Hey. I should update this thing. I haven't forgotten about it, it's just become a little less relevant since I'm no longer in New Orleans.
But just because we're no longer there doesn't mean we're no longer involved. So I'll tell you a bit about what we've been up to.
I went to my old high school on Tuesday to give a presentation about the current situation there, and to encourage people to volunteer. I talked to about 150 to 160 students in all. It went surprisingly well. The first presentation was a little difficult, not knowing exactly what to say and how to phrase it without just ranting, but as the day went on I refined my speech and by the end I think got the message across well enough. The teachers were all very supportive and even chimed in with their own anecdotes or observations. A few students came up to me and asked where they could learn more to volunteer or what they could do to help, so I guess I did my job.
In other news, we are planning a Rebirth Week here at Occidental. It will be the last week of February. Malik and Brandon have both agreed to come out and talk, which will be amazing. We also have a few students (myself included) putting up photos in one of the campus dining halls, the Cooler. Justin is even ordering 90 pounds of crawfish to boil and serve to the school in celebration of the week --- not sure exactly how he'll manage that, but we'll see...
Last week I was fairly depressed, the most I've been for months and months, and I can't help but think New Orleans had something to do with it. Being back has been a very isolating experience in some ways. But, I think things are finally getting back to normal, for the most part (which is good in some ways, bad in others --- it bothers me to think that I'm back to being complacent.)
That's about it. If anyone still reads this, thanks for checking. I'll keep you updated if more comes up.
2 comments:
Hey there. I came across your blog back in January, after being at Common Ground for most of December. It was wonderful to read about your experiences and what Caroline, Malik, Brandon, and Robert King Wilkerson had to say. Very good stuff! Of course it made me wish I was still there, and I've got to say, I've found myself in a bit of a depression since I got back here - feels like I'm just waiting out my time till I can get back to New Orleans. What is cool is that I've been giving my mom, a high school history teacher, things I got at CG and she's been showing them to her class (right now it's 'I Won't Drown on That Levee and You Ain't Gonna Break my Back' - a CR DVD about the treatment of prisoners during and after Katrina. She says she might invite me to speak to her class if there's interest enough, and I find myself wondering if I'll "get it all right" without ranting, as well. :) It sounds like you did a good job though, and that it got easier - very comforting to know. So, thank you for that. I'd also like to say you did a wonderful job writing while there - it's hard to do that, and you conveyed things so well. So, even though I'm fairly sure we never met, depending on when you got there - thank you for that, and right on. Please also say hello to Caroline for me; I really enjoyed meeting her and talking with her. She's a very good person and I'm glad we met, and I hope to see her again sometime!
PS - I hope the week/talks with Malik and Brandon are going/went well - they, too, are wonderful people, and I'm glad to read that they agreed to make it out there! I hope a lot of people really listened to what they have to say... it's so important, and I know you know that, but too many people don't. I wish I could tell you how frustrated I get when random people, on the bus or wherever, even some of my friends - come up to me and don't get it at all, and they say things like, "Well, it was dumb to build in New Orleans anyway, the government is right, no one should go back." I tend to rant and rave. Perhaps people sometimes say similar things to you, so you already know. It's sometimes amazing how ignorant people can be, and worse, how many people are willfully so. Well, I didn't mean to turn this into a rant, so I should stop now. :) But, if you'd feel up to it, I'd be very interested in knowing how things are going and how your outreach/education continues to go. For myself, I'm trying to plan some type of something up here in RI to educate people (and perhaps do a little fundraising for CG in the bargain - hopefully!) I'd love to talk with you about this, if you'd be interested/willing to do so... let me know. Thanks! :)
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