LJI Co-Director Tracie Washington Named 2011 History-Maker

The Grio website, an African-American-oriented news and opinion website owned by NBC news, has just named Louisiana Justice Institute co-director Tracie Washington as one of 2011's "100 History Makers in the Making."

Among those honored are leaders in the fields of politics, science, education, health, and culture, with recipients ranging from rapper Nicki Minaj and actor Michael Kenneth Williams (Omar from The Wire television show) to Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison and Haitian author Edwidge Danticat.

New Orleans was well-represented on this national list, with other honorees including Advocates for Environmental Human Rights co-director Monique Harden; Congressman Cedric Richmond; musician Troy Andrews (aka Trombone Shorty); and former Times-Picayune columnist, and current Treme writer, Lolis Elie.

"Tracie Washington is making history," according to the profile, "assessing the impact of the BP oil spill on African-American fishing communities in the bayou. LJI dispenses facts and figures to these communities, informing fishers on the extent of the destruction, and working with these newly-informed populations to appeal for compensation the U.S. government promised -- up to half a year of lost earnings."

The Grio profile highlights Washington's legal work on behalf of public housing residents, victims of the BP Drilling Disaster, and in support of health care access, noting, "in her efforts to protect the interests of Louisiana's less fortunate, this activist-attorney understands how to leverage the law." In an interview with The Grio, Washington responds, "I'm not sure I'm making history as much as waves."

New Orleans community activists gather for preview of new film on the struggle for housing

More than two hundred New Orleanians gathered together on Friday, August 28, to commemorate the struggles our communities have been through in the four years since the city was flooded. The occasion was a preview of selected scenes from the forthcoming documentary Land of Opportunity, by filmmaker Luisa Dantas.

Dantas has spent most of the past four years working on this film, which will be completed in 2010. The preview, which featured poetic narration from New Orleans spoken word artist Sunni Patterson, explored the confrontations around housing and homelessness this city has faced, from the battle over the fate of public housing to the homeless encampment outside city hall.

Among the most powerful moments were many scenes inside the now-torn-down developments, where first-hand observation disproves official claims that the housing was too damaged by the storm to be restored. Countering the claims by politicians and developers, we see residents cleaning their own apartments, accomplishing with simple cleaning supplies the task that HUD was unwilling to take on. In one memorable encounter, journalist Lolis Elie challenges a HANO spokesperson, while touring the Lafitte development. As the spokesperson claims the housing needs to be torn down, Elie points out the evidence right in front of their eyes, of mostly undamaged apartments. Urban planner Andres Duany, touring the St. Bernard development, reaches a similar conclusion.

The audience, which included a range of folks, from former public housing residents to lawyers and journalists and advocates and community residents, filled the empty lot next door to the Seventh Ward Neighborhood Center. Reaction to the film was overwhelmingly positive, although many were angered anew by the role of our public officials in tearing down these homes while the city faced a massive crisis in affordable housing. As we enter the fifth year after the storm, this crisis shows no sign of going away.

The event, which also featured music by the Big Seven Brass Band, was organized by a coalition of groups that included Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center, Survivors Village, Porch 7th Ward Cultural Organization, NOLA Tenants Rights Union, JoLu Productions, STAND for Dignity, and PATOIS.

Lolis Eric Elie asks: "Is the LSU Medical Center Project A Done Deal?"

Done deal? Many hope not
Monday, January 19, 2009
By Lolis Eric Elie, The Times Picayune

"Is it really a done deal?"

This question is being posed by a coalition of groups who wonder whether the current plans to abandon the Charity and Veterans Administration hospitals are wise or final ones.

Consider the statistics compiled by the Vieux Carre Property Owners, Residents and Associates; the Foundation for Historical Louisiana; and the National Trust for Historic Preservation:

If the ruinous plan goes forward in its current state, more than 70 acres of Mid-City will be demolished and more than 1 million square feet of downtown office buildings will be left abandoned.

Much of downtown New Orleans will be set firmly on the path to blight, and a large area of Mid-City will become parking lots.

--- Do the math ---

State and local officials seem strangely unmoved by the findings of a report requested by the Legislature and paid for by the Foundation for Historic Louisiana.

The study estimates that the 70-year-old Charity Hospital building could be rehabilitated in three years at a cost of $484 million. Building a new hospital would require two extra years and an additional $124 million.

It's the sort of math you'd expect the state to be moved by at a time when Louisiana faces a projected $2 billion deficit in the 2009-10 budget year that starts July 1.

It's the sort of thing in which you'd expect the New Orleans mayor or City Council to take a public interest.

Several relevant hearings were held by federal agencies, in fulfillment of requirements of the National Historic Preservation Act and National Environmental Policy Act.

However, neither the mayor nor the City Council has sponsored hearings on the subject.

--- Years of waiting ---

It's been three years since American soldiers cleaned the first few floors of Charity Hospital and, according to physicians familiar with the work, rendered them safe for patients.

It's been more than three years that we have been without the city's most important health care facility.

And, if this plan goes forward, it'll be five years before a replacement facility is ready for us.

In the meantime, New Orleanians should be certain not to get sick.
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