More Hurricane Katrina Relief Information

One thought that has come immediately to mind are that we need a non-governmental, Black-run and operated global relief agency that could step in to provide various kinds of assistance--from money, clothing, to technical expertise, coordination of relief and placement, etc.--to Black people, both in the US and elsewhere, in the event of natural disasters such as the one that occurred earlier this week along the Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama gulf coasts, or other kinds of mass-scale crises. Perhaps such an organization exists, and if so, pardon my ignorance; if not, it's an idea whose relevance the horrific scenes out of New Orleans, Slidell, Gulfport, Biloxi and other cities and towns have underscored.

This organization would not preempt any governmental efforts, or other relief agencies, like the Red Cross or Red Crescent, or other kinds of NGOs, like those associated with the UN or independent entities such as Doctors Without Borders/Médécins sans frontières. But it would be able to offer something and provide an immediate response that, as we saw, was utterly lacking this past week. The organization would have to be financially transparent, have transparent disbursement and distribution procedures and, as much as possible, apolitical; it might have on its board some of the very rich Black people that Cane mentions as well as high-level non-governmental officials from across the globe, like actors Danny Glover, Don Cheadle and Sophie Okenedo, public health experts Joycelyn Elders, David Satcher and David Malebranche, scientists and mathematicians Benjamin Carson, William Massey, and Jonathan David Farley, scholars Anthony Appiah, Angela Davis, Johnetta Cole, and Gordon Rohlehr, religious leaders Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Reverend Calvin Forbes, business executives Kenneth Chenault, Pamela Thomas Graham and Stanley O'Neal, authors and artists Nancy Morejón and René Depestre, musical entertainers like P. Diddy, Jay-Z, Aretha Franklin, and Me'Shell Ndege'Ocello, former government officials with vast expertise, including Nelson Mandela, Clifford Alexander, Colin Powell, Alexis Herman, and many others; and there would also be a rotating group of non-famous representatives from across the African Diaspora.

I think it's a realizable goal. What do you think? How much would they need to accomplish even modest goals? How much could this organization accomplish? How long would it take? Certainly they might have been more effective than the ineptitude the entire world has witnessed through today.

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More Relief and Donation Options (I can't vouch for any, but I'm providing them nevertheless):

Newscaster and entertainer Tom Joyner has set up a special relief fund:

BlackAmericaWeb.com Relief Fund
PO Box 803209
Dallas, TX 75240
OR you can make an online donation by going to www.blackamericaweb.com/relief
This fund has been set up by nationally syndicated radio personality Tom Joyner

NAACP Disaster Relief Efforts

The NAACP is setting up command centers in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama as part of its disaster relief efforts. NAACP units across the nation have begun collecting resources that will be placed on trucks and sent directly into the disaster areas. Also, the NAACP has established a disaster relief fund to accept monetary donations to aid in the relief effort.

Checks can be sent to the NAACP payable to

NAACP Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund
4805 Mt. Hope Drive
Baltimore, MD 21215

Donations can also be made online at www.naacp.org/disaster/contribute.php
FYI, the NAACP, founded in 1909, is America's oldest civil rights organization

Team Rescue One
www.teamrescueone.com
Set up by native New Orleans rapper Master P and his wife Sonya Miller

Rainbow Relief Fund

Please be part of the LGBT community's response to the loss and devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. Hurricane Katrina has blazed a trail of destruction throughout Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. Thousands of homes have been destoyed and several hundred lives have been lost. Many of the survivors are homeless and in need of food, safe drinking water, and medical care. It is estimated that tens of thousands will need temorary housing for months to come. RWF has established a fund for donations to help the survivors of Katrina. We are responding with food aid -- donations through RWF will go to our partner America's Second Harvest (ASH), the nation's food bank network. ASH is one of the most effective charities in the world. ASH expects that at least ten food banks and hundreds of related agencies were hit by Hurricane Katrina. Your donations will be used to provide meals and groceries, transport food to survivors, and secure additional warehouse space to assist food banks in resuming and maintaining operations. 100% of the funds you donate to the RWF Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund will go toward helping the survivors recover.

