850, Los Angeles, CA 90010

More amazing photos by Ted Quant here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tedquant/sets/72157604061490756/

Bulldozers set to destroy public housing in New Orleans: Tens of thousands homeless

2007-12-11T21:18:31-06:00

Image from New Orleans IndyMedia
Saturday December 15 will begin the official demolition process of some 4600 public housing units. Hundreds of activists- many from around the country-will be awaiting the crews that arrive for demolition preparations.

Less than a mile away from two of the housing developments, dozens of red tents blanket the green space of City Hall’s Duncan Plaza, providing refuge for hundreds of the city’s 12,000 or more homeless residents. The homeless population has more than doubled since Hurricane Katrina. Many of those who sleep on the city’s streets, underpasses, in cars, and in parks had homes before the hurricane, while rents have more than doubled in the last 2 ½ years.

Meanwhile, thousands of former homeowners and their families are combing through want ads for housing from the cramped space of FEMA trailers, from which they will be evicted en mass in coming weeks.

Only a few days before Christmas, New Orleans is facing a housing crisis of epic proportions. The dire state of housing in New Orleans is owes much to decades of brutal economic and social policies which have played out in cities across the US. However, the particular intensity of the New Orleans crisis is the result of free market policies run amok: privatization, a lack of adequate transitional housing, and a failure to regulate rental costs in a city where 80% of the housing stock was damaged.

Over 100 activists pack city planning meeting

There is resistance. On Monday December 10, over 100 activists packed a city planning meeting to ask for a stay of city issued demolition permits for three of the four housing developments. This comes on the heels of rising militancy among housing activists. On Thursday December 6, dozens of public housing residents and their supporters disrupted a New Orleans City Council meeting, leading to the arrest of prominent human rights lawyer Bill Quigley. On Sunday December 9, 150 people marched on the home of Mayor Nagin to protest his lack of compassion, awarding him a lump of coal.

Civil disobedience training is being held for the activists arriving from out of town, but more importantly, local organizers are putting together coalitions that include influential public housing residents. How many residents will ultimately become involved in this struggle is hard to say, as many are still displaced. A serious concern among long-term organizers is a substitution-ism where mostly white youth with little connection to the city are arriving in droves, while residents have not yet shown up in similar numbers.

Long Decline and 2 ½ Years of Crisis

This is but the latest battle in a long fight against the destruction of public housing in New Orleans. Policymakers at the city and federal level (HANO and HUD) have been moving to destroy public housing as we know it for some time. These entities used the storm as an excuse to shutter public housing and put up large chain link fences and metal plates over doors, preventing residents from returning.

In June of 2006, HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson first announced that the four developments would be torn down and replaced with "mixed-use" redevelopments. Since Katrina, a fledgling movement to re-open public housing succeeded in mobilizing dozens of public housing residents and hundreds of supporters on Martin Luther King day, January 15, 2007 to tear down a fence surrounding the St. Bernard housing development and a cleaning and symbolic moving in of residents. This lead to a ten-day occupation of a building in the complex by out-of-town white activists starting that day. A number of lawsuits have been filed since then, however to date the best these lawsuits have done is force HANO to open a limited number of units in certain projects slated for demolition and to spare less than 20% of the units in those four developments.

While many in the city see the need for public housing to be reopened as a temporary measure it does not enjoy enough broad public support. Public housing is still seen by many, white and black, as a haven for criminals and an unfortunate concentration of New Orleans' poorest. Negative stereotypes about public housing residents are common, many unfounded— such as the myth that most residents of public housing are unemployed drug dealers. In reality, of course, most are families headed by employed single mothers who earn poverty wages.

For updates, visit Justice for New Orleans, Defend New Orleans Public Housing, and New Orleans Indymedia

Public Enemy off the Charts

2007-10-15T08:17:06-05:00

Public Enemy's newest album.

So, when I first heard plans for this Solidarity blog at our 2006 convention, I wanted to do a review of New Whirl Order (2005) and Rebirth of a Nation (2006,) and compare them to Flavor of Love. Since then, How You Sell Soul to a Soulless People who Sold Their Soul? (2007) has been released. Flavor of Love had a second season, and spinoffs I Love New York and Charmed School gained widespread attention.

I have learned that "Rebel without a Pause" is part of the soundtrack to Grand Theft Auto: Sand Andreas, an addictive video game widely noted for racial stereotyping (the player's character is a Black man and the objective is committing brutal crimes).

I wrote the review in Fall 2006, but "my computer ate it"…really. However, most of my thesis is much better conveyed in a blog entry entitled The Political Significance of the Flavor of Love.

I was motivated to write this blog (and to post the link to Jenifer's blog above) because Public Enemy once spoke to me. Their lyrics prodded me to do more than listen and love music. Sometimes they still do. A few years ago, Solidarity bought copies of their single Make Love, F*ck War (2004 "power to the people, 'cause the people want peace.") and played it at anti-war events.

But since 1991 Public Enemy has continued a decline from a chart topping political hip hop group to obscurity. No album since the 1998 soundtrack to Spike Lee's He Got Game has even hit the Billboard charts. They can still occasionally drop a track that will rekindle fire in the heart of a revolutionary. But their tired lyrics and mediocre beats don't speak to the youth.

Flavor of Love: turn off that bullshit!

Capitalism makes a fool of our heroes. Once proof that a hip hop act could drop science without selling out, Public Enemy is now content to preach to the already converted thought their internet releases and college radio play. In turn, we all- Chuck, Flav, you, me, the movements- suffer from their self-imposed isolation. Media corporations have enormous power. The industry that Chuck D decided to take on "turn off the radio...turn off that bullshit"... "burn Hollywood, burn!" have power over placement and distribution and even music reviews. Meanwhile, Flava Flav drank the Kool Aid and has moved from the hype man of a leading force for social change to a leading minstrel in the television world of failed human relationships.

Later this year, Public Enemy- together with Louis Armstrong and Count Basie will be inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame. Oh, did I say they were also admitting Mariah Carey?