Katrina and the Grassroots.

As snowballing scandal, a Supreme Court nomination, and other intrigue gradually draw attention away from the people affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, it becomes increasingly important for the people themselves to be organized effectively to advocate for their interests to be represented as the 100 billion dollars plus allocated for the relief effort begin to be spent.

One of the key issues has to be the creation of a Gulf Redevelopment Authority that would be charged with overseeing the reconstruction in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. Just as the 9/11 Commission did not come into being without pressure from the families of the victims, it is unlikely that a Redevelopment Authority will come into being without pressure from the hundreds of thousands of people displaced by this disaster. As was evident by the incompetent response of the federal government in the wake of Katrina, our current administration and ruling party have little interest in creating an effective governmental body to make redevelopment occur in the most effective way.

A Redevelopment Authority could oversee direct assistance, in addition to overseeing reconstruction to avoid the pitfalls encountered in Iraq, and ensuring that there in meaningful citizen participation in the process. Already, clear signals from Louisiana's local business community, communicated through their Senators, Congressmen, and others, has put enough pressure on the Feds to cancel no-bid contracts in order to ensure that local businesses take the lead in the reconstruction effort. And while their interests are highly important -- local businesses employ local people instead of outsiders -- the broader questions of what will be rebuilt and how have not yet seen serious mainstream commentary.

Thus, it is the charge of people on the grassroots level to make this happen. One of the most important groups leading this charge will probably have to be the Rebuilding Louisiana Coalition, a broad-based collection of grassroots and progressive organizations that is pushing the need for a healthy, just new New Orleans to the forefront. Based on their stated goals, RLC understands the need to use this opportunity to advance the causes of social and economic justice in an area that has seen little of either since the end of the Civil War.

However, their task will be made difficult by the sheer geographic dispersal of evacuees. As far away as Columbus, Ohio, there are nearly 2,000 evacuees being serviced. There has to be an effective method to connect evacuees, many of whom may have been involved in community and civic organizations in New Orleans previously, to the effort to make their voices heard. RLC and others have to create mechanisms to involve these folk in the planning, research, and action involved in ensuring a just redevelopment plan for their devastated region.

Clearly, there are tools available to make this happen. It only makes sense for groups such as RLC to reach out to progressive and grassroots groups in the locations where the largest amount of evacuees are located, so that the voices of the displaced can be heard, and those who have the inclination and time can get involved. After all, there are already networks of churches and civic organizations that are providing short-term relief to evacuees in their cities. They know that they cannot provide long-term solutions for the evacuees. Moreover, their conversations with evacuees have doubtlessly uncovered that many of them eventually want to return to their hometown. So, their next step should be to determine how they can advocate for the victims, and how to empower the victims to advocate for themselves. RLC and local grassroots groups can partner to make that happen.

This is a critical project. The poorest and most vulnerable must be able to ensure that there is a place for them in the new New Orleans, and that it is better than the awful lot they had before. If progressive and grassroots organizations don't coalesce effectively around them, and bring the affected to the forefront, then New Orleans won't be rebult with their interests truly in mind.