THIS *?\!* AIN’T FUNNY

I have a confession to make. For years, I’ve suffered from potty-mouth. It’s the halitosis of expletives, and very unattractive. So last week, I decided my birthday present to myself (November 23rd) is to become a ‘swear-free’ Tracie. I made this decision because I wasn’t raised by parents who swear, and I really don’t want my son to develop this habit.

And the bottom line is swearing is not an effective communication skill. An educated person should be able to make her point, persuasively, without denigrating herself or her audience.

I’m disappointed in the now viral James Perry campaign video, mostly because I know the candidate and he’s better than this.

The lesson for all mayoral candidates should come from the negative public reaction to Perry’s commercial. Folks aren’t just saying they don’t want profanity laden campaign advertisements, they are also saying this election is serious business, and we will not countenance gimmicks.

Don’t curse at us. Don’t inundate us with negative commercials. Don’t treat us like children.

New Orleanians are issue educated, and they want a Transformative Leader, who will move this city to the prosperity it was promised and so richly deserves.

Swear at your own peril.

New Orleans Workers Stand up for Justice and Against Wage Theft

Today is a good day to stand up for worker justice.

New Orleans' Congress of Day Laborers (Congreso de Jornaleros) has been organizing to pass a City Ordinance to combat the rampant wage theft in New Orleans. Today, they will join organizations across the country who are engaging in demonstrations and vigils to commemorate National Wage Theft Day.

According to members of the Congress, "the urgent need for this ordinance was demonstrated all too dramatically in a recent case that has shocked and saddened us. On Monday, November 2nd, a member of the Congress of Day Laborers approached his employer in an attempt to recover several weeks of unpaid wages. The employer refused to pay. When the worker attempted to negotiate, the employer pushed him and threatened the worker with physical violence – brandishing a hammer. Terrified, the worker called the New Orleans Police Department. When police officers arrived, they took it upon themselves to punish the worker instead of protecting him. They interrogated him about his immigration status, and issued a citation for disturbing the peace."

On September 9, Police Superintendent Riley announced that the New Orleans Police would not be asking about the immigration status of victims of crimes, saying, "We are not going to make someone a victim twice." Today, at 3:00pm at 715 S. Broad Street (near Orleans Parish Prison, at Tulane and Broad), the Congress of Day Laborers will hold a demonstration, joined by clergy, to ask Riley to fulfill his promise.

Then, later tonight, a new organization called the Restaurant Opportunities Center of New Orleans (ROCNO) will be holding an interfaith prayer vigil in front of Tony Moran’s, a Bourbon Street restaurant that workers say has engaged in a pattern of nonpayment of wages and created a discriminatory workplace

Members of ROCNO are asking supporters to meet at 7:30pm at the 100 block of Carondelet Street, near the intersection of Canal, to then walk over to Tony Moran’s Restaurant together by 8:00pm.

How Many New Orleans Mayoral Candidates Does it Take to Find Out That the Youth Study Center is a Prison?

For the past several years, the Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana has been waging a campaign to close the Youth Study Center, a notorious youth prison located in Gentilly. The campaign has received extensive coverage in the Times-Picayune, and is one of the important issues facing our next mayor. Yet, at today's Mayoral debate, only one candidate had apparently even heard of the Center.

According to a transcript of the debate from the James Perry Mayoral Campaign:

Gina Warner, CEO of the Afterschool Partnership: “What is your position on the Youth Studies Center?”

Troy Henry: I am in favor of the Youth Studies Center. I am in favor of using the youth studies center in collaboration with all the revised library systems that are also being built. So we want to be smart and prudent about how we use our current resources today so where it makes sense to consolidate let’s do that but where it makes sense to keep them separate and individual, let’s do that. But we need to make sure we have the Youth Studies Center.

(Nervous laughter)

John Georges: I’m for them as well. We have to be about our facilities. Libraries are certainly one group. It’s all about budgeting and available dollars and the idea is to do like the board of regents … it’s also a budgetary issue.

(Nervous laughter)

Leslie Jacobs: I think it’s critically important for kids, our students to have a place to go outside of school. Schools have a $1.6 billion rebuilding plan, we need to look how to locate each of these youth studies centers inside our of our school buildings. I think they are important but given the budgetary crisis the more we can co locate with a library, school and other civic centers the easier it will be to staff them and the easier it will be to maintain them.”