Donate at: http://www.rainbowfund.org/donate, and specify "Katrina" or send a check, payable to Rainbow World Fund, PO Box 14480, San Francisco, CA 94114.

Please help spread the word and forward this email to your friends and families.

Mississippi Action For Community Education

Dear Friends:

Art Without Walls/Caring For Creators of Change in cosponsorship with the Mississippi Action For Community Education,Inc
are working together to assist the victims of hurricane Katrina in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.

Mace is a non-profit , multi-purpose community development corporation established in 1967 by civil rights activist and community organizers. The organization was created to build and strengthen local human capacities and indigenous community development efforts in the 20-county Mississippi Delta region.

Throughout the years, programs implemented by MACE have encompassed leadership development programs for adults, youth, and public officials; GED/adult literacy training; job training and career development programs; the Mississippi Delta Blues and Heritage Festival; arts education programs; housing and real estate development; and technical assistance to unincorporated rural communities. MACE also brought national attention to the need of investment capital to fuel development by creation of the Delta Foundation, a capital investment entity, and pioneered the concepts of community development in rural areas.

MACE has agreed to act as a conduit for the distribution of money, food and clothing. Contributions of money can be sent to:

Mississippi Action For Community Education
Mr. Wendall Paris
119 South Theobald Street
Greenville, Mississippi 38701
Telephone: 662-335-3523
e-mail: mace03@bellsouth.net website: www.delatamace.org

For updates please tune in to Dr. Carlos Russell radio Show, "Thinking It Through", 1190, 12am-5 pm

Please be patient as we work to develop "distribution sites" where food and clothing and medical supplies can be dropped off.
I will update you and send a list as soon as possible. Moreover, we are trying to locate the recent graduates from Cuban Medical School a group of doctors who returned less than two weeks ago to the USA.


Thank you for your support,
Mae Jackson

General Sites (from Biogems Environmental Defense):
Charity Navigator
Network for Good

Non-Perishable Shipping Sites

You can ship non-perishable items to these following locations, which are confirmed to be delivering them to the hurricane and flooding victims:

Center for LIFE Outreach Center
121 Saint Landry Street
Lafayette, LA 70506
atten.: Minister Pamela Robinson
337-504-5374

Mohammad Mosque 65
2600 Plank Road
Baton Rouge, LA 70805
atten.: Minister Andrew Muhammad
225-923-1400
225-357-3079

Lewis Temple CME Church
272 Medgar Evers Street
Grambling, LA 71245
atten.: Rev. Dr. Ricky Helton
318-247-3793

St. Luke Community United Methodist Church
c/o Hurricane Katrina Victims
5710 East R.L. Thornton Freeway
Dallas, TX 75223
atten.: Pastor Tom Waitschies
214-821-2970

S.H.A.P.E. Community Center
3815 Live Oak
Houston, Texas 77004
atten.: Deloyd Parker
713-521-0641

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Also, poet/musician Latasha Natasha Diggs sends this word:

Join KEVIN POWELL and Special Guests

as they present a BENEFIT for New Orleans

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2005
at CANAL ROOM
285 West Broadway (at Canal Street)
downtown Manhattan in New York City
7:00 pm - 11:00 pm

* 21 and over with ID
Please RSVP to cher_harrison@yahoo.com

They are not accepting cash donations, but are asking for a range of things, including aspirin, adult and children's clothes and shoes, bedding materials, batteries, and so on.

** If you are placing donated items in a bag PLEASE
LABEL (for example,
Children's shoes or Adult shoes, or Children's clothes
or Adult clothes).

We will NOT be taking monetary donations. See
information below on where you
can send financial contributions.

CANAL ROOM ownership is generously donating the space but there will be a CASH BAR ALL NIGHT.

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Alternative Websites with accurate and balanced information about the Hurricane Katrina catastrophe

www.diversityinc.com
www.alternet.org
www.blackelectorate.com
www.npr.org
www.daveyd.com
www.slate.com
www.bet.com
www.allhiphop.com
www.democracynow.org
www.blackamericaweb.com