So glad to hear that 2D and RD are okay. I will keep you and your families in my prayers. God Bless.

Fats Domino also missing: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050901/...na_fats_domino

Atlanta Journal Constitution

Doors, hearts open to refugees in Atlanta

Thousands of Gulf Coast residents fleeing the destruction of Hurricane Katrina are finding open doors in Atlanta. Families throughout the metro area are taking in stranded friends and relatives. Hotels are packed with evacuees. Shelters are quickly filling up with people who have nowhere else to turn.

Critically ill patients are being airlifted to Atlanta area hospitals. Stranded college students are being housed at Georgia Tech, and public school systems are enrolling displaced children. Atlanta has become a refugee center.

The American Red Cross received more than 3,000 phone calls in 26 hours from evacuees in Atlanta seeking help, Tim English, chief executive of the Metropolitan Atlanta chapter, said Wednesday. Calls came from new arrivals and people staying in motels and running out of money.

Now we're back to the olden days — when family takes care of family,"

Georgia Tech opened its doors to 275 displaced Tulane University students, faculty and staff early Wednesday after a call for help from the New Orleans school. Tech officials set up temporary housing on the third floor of the campus student center and offered showers, food and Internet access to six busloads of refugees. By midday, many of the Tulane undergraduates had headed to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, trying to catch planes to their hometowns.

Local school districts also are opening their doors to temporary students. Fayette County school officials have already registered students from New Orleans.

A local and popular Black radio station here in the ATL are doing these efforts:


http://www.v-103.com/

They have also partnered with some local hotels and people can pledge $1200. This will put a family up for an entire month. I wish I had it to spare :(

Hello everyone. I too am happy to see that our GCrs are ok. My heart and prayers go out to your families. Here in Baton Rouge it has been pretty crazy with car jackings power outages etc. My grandmother's funeral has had to be put off a few times because of alot of this. But as you all can see this is nothing compared to our neighboring areas. As many posters have said, please donate and continue to pray. This has all ben so terrible.

Shalom~

Soror AKA2D91 & Soror RD, my heart is overjoyed to hear that you are safe! My prayers are with you also as I touch and agree with Darling1 according to Psalm 91. He has given HIS angels charge over you!

I have a neice who attends Xavier and we just got word that she made it to ATL this afternoon and will be staying with my cousin (who is a college student as well). She too lost everything but in her own words, "although I am a refugee, I understand I have a lot to be thankful for".

Soror AKA_Monet, I praise the LORD for you blowing the trumpet...I have not only answered the financial call, but I have answered the physical call as well. I contacted my local Red Cross and signed up to become a volunteer. I have been placed on the Volunteer's "Training" list and will be notified by Red Cross as to my training sessions and expected date to leave California to help in the relief efforts. Brotha-man and son-of-brotha-man
nodded their heads when I told them what I felt led in my Spirit to do. Now I hang around and wait...but until then, I am getting my neighbors involved by putting together a quick Labor Day Weekend Block Get Together so that we can collectively give as neighbors that care about our neighbors across the states.

Keep the prayer vigil going GC family!

Shalom~

Good News.... (if I can call it that)
 

Good news: I FOUND MY AUNT and 19yo & 2yo COUSINS!!! :D Well, I haven't actually "found" them, but they have made contact and they are alive.

Bad news: They are in that massive crowd at the Convention Center and my cousin stated that the baby hasn't had anything to eat except potato chips and that was on SUNDAY!!

My mom and I jumped on the road early this morning to ride to Houston. On the way, we found out that they had made contact and stated that they were still at the Convention Center, so we turned around. The saddest thing is that I know that thousands of families are willing to drive back to New Orleans to get their loved ones, but we aren't allowed back in. We just have to sit and wait and listen to all these horrible stories on the news when we KNOW that we can go and get them. They are waiting for buses that aren't coming. I know that people haven't slept in days for fear of being robbed, raped, or killed. I can't stand to watch TV anymore....

Dad, aunts, uncles, cousins, and others are still missing. As we call other family members to check if they have heard from anyone, we learn of someone new that stuck around. It never ends. I even learned today that our chapter president stayed in N.O. :eek: What is going on?

The President.... *sigh* Can New Orleans get 1/8 of the concern that was paid to Terri Shiavo? Iraq? John Roberts? People are DYING in the streets. Let the looters have everything they want in that city. Just get the people who want to live up out of there!

They found him:

One of rock 'n' roll's chief architects has been rescued from the rubble of New Orleans.

Fats Domino, who had been unaccounted for in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, was plucked from the flooded city by a rescue boat.

His daughter, Karen Domino White, who lives in New Jersey, identified her father in a picture taken Monday night by a New Orleans Times-Picayune photographer. The singer is seen being helped from a boat by an emergency crew.