(Nervous laughter)

Edwin Murray: I, too, am in support of youth study centers. I think it would be great if we could somehow figure out a way to put them in schools and figure out how to just keep the schools open a little longer and also use library systems across the city. It’s important also to try to work in in recreational activities some kind of way to make sure that after school Youth Study Centers to be involved as well to encourage kids in extracurricular activities

(Nervous laughter)

James Perry: I want to be clear because I think some folks misunderstood this issue. The Youth Studies Center is a jail. It is a prison. The subject of some very difficult litigation. Children have been imprisoned for long periods of time with no access to quality education at all. We need children to have access to education despite incarceration. If you are locked up for 23 hours of a 24 hour day there is no chance we can decrease the recidivism rate. It’s about how we define success. When it comes to juveniles in this system, making sure they have a real educational opportunity so that the prison they are in does not define the outcomes of the rest of their lives.

(Raucous Applause)


Photo by Abdul Aziz.

Struggle to Save Charity Hospital Continues to Move Forward

Lately there's been some big news in the struggle to save Charity Hospital.

From the folks at SaveCharityHospital.com:

"The Commission on Streamlining Government, by a 7-3 vote, moved to order the first independent evaluation of the proposed LSU/VA medical centers, weighing all possible alternatives with regard to location, size and financing. The vote is a stunning victory for advocates of Charity Hospital, Lower Mid-City residents and business owners, in addition to healthcare access activists. An independent evaluation of the hospital proposals represents a critical demand of a growing coalition of more than 80 organizations, and over three quarters of registered New Orleans voters..."

The Save Charity organizers invite you to come join them for a celebration at a block party this Saturday, November 21st from 6:00pm – 9:00pm on the 200 block of S. Tonti (between Cleveland and Palmyra). The party will feature food, drinks, and live music from Charmaine Neville, the Hot 8 Brass Band, and others.

Photo by Taslim VanHattum.

Local Criminal Justice Activist Faces Unjust Charges

Local Criminal Justice activist James Williams is facing criminal charges as a result of racial profiling and a wrongful arrest he suffered in Harahan in April of last year. He is currently scheduled to stand trial on at 9am on Thursday, November 19th in Jefferson First Parish Court (924 David Drive), and he is encouraging friends and allies to come out and support him.

According to James, "I was the passenger in a car that was pulled over in Harahan for minor traffic violations. Apparently, I angered the officer by asking why he wanted my driver's license rather than the driver of the car. Next, the officer ordered me out of the car in a visibly agitated manner and proceeded to both verbally and physically abuse me. He then arrested me without telling me - or the driver of the car – the reason. I was later charged with "Battery on a police officer" and "Resisting Arrest," although I did not fight with or resist any officer on that night."

According to a list of Frequently Asked Questions from the Justice for James campaign, "Too many police behave in the low income neighborhoods as if they are above the law and untouchable by community members. Racial profiling, wrongful arrest, and officer misconduct are injustices that strain family structures and drain finances in the form of bail, fines, and lost work hours. We should support James because you or a loved one could go through the same thing next week."

You can read the full story, as told by James, here, or see James explain the case on youtube, here.

Collaboration of Organizations Builds Youth Agenda For Equity

Congratulations to the folks from Fyre Youth Squad, Finding Our Folk, the Hot 8 Brass Band, and other grassroots organizations who brought together the Blowout Consciousness Youth Town Hall Event on Saturday.

With more than 150 people in attendance, the sponsoring organizations presented an amazing array of local talent and an enlightening living history lesson on the integration of New Orleans schools, presented by the real people who made it happen. The event also brought together tremendous participation on the part of young people and adults from around the city.

The assembled crowd broke into town hall discussion groups and produced reports that were then crafted by a policy panel into a solid document that will be used as the basis of the youth agenda for equity in New Orleans schools campaign.

This campaign will be kicked off in 2010 by the New Orleans Youth Collab, which is made up of Fyre Youth Squad, Rethink, the Vietnamese American Young Leaders Association (VAYLA) and Young Adults Striving for Success (YASS).

Below are the 15 recommendations/demands for New Orleans Schools that were made by the Town Hall Discussion groups:

We, the students demand...
Teachers
* Teachers should receive excellent pre-service and continuing education that allows them to develop better interactive relationships with students, excellent learning opportunities for the students, high expectations for all students, and appropriate classroom management strategies.
* Teachers should learn to be mentors of students inside and outside the classroom rather than just distribute information so that the students’ voices can be heard and valued.

School Climate
* Students believe that education should reflect a participatory democracy where students are involved in decision-making in the schools. Administrators and students should work together.
* The focus in schools should be on education.
* The large number of armed guards in schools and an over-emphasis on non-instructional issues such as dress codes create an environment that is not conducive to educational achievement and responsible decision-making
* Each school should increase activities in outdoor and open spaces.

