HUD reduces rental assistance to Katrina survivors

Dr. Calvin Mackie responded on behalf of the Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) late last week regarding the announcement by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to begin reducing the level of rental assistance that will be provided to hurricane victims through the Disaster Housing Assistance Program (DHAP).

An excerpt:

While the Road Home is expected to deliver more than 90,000 grants to Louisiana homeowners by the end of the year and our programs to restore more than 30,000 rental units are in full swing, the bottom line is that not all of these units will be available before March, and we are still experiencing a severe housing shortage at every level.

When you have “severe housing shortages,” bad things happen: people get sick, crime increases, kids are left homeless and hungry. I thought Republicans were the party with the moral high ground; this sure doesn’t help promote families.

One Love. One II.

In search of justice for the New Orleans 200,000

A note from Dr. Calvin Mackie from the day before the Jena 6 rally.

One Love. One II.

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Brothers and Sisters,

When you get to Jena please tell all those Black people that when they leave Jena, come to New Orleans in support of the injustice towards the New Orleans 200,000! Tell them that Charles Rangel (D) from NY still hasn’t visited New Orleans and that over 200,000 citizens, mostly Black, are still displaced to over 5500 cities in America. Where is our justice? Where is the outcry over a government who damaged and destroyed generations of Black fiscal, cultural and historical wealth via political and engineering neglect?

Okay, I have just awakened and realized that i dreamed that people, especially Black people, gave a damn about the greatest catastrophe in the history of the country. I guess racism and levees don’t mix, or we just can’t put it together. I guess we don’t see that civil rights is tied to equal protection, protection in the judicial system as well as in infrastructure. I’m awake now and I apologize for thinking and questioning, because I know a Black man is not suppose to do that.

FEMA to provide relocation assistance to Louisiana residents

Dr. Calvin Mackie responded on behalf of the Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) to FEMA’s decision to provide relocation assistance to Louisiana residents.

An excerpt:

Today’s announcement gives new hope to many of our citizens that have been longing to return, and we look forward to the coming days and weeks as they begin to access these much needed funds and begin making their way back home.

This is good, but sadly, I have about as much confidence in FEMA’s capacity to help people as I do in G. W. Bush’s capacity to tell the truth.

One Love. One II.

Katrina: Two tough years later

This is a piece by Dr. Mackie written in The Washington Afro-American, and posted here in its entirety.

One Love. One II.

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Louisiana and the city of New Orleans are participating and rebounding in the most complex reconstruction effort in American history. As you know, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita wreaked unprecedented havoc upon South Louisiana in the fall of 2005, creating the first and third most expensive natural disasters in United States history. Presently, schools are reopening. Homes are being rebuilt. Life as we knew it is gradually returning. But this was an unprecedented catastrophe. Pushing the recovery forward will take an extraordinary effort and a commitment to do what it takes for the people of this state, especially the residents of New Orleans.

Introducing Dr. Calvin Mackie

In our continuing effort to present unique and authoritative voices and perspectives on the days’ issues, I’m honored to introduce Dr. Calvin Mackie as a new guest contributor to The SuperSpade. He’ll be writing on a variety of issues including Hurricane Katrina and the recovery efforts, as well as motivational, societal, and politcal pieces.

Besides being a close mentor and dear friend of mine, Dr. Mackie is a speaker, author, and public servant who currently sits on the Louisiana Recovery Authority. More about him here.

I’m excited about what he’ll bring and I’m sure you’ll enjoy it all.

One Love. One II.