Citizen activism key to New Orleans’ revival and future
Why would people return and rebuild homes and businesses if they didn’t feel safe from flooding? To rebuild New Orleans, citizens needed their trust restored. Flooding was caused by levee breaches brought on by poor design, flawed construction and inadequate maintenance.
We needed a non-political levee board, appointed with scientific and technological expertise and a single focus on flood protection to provide necessary oversight. Legislation overhauling the levee boards introduced at a November 2005 special session of the Legislature failed to even get out of committee. Citizens were enraged that our state lawmakers did not act on this much needed reform so vital to our region’s recovery. We sought to harness this outrage and organize a petition drive urging Gov. Kathleen Blanco to convene a special session, focusing on flood protection and levee board reform.
Within a week, 120 concerned women met and Citizens for 1 Greater New Orleans was born — an all-volunteer, non-partisan organization committed to reform and renewal of our city. The petition drive began that day, our very first order of business. Within three weeks we had 53,000 signatures, representing one third of New Orleans’ returned population.
Neighborhood organizations, civic groups, churches, businesses and individuals all rallied to the call. The petition effort built a new-found collective voice and trust among citizens from across the greater New Orleans area and gave people much needed hope. When Gov. Blanco called another session focused on flood protection and levee board consolidation and reform, a bill to consolidate and reform the levee boards passed. It was a true team effort.
Citizens for 1 decided to build upon this success by undertaking tax assessor consolidation in New Orleans. Reducing the number of assessors from seven to one followed the practice of every parish and many major cities in our country. Two statewide constitutional amendments – for levees and for assessors – passed by overwhelming majorities. In February 2007, The Times-Picayune stated, this “movement slayed two sacred cows of Louisiana politics and advanced civic activism during Southeast Louisiana’s darkest hour.”
Citizens for 1 next grappled with more complex problems affecting our city: criminal justice, pre-K through 12 public-education, ethics and good government. Research, education, and monitoring supported our state and local advocacy for reform. Our work in diverse, broad-based coalitions, with civic organizations, the business community, and state and local officials contributed to the Brookings Institution’s 2010 assessment that “Since 2005, New Orleanians have undertaken more major reforms than any other modern city. ”
Tulane University’s President Emeritus Scott Cowen said in a 2014 Wall Street Journal article, “Credit for the post Katrina sea change goes to the citizens of New Orleans, and citizen activism and reform.”
In countless ways, groups and organizations across the community are responsible for the revival of our great city — through rebuilding and improving our public schools, neighborhood revitalization, health care, economic development, youth empowerment, historic preservation, crime prevention, restoration of parks and green spaces, government research and flood protection and coastal restoration.
To continue building a strong community, citizens must remain vigilant, focused and persistent, never underestimating the importance of an engaged citizenry. Effective advocacy requires thoughtful public and media communications, coalition-building, fundraising, and most importantly, building community consensus and trust.
The future of the city and its continued recovery depends on how well certain lessons have been learned: That there is power in the citizen voice; that citizens must remain informed and engaged in demanding honest, accountable, transparent, and efficient government; and that the common good must come before self and must prevail over politics.
All of us have a stake in and a responsibility for building a better community for all of our citizens.
This article originally appeared at: http://www.nola.com/katrina/index.ssf/2015/08/post_katrina_reforms.html
Ruthie Frierson is founder of Citizens for 1 Greater New Orleans.
I hope you check out the work by Mondo Bizarro. They are doing some amazing theatrical work in New Orleans and Louisiana, in general.