A Call to Residents still displaced.

Now more than ever is it important for residents of New Orleans who were impacted by Katrina to come together in unity.  With the election of a new mayor, President Obama’s increased presence in the rebuilding effort, the recent court case win against the Army Core of Engineers and the fact that appropriated dollars are still available to support rebuilding impacted communities the time is now to come together and plan for the next wave of community and economic development in this city.

In full realization of this, OneTorch 2011 initiative is a call for residents to Ge Connected, Get Organized, and Get Invested in their Native Home.  In 2005 OneTorch traveled the nation talking with residents to quantify the costs of the return, five+ years later we are calling out to residents again for an update and an invitation to strategize together about how best to maintain a presence and participate in the rebuilding of the city with ownership and equity.

Why is this important?

Because after five years working with community, here is what OneTorch has found:

The Communities of Color in New Orleans are bamboo not ferns.  The bamboo tree spends up to 5 years growing roots prior to breaking ground.  But once it breaks it shortly becomes the fastest growing and tallest tree in the forrest.  New Orleans it is now year five.  Its time to get ready for the breakthrough.

Our Observations:

1)     Thousands of visioning sessions have occurred since 2005, yet little collective benefit and action has occurred.

2)     A two pronged strategy is needed that invites and engages the individuals first then rolls up into a collective engagement with power, influence, and economic power

3)     Individual and groups going it alone however are well intentioned burn out, burn up, and or run out of resources to get the job done.

4)     It is then the second movers come in and execute benefiting from the  will and sweat equity of those who have endured post the storm,  leaving us with the memories of hard work and little assets to show for it.

5)     Collectives without a unified purpose and message eventually sell out to the highest, most strategic bidder and rent their vision instead of owning it and the rewards of it for generations to come.

Bottomline, New Orleans is a fertile land, and residents who have and are working hard to rebuild require a supportive collective voice from those who have not returned. Together a plan to ensure that ownership and equity remain at the forefront of the agenda is necessary.  OneTorch is calling for collective gathering of information and the ability to map out the needs, wants, and interests so that in this final year of building roots we can ensure all voices are heard, all minds are informed, and all interests are included for the transformation about to take place in our beloved crescent city.

Together, we can do anything.  Together with God ALL things are possible.

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