Learning and Instructional Resources
* To ensure a smaller student: teacher ratio, implement a mandatory cap on class sizes.
* More technology and computer classes to learn current software, including but not limited to, web design and management.
* Expand the art and music programs to include diverse musical styles, increased and better quality instruments and supplies.
* More afterschool and extracurricular activities that are not just sports.
* More and better qualified school counselors
* Instruction in life skills

Curriculum and Assessment
* Rather than use standardized tests to punish students or hold them back, design tests to inform students and teachers about strengths and weaknesses
* Prepare students for the ACT and the SAT so they can compete nationally instead of state standardized tests that can hold kids back.
* Develop collective student/parent/ teacher assessment to set goals and make improvements for the year.

Louisiana Justice Institute Wins Important Reforms From Office of Inspector General

IG agrees to cut budget to trim waste, returns unnecessary weapons, computers and vehicle

Friday, November 13

Responding to public calls for accountability and efficiency, Eduouard Quatreveaux, the new Inspector General of the City of New Orleans, agreed today to return nearly $500,000 in budgeted funds and to give unneeded computers, weapons and one vehicle to the Chief Administrative Office for appropriate assignment to another city department or agency.

After conducting an investigation and review of public documents obtained from the OIG, the Louisiana Justice Institute had raised questions regarding the spending practices and management of the Office of Inspector General and Ethics Review Board. LJI's findings were published last month in LJI's report A VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE.

Since it's inception, controversy has surrounded the City of New Orleans' Office of Inspector General (OIG). Louisiana Justice Institute, believing that this city needs oversight that is reliable and accountable, has worked hard to provide the people of New Orleans with the tools that they need to oversee the OIG. Today we won an important victory in that struggle.

On October 27 and 29, Louisiana Justice Institute (LJI) filed public records requests from the New Orleans Ethics Review Board (ERB) and Office of Inspector General, seeking information about the Office's budgets, expenditures, and inventory for 2007 - 2009.

What we found was shocking. More than 20 Assault Weapons (the same kind used in the recent shootings at Fort Hood); High-Tech Surveillance equipment; and computer hardware and software far disproportionate to the number staff hired (including the purchase of 86 individual licenses for MS Office, at a total cost of almost $50,000).

Today, at the New Orleans City Council hearings on budget, representatives of the OIG offered to give the city back many of these excessive purchases. We believe this came as a direct result of the work of LJI to document and expose the waste in this office. The OIG also agreed to return approximately $500,000 in unspet funds to the city general fund, where it will be available to the city council to address critical budget shortfalls in public safety, health and human needs agencies of city government.

"Decisions and other actions taken by the ERB and OIG have been shrouded in secrecy, which defeats the principles of transparency and governmental accountability that these offices were established to uphold in the public interest," reports LJI Managing Co-Director Tracie L. Washington. "Today was a step in the right direction - towards accountability and effectiveness."

Louisiana Justice Institute's most recent report - PUBLIC QUERIES: Request for Answers from Public Officials - highlights these and other discoveries about the OIG and ERB. You can see the full report, plus the documents we've received from the ERB and OIG, online at nolapublicrecords.org.

While it remains to be seen if the OIG will address serious concerns about the management practices and personnel policies in LJI's report, we hope that today's announcement is the beginning of a new era of accountability from the OIG and ERB. But to make sure, we plan to keep honest eyes on the operations of the OIG and keep the pressure on for the OIG and ERB to meet the highest standards of accountablity, transparency and fairness.

For more information contact: Saia Smith, Louisiana Justice Institute, 504.872.9134

The Louisiana Justice Institute (LJI) is a nonprofit, civil rights legal advocacy organization, devoted to fostering social justice campaigns across Louisiana for communities of color and for impoverished communities. LJI understands that as a state-based civil rights organization, it can and must serve as an agent for social change in Louisiana. Its creation is responsive to a specific and urgent need to resurrect capacity for statewide, systemic, legal advocacy on behalf of those most in need of assistance - Louisiana's minority and poor residents.

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Student Performance This Weekend Commemorates Douglass High School, A Site of Struggle Against Segregation in New Orleans Schools

Amidst the chaos in New Orleans' schools, children continue to organize and express their talent in many ways. One of the brightest spots of the past few years has been the student performers of a group called Creative Forces, based out of the Science and Math Charter School.

Creative Forces is hosting a Variety Show called "Show What You Know," happening this Saturday at 6:00pm at the 1600-seat Art Deco-style Frederick Douglass High School Auditorium. Charmaine Neville hosts a wide array of brilliant performers.

The evening also coincides with 49th anniversary of integration in New Orleans schools, and Douglass High School - with its important history as a site of Civil Rights Movement struggle - is a great place to gather on this important evening. According to organizers, "This event is a symbol of unity in the face of gentrification. We are not only featuring our students, who are from all over the Recovery School District, but Douglass students, and members of the community. There will be a couple doing tango; a sister brother act singing and rapping; poetry; and much more. Please come out to support the community. Tickets are only $5."

