Post-Katrina Plight Tour

New Orleans, Louisiana
May 30 – June 1, 2006
Sponsored by the NCC in cooperation with the New Community Project

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina toxic sediments from the Mississippi River Chemical Corridor, an 85-mile tract of land along the Mississippi River located between New Orleans and Baton Rouge were dispersed throughout neighboring communities, spreading this toxic threat throughout the areas impacted by Katrina. We’ve heard much about the devastation caused by the hurricane, but what about the infrastructure and big business policies that allowed these devastating chemicals to permeate the area for the past half century?

Participants will get to meet and talk with residents displaced by Katrina and those who live along this stretch of land and suffer from the toxic pollutants on a daily basis. We will work with the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice on a neighborhood restoration project. The Deep South Center is currently focusing on issues related to the sediments left by Katrina, educating evacuees, informing the public and enabling people to clean up their own areas – empowering communities. We will visit environmentally distressed sites such as the Agricultural Street Landfill and Chalmette, LA, site of a massive oil spill in the wake of the storm. Participants will learn about what they can do as advocates for the people of New Orleans and similar communities, before history repeats itself.

This tour will open your hearts and minds to the plight of people who live along the Chemical Corridor and in the Post Katrina landscape of New Orleans.

We will stay in dormitory hosing at Loyola University and have ample time to explore the campus and nearby areas of New Orleans.

For more information: Debra Illes, New Community Project at 216-225-5099 or dilles@newcommunityproject.org.

Cost:$250 per person double occupancy

Extend the experience by attending the NCC Eco-Justice conference June 1 – 4, 2006, at Loyola University. For more information go to www.nccecojustice.org. Download the registration brochure.

For more information about the confrerence, contact Cassandra Carmichael at cassandra@toad.net or Rebecca Barnes-Davies at prc@sfts.edu