There was no word on where he was taken. There was also no word on the whereabouts of family members that had been with him before the storm hit.

More:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/eo/20050902/en_music_eo/17283

Lets Pray...
 

Dear Heavenly Father,

I come to you asking for your special protection on RedefinedDiva's family. Lord, we know that you have the power to protect and work miracles, so work a miracle on this family and keep them safe until rescue comes.

In addition Lord I pray for all of the unsaved and lost souls in New Orleans. I pray that some way some how they will come to know you as their Lord and personal Savior, so if by chance they do NOT make it then we can rest knowing that they are safely rockin in the bossom of Jesus.

I also pray for my Uncle Chuck, who we have not heard from. I think he may be still alive in his house so let the rescuers find him. Please!

We ask all these things in your name sake. AMEN!!! :D

To Everyone affected by this Hurricane: Don't worry things are going to get better... I just know they will!!!;)

Re: Good News.... (if I can call it that)
 

Soror,

I am glad to hear of some good news for you. I will continue to hold you in my prayers. I hope that our federal government does something soon and now. Part of me wants to beleieve if this would have happended in Conneticut that matters would of been handled a little sooner. I will continue to pray for you and your family's safety.

Re: Lets Pray...
 

AMEN!

I am praying for your families RefinedDiva. Lord, this has to be difficult right now, but this will pass.

2D-I'm so glad to know that you're safe.

My prayers are with you all AND all of the victims suffering through this debacle.

Family members connecting, that's great! Let's pray for the other missing loved ones out there!

There are still MANY, MANY more people still trapped. Doctors are abandoning the hospitals, students are supposedly still "trapped" at Xavier University.

It's madness!

The looters got on "our"side of the river and burned the mall.

This is a mess! Where are the local council people?
I'm about to put this man on blast...Congressman XYZ hasn't done ONE thing! He has been MIA. TODAY was his FIRST "appearance". He has spoken to CNN and I think Fox News via phone. He has not been seen in New Orleans OR Baton Rouge for ANY press conference (since Saturday). Earlier today, he tried to take ownership of the concert efforts that are being organized. I think the one with Master P. He says he's been in contact with Bob Johnson...yada yada! Those are HIS constituents and he hasn't been there! Yes, you are under Federal Probe, but YOU are STILL the Congressman! Your counterparts have been visible, vocal, and vigilant (some going out there rescuing the people) where have YOU been? Your daughter is a state rep, where is she? I know. I know...with you and the rest of your family in DC/MD/VA :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Mayor :rolleyes:
Chief of Police: :rolleyes:
JP Sheriff: :rolleyes:

Congress approved the aid package. Good!

Can these people get SOMETHING? Yes, I am a refugee, but I have most of my clothes, health, car, and my mother's house. Therefore, I am better than blessed! There are so many others who are not as fortunate. THEY NEED HELP! Help the medical professionals STILL trapped WITH PATIENTS! :mad:

Leave the 'suits' out of it! Stop talking and come down here and HELP!

I've been saying this all day. Now that I've typed it out, I feel better. Please excuse my random spurt/vent/whatever you want to call it! :)

I am watching CNN and the Latina anchorwoman just got very confrontational with the FEMA director. I applaud her because her questions are valid and mirror many of our sentiments.

I was told by 2 sources that even if your calls cannot get through, text messages can. So if your friends and loved ones have cell phones, please send them a text.


You all continue to be in my prayers.

I am so glad that missing family members are surfacing. :)

I work for a very large utility, and we wee told just yesterday that the company will be making a donation of $500, 000, and then will match up to $250 of what the employees donate...so we are trying to make sure that we reach a million dollars. Also we have dispatch crews to get down there to try and get the power restored......I will also be making a personal donation a part from what my company will match.

I like her--she doesn't play. Did you hear the interview with the Mayor? Ol' boy is pi**ed and rightfully so. He and the male interviewer were crying at the end.

Just received this message from my dean. I don't know who may be in my area (Central Florida) but if there are any displaced students in the area, I hope this helps some.
************************************************
Beginning today, the University of Central Florida will allow college students displaced by Hurricane Katrina to register for classes on a space-available basis.

Students who were enrolled this fall at universities that have been closed because of the hurricane may apply to UCF by 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 9.

Students can call 407-823-6188 for enrollment information; a 1-800 number will be posted at www.ucf.edu later this week. Because UCF started classes Aug. 22, admissions staff will work one-on-one with displaced students to expedite admission, enrollment, and financial assistance processes.

Application fees will be waived, and students will pay in-state tuition rates. UCF will provide guidance and tutoring assistance, as well as referrals for housing and other necessities.

