New Orleans
Waiting for Godot in the Lower 9th
Articles by Volunteers | Lower 9th Ward | New OrleansOn November 2-4, the quiet, abandoned streets of the Lower 9th were filled with N.O.P.D. vehicles, strings of parked cars, and the sounds of jazz and people. All of this was brought to the Lower 9th Ward by Creative Time's production of Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot, a tragicomedy directed by Christopher McElroen and Paul Chan, starring Wendell Pierce (of HBO's "The Wire"), J. Kyle Manzay, T. Ryder Smith, Mark McLaughlin, Tony Felix, and Michael Pepp. The production was enormously successful, and because of the unprecedented response, a third day was added in the Lower 9th to accommodate the many people who were turned away the first few nights. Even on the extra night, the number of people who attended were in excess of 400.
Coalition to Stop Demolition Rallies
Articles by Volunteers | New Orleans
Ms. Sharon Jasper voices her opinion at a rally Thursday.
photo by Mavis Yorks
Thursday morning, The Coalition to Stop Demolition rallied in front of City Hall to call attention to the projected demolition of four public housing complexes. The broad-based Coalition was formed out of a concern that thousands of families will permanently lose their homes. Furthermore, the Coalition is critical of the idea of mixed income housing because they believe it will fall short of addressing the housing needs of a community that has yet to recover from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Raising a banner that read “Stop the Demolitions” Rose Kennedy Guy stated that public housing offers opportunities for residents that are not available in the private sector. She said that if there is a plumbing problem, it gets fixed. But “outside the projects you got slumlords,” who fail to address their needs. Rose shared with a local reporter that she is here today to fight and to pray and closed by saying, “I deserve to sleep in a comfortable bed.”
Alongside Rose stood Chantel Young. Chantel is a 27 year resident of St. Bernard Public Housing. She stated that mixed income housing limited the number people who will get housing, “A lot of qualified people won’t be able to get in.” She also stated that the public housing complexes are safe to live in because they survived the hurricane and the flood. “It makes me sick to my stomach,” Chantel declared, when thinking about the proposed demolition.
Communication for a Better New Orleans
Articles by Volunteers | interviews/articles | New OrleansIn these times of widespread social violence, a devastated city, & devastated lives - an honest public dialogue, conversation without selling an agenda, is all the more important. That is just what happened on October 17th of this year, thanks to the Communication Department of Xavier University of New Orleans.
The event took place in the cavernous ballroom on campus, five people in a row on a panel, moderator at the side by a podium, numerous seats pointed towards them. Presented with the title of "Media, Communication, and Community: Private & Public Interests in Rebuilding New Orleans", this dialogue was moderated by Bruce France, a former public-speaking professor of Xavier University and a co-founder & co-artistic director of the local art company Mondo Bizarro. France began with a few remarks of his own, one of which was a question which he used to present to his students at Xavier:
"Are you paying attention to the world around you, or are you paying attention to what is going on for you?"
He then answered this question, for himself: "I can barely be paying attention to any of this stuff (world events). Why? Because I live in New Orleans." He then remarked on how "more people die per capita here in New Orleans than in Baghdad," and on some other challenges the city faces, and thus, the discussion began.
This dialogue consisted of a panel of five people, and the audience at large. The panel was comprised of:
Bart Everson, a local activist & blogger and multimedia artist for Xavier's Center for the Advancement of Teaching.
Public Dialog at Xavier University
Events | New OrleansThe Communications Department at Xavier University of New Orleans Presents a Public Dialogue:
Media, Communication and Community: Private and Public Interests in Rebuilding New Orleans
Wed Oct 17 University Center Ballroom
5:30 – 7:30 PM
Participating Panelists include:
- Sakura Kone, Media Coordinator for Common Ground
- Jarvis DeBerry of The Times Picayune
- Rebecca Snedeker, Documentary Filmmaker “By Invitaton Only”
- Bart Everson, Local Activist & Blogger & Multimedia Artist for Xavier’s Center for the Advancement of Teaching
- Nick Slie Co-Founder/Co-Artistic Director of Mondo Bizarro & Director of Theater Studies at Nunez Community College
This event is open to the public and we encourage community organizations, homeowner's associations, students,faculty, staff and their friends and family to attend. The event will be an open dialog around questions of building a socially and economically just community.
Press Release - "Bridge the Economic Gap" Campaign
Press Releases | Events | Friends and allies | New Orleans"Bridge the Economic Gap" Campaign Takes Place Across the Country
Banners will fly on bridges across America on Tuesday, September 4th in support of the Universal Living Wage.
Michael Franti and Spearhead visit the lower Ninth Ward
interviews/articles | Lower 9th Ward | New Orleans | not relevent or out of dateMichael Franti is an American poet, musician, artist, activist, and composer. Franti is the creator and driving force behind Michael Franti & Spearhead, a band that blends hip hop with a variety of other styles including funk, reggae, jazz, folk, and rock. He is also an outspoken supporter for a wide spectrum of peace and social justice issues.
Michael Franti will be hosting an upcoming socially conscious reality program on cable television featuring interviews with Common Ground volunteers and Lower 9th Community residents.
Check out their awesome website SpearHeadVibrations
