Hurricane Katrina, Five Years Later

On August 28th, 2005 a Category 5 hurricane called Katrina hit the shores of the Gulf Coast. On the morning of August 29th, 2005 the levees broke in New Orleans flooding the city, killing over 2,000 people, displacing countless families and resulted in billions of dollars in damage.

Five years later, New Orleans still has not fully recovered from the tragic event and with the BP Oil Disaster that took place earlier this year in the Gulf Coast, the long term damage continues to mount and a full recovery seems even more distant.

Global Exchange stands with the people of New Orleans and over 40 local and national organizations including the Hip Hop Caucus who are commemorating the 5th Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina by supporting the Annual Commemoration March and Rally. The March and Rally will be remembering the lives lost and addressing the lingering crisis that New Orleans faces 5 years removed from Katrina. The connection to the BP Oil spill and lack of federal oversight, coupled with the greed of big business, continue to adversely affect the Gulf Coast’s citizens and the environment.

If you are in New Orleans area, please visit Hip Hop Caucus to find out how you can join the rally and get involved.

For those of us in the Bay Area, you too can stand in solidarity with Gulf Coast communities to Make Big Oil Pay. For two days, August 29-30th, Bay Area communities will host two days of resistance beginning with a brief teach-in on BP, Big Oil and Local Impacts and will culminate with a march on BP and Big Oil’s SF locations. Join us in taking action to stop Big Oil’s destruction and support clean energy and positive solutions. We’ll be demanding:

  • Moratorium on New Offshore Drilling. No Use of Dispersants.
  • Full Access to Media and Civil Society.
  • Big Oil corporations pay their debt to all impacted communities – Gulf Coast to Richmond, CA and around the world.
  • Big Oil pay for community livelihood and ecosystem restoration, clean energy, public transportation, and healthcare for impacted communities.
  • Big Oil Out of Politics!

Big Oil Corporations destroy our health, environment and the livelihoods of our communities. From the Gulf Coast Oil disaster to the Niger Delta, from the Canadian Tar Sands to Richmond, California – these corporations pollute our communities and cause climate change, destroying the environments we depend on. Big Oil makes billions, while buying and lobbying governments for subsidies, against public oversight, and against solutions to climate change.

As BP tries to spin the ongoing Gulf of Mexico worst-environmental-disaster- in-US-history out of view, Gulf Coast communities ask us to keep the spotlight on and to increase the pressure for justice.

Take a moment this weekend to reflect and stand in solidarity to imagine positive solutions in order to heal our communities in the Gulf Coast and beyond.