Organizers say that the event is possibly the last performance by Creative Forces, as well as potentially the last year of Frederick Douglass High School. Come out to celebrate with these students, as we struggle for better choices and opportunities for all of our young people.

Preliminary Findings Released by UN Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing

Raquel Rolnik, the UN Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing, has released the Preliminary Findings from her visit to the US (including a visit to New Orleans on October 30).

The report reads, in part, "As in the case with policies for homelessness, criminalization has been the main response to social problems in subsidized housing, instead of a focus on protection for those who are most vulnerable. In designing solutions, tenants, residents, and community members have been excluded from decision making processes regarding their housing and wider communities."

Among the many recommendations from the preliminary findings are several that will resonate strongly with people from New Orleans, such as, "New housing should be available for displaced residents before any unit is demolished;" and "Following demolition or rehabilitation, residents' right to return must be ensured to the area where new developments are located."

More updates from the Special Rapporteur's visit to the US can also be seen at the blog restorehousingrights.org, and more about the mandate and work of the Special Rapporteur can be seen here.

To see more about the US and its reporting on the international treaties it has signed, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has a page dedicated to updates on the status of the US.

Thank you to the many organizers, locally and nationally, who made the Rapporteur's visit happen, especially Mayday New Orleans, who coordinated locally, and the National Economic and Social Rights Initiative who worked to coordinate the trip on a national level.

Veterans Day, Militarism, and New Orleans

Veterans Day is a good occasion to think about how militarism has affected New Orleans. While thousands of New Orleanians are overseas in the military, breaking up families locally and breeding resentment internationally, violence continues to plague our streets, taking the life of a seven-year-old girl this Sunday.

During Hurricane Katrina, we received militarization instead of relief, with then-Governor Blanco declaring that she was sending in troops, adding, "They have M-16s, and they're locked and loaded...These troops know how to shoot and kill, and they are more than willing to do so if necessary, and I expect they will." While people were still stranded on rooftops, the first city function to restart was a jail, run by Angola warden Burl Cain.

As historian and WWII veteran Howard Zinn has said, "Veterans Day...used to be Armistice Day, because at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, World War I came to an end...Now, Veterans Day, instead of an occasion for denouncing war, has become an occasion for bringing out the flags, the uniforms, the martial music, the patriotic speeches...Those who name holidays, playing on our genuine feeling for veterans, have turned a day that celebrated the end of a horror into a day to honor militarism."

Tonight, the New Orleans chapters of Military Families Speak Out and Pax Christi have organized a Veteran's Day Forum, Coping with the Aftermath of War, at 7:00pm at the First Unitarian Universalist Church, 5212 South Claiborne, by Jefferson. The event features a screening of the award-winning documentary “Leave No Soldier," a brief talk by Gilda W. Reed, Ph.D. and an audience discussion about veterans’ health care issues.

Another grassroots effort to fight violence in our communities happens this weekend. Hip-Hop for Hope seeks to highlight conscious music and bring people together to benefit youth programs. This year's event benefits the Roots of Music, 2-Cent Entertainment’s “Change We Can Create” Summer Camp and other youth programs. Hip-Hop for Hope has raised over $19,000 in the past three years for various educational programs in New Orleans. This year's event is this Saturday, November 14, at Tipitina’s Uptown.

Come to City Hall to Stand up for Justice for New Orleans Youth

Show your support for justice for youth this Tuesday, November 10th, 9:30 AM at City Hall (1300 Perdido St).

For years, young people detained in New Orleans' detention centers have reported a wide variety of unsafe and inhumane conditions and the denial of basic services. Recently, the City of New Orleans and the Orleans Parish School Board reached an agreement with the Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana to implement changes to the Youth Study Center that will dramatically improve conditions for youth housed at the juvenile detention center.

Now advocates must ensure that funds are allocated to support those improvements, as well as spent appropriately and with community input in the rebuilding efforts of the local youth detention facility.

Come out to City Hall and support the Juvenile Justice Project and other concerned activists in:
- Ensuring funds for rehabilitative and therapeutic programs and to meet young people's basic needs
- A new facility with clearly defined treatment spaces - and an end to the over-incarceration of New Orleans youth!

For more info, contact Bridgette Butler at Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana, at 504-522-5437 xt. 246

Congressman Cao is Sole Republican Vote in Support of Health Reform

After months of grassroots pressure, and months of indecision and wavering, Congressman Anh "Joseph'' Cao became the only Republican in the House of Representatives to vote in favor of the Democratic health care reform bill.

Grassroots activists in New Orleans, who repeatedly confronted Cao on this issue, deserve at least some of the credit for this vote. As the bill moves to the Senate, it's time for activists to keep the pressure on Senator Mary Landrieu, who has also been noncommittal on the issue.