Students will be offered admission on a case-by-case basis and will be required to sign a form verifying that they were registered elsewhere and have been displaced. Students who are unable to provide transcripts and other official materials immediately will be allowed to do so at a later date.

Our hearts go out to the students and families who have lost so much because of this devastating storm. By allowing students to resume their academic careers with as little interruption as possible, we hope to help them overcome this tragedy and get on with their lives. I urge you to welcome them into our community and make their transition as smooth possible.

I heard his phone interview but had to leave. I was very emotional this morning after hearing those 2 interviews but got in the car and found out a local way to help thanks to the men of Phi Beta Sigma. :)


Tuskegee is also opening its doors to college students. I posted it in Greek Life last night.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TUSKEGEE

News Release: September 1, 2005
Tuskegee University is Accepting Students Displaced by Hurricane Katrina


TUSKEGEE UNIVERSITY, AL – (September 1, 2005) – Tuskegee University announced today its plan to be of assistance to students and families by enrolling currently registered students from colleges and universities that are closed as a result of the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina.


Interested students should contact the Office of the Registrar (334-727-8505) not later than Wednesday, September 7, 2005.


"The efforts of Hurricane Katrina upon the populations of the Gulf states and beyond have been horrendous and its damage to human lives and property all but incalculable," said Tuskegee University's President, Dr. Benjamin F. Payton. "Although Tuskegee University's financial resources are limited, its capacity to accept and to educate students to the highest standards possible is outstanding. We will do everything in our power to help. With the assistance of our friends and supporters, we will even enlarge our capacity to help. But we must not kid ourselves. This crisis is as large as it is horrific. All Americans need to find ways to come to the aid of Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi. We must insist upon their being given the highest level of support possible by federal and state governments, as well as by non-governmental organizations and individuals."



Tuskegee University 's efforts will center on sister institutions such as Dillard University and Xavier University of New Orleans, and Bishop State College in Mobile, Alabama, but will be open to any students from accredited post-secondary institutions in the Gulf states, which have been closed by virtue of the hurricane.



The University is prepared to accept these students immediately. It will then be the obligation of all provisionally accepted students and their families to cooperate fully with the University in effecting the transfer of all documentation to finalize their acceptance plus any previously awarded federal financial aid, private loans and other resources required to meet their financial obligations to the University.



For more information, contact Denise L. Berkhalter, Director of Public & Media Affairs in the Tuskegee University Office of Marketing and Communications, at media@tuskegee.edu, (334) 724-4553 (direct), 552-1292 (cell) or 724-4586 (fax).

Kudos, Kudos, Kudos to the UCF and Tuskegee:D

I was just talking to one of my ls's and I was telling her about the good news about UCF and Tuskegee, and she told me that she heard on KYW that a few of our local schools will be doing that as well. She heard Temple, U of PA and Rowan which is located right over the bridge in Jersey, and they are going to give the students reduced tuition...so kudos to those schools as well.

Ok, I looked at KYW's site and not only Temple, Uof PA and Rowan, but Univ of Delaware, Delaware St, Drexel and Arcadia are offering all this. They also will allow faculty and staff up to three weeks of paid time off
to work as volunteers with various organizations involved in hurricane recovery efforts.

Rowan is also offering in-state tuition/housing rates.

Del. State Univ. Offers Free Tuition for Students Affected by Hurricane

Delaware State University is offering free tuition for the fall semester
to students enrolled in colleges in the region affected by Hurricane
Katrina.
The students must be enrolled in schools in Florida, Alabama,
Mississippi, and Louisiana and be residents of those states or Delaware,
Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, or the District
of Columbia.

DSU President Allen Sessoms says the university wants to make sure
students don't have to put their educations on hold.

I am so pissed at the level of aid that OUR government is providing to the people of the Gulf Coast. My family lives in and around Picayune, MS. No news coverage has been there. If anyone knows of any condition there please help. I have not heard from my sister, aunts, uncles, or cousins there. The report I recieved earlier was false.....I am so worried right now....

Re: Re: Your President!!!
 

Amen to that! The gov't is so expedient in shipping out young men and women to Iraq to fight an unwarranted war (my boyfriend included) but they should take the same care and proactiveness in helping the victims of this tragedy. :mad: There is no reason why food and health supplies should be running short in a country as abundant and obese at we are. What the hell is taking so long to provide evacuees with BASIC needs?? :confused: If the idiots in office would do their job effectively, we would be prepared for destructiveness of this magnitude, whether it be terrorism, natural disasters, or otherwise.

Every time I see the president on televison, my blood pressure rises. The look of sheer idiocy burns me up, especially with him looking down from his helicopter observing the aftermath of the hurricane. He looks like he's totally confused and doesn't know what to do.

Funny. I keep hearing that Canada is READY with assistance, but Bush hasn't asked them for any help. Does he plan on it? Will he ask other countries to help? Or will he be an idiot and remain stubborn?

Bring our troops home and have them help the Gulf States get back on their collective feet.

ETA: Idiot is going to do a press conference in Mobile, then do an aerial tour of the area. What the HELL is that going to do? He's got a TV, he's seen what it looks like, call in reserves from every damn state, call Canada, call Mexico, call Britian, call every dayum body. GET OFF YOUR ASS, BUSH, and GET INVOLVED!!!!! :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

I know everyone has seen the devastation in the Gulf coast area and I pray for everyone that is affected. I'm sending this out to you all and ask that you please pray for my sands (linesister) Auwana Brown. Her whole family is from NO and we had been playing phone tag. I finally spoke with her yesterday and she informed me that she has lost her grandmother, possibly her brother, his wife and kids. This situation has affected more and more people. I'm so sad and don't know what else to do, she is trying to get funds together to make her way to Houston, then to NO. Her father was able to escape, but is stuck at the superdome and like the others, is in need of food, water and just basic necessity. I know and believe with my heart in the power of prayer and donation. Our undergrad chapter is trying to help her with funds, but any other donation to reputable orgs like Red Cross, Salvation Army, will help her family and the countless others.

I thank you in advance.

From Michael Moore's webside

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/message/index.php?messageDate=2005-09-02

Try it now
 

From Michael Moore's Website

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/me...ate=2005-09-02

Re: Try it now
 

Thanks Soror CT4...you are the best:D

holla at your reps...
 

Anyone wishing to electronically communicate with their elected federal representatives (Senators, congressional district rep.) to perhaps urge a swifter federal response, may find them at:

http://www.senate.gov/general/contac...nators_cfm.cfm

www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW.shtml

Re: holla at your reps...
 

I will start drafting mine in 28 minutes. :mad:

I tried that...but most phones havent been charged for days. I dont know what else to do.

ETA: I love Michael Moore ;)

Ok, I'm sure I will get flamed and I don't really care but it really bothers me that there are people (in all political parties) using this to finger point and play the blame game - when you have thousands of people suffering at this very moment. There will be plenty of time for that, but right now you HELP is needed.

WTF is Micheal Moore doing to help? So while he is currently sitting at a $3,800 a week fat farm typing away in his blog - people need help food, supplies, a ride - RIGHT NOW! Use whatever "power" you have right now to help, not to blame.

Right now PEOPLE ARE DYING and this really isn't the time to play "nan nana boo" politics - it goes for him and anybody else that feels the need to use the Hurricane to further whatever their agenda may be.

For those looking for loved ones....
 

Various Websites are hosting message boards and other information for people searching for the missing. Here are a few:

The National Next of Kin Registry
http://pleasenotifyme.org/nok/restricted/home.htm

Craig's List
http://neworleans.craigslist.org/laf/

NOLA.com (The Times-Picayune)
http://www.nola.com/forums/searching/

WWL-TV
http://www.wwltv.com/forums/viewfor...f4bd2e188d4f473


Hope this helps

Blame has always been a part of the Washington political game. Despite what they say, both Republican and Democratic White Houses use blame, and other devices, to shape public opinion for their agendas. They take polls EVERYDAY, testing policy ideas, strategy options, speech lines for effect in focus groups--polls most folk never hear about. And when the White House wants its way, it can bring pressure to bear and place blame where it wants to as well.

The Bush White House, just like any other White House would, is closely monitoring the coverage and criticism it is getting. Its agency heads are coached (talking points) before interviews and its round of surrogate friends, party leaders, interest group supporters, do their part as well.

MM is a private citizen and can say what he pleases, and people are free to embrace or reject it. President Bush, like every other president before him however, is charged with effective leadership of the nation, particularly in times of crisis. Opinions will vary on how effective he's been.

These are big boys playing a big boys game...no one need feel sorry for anybody except the folks of the Gulf Coast in this one.

*and this was not meant as a flame toward you, HK :cool: *

I know TonyB :) I'm not saying people don't have the right to express themselves or any of that.

What I am saying is that this isn't the time for that and by doing it, it takes away from the real issue of what we need to be doing NOW to get people to safety.

I'm more concerned why people are drowning in their homes/attics (or probably already have), bodies litter the water and aidewalks, babies are dying in the street in the arms of their mothers because of dehydration, etc. than listening to Micheal Moore or even Rush Limbaugh point fingers at each other's political party right now. Use those mouths to get your followers to donate to the American Red Cross because that's whats important right now.

What is Picayune by? I've heard of it but I'm not familiar with the location. I'll ask around though.

Mississippi State is also one of the schools allowing displaced students to enroll.

This is devastating beyond words. My prayers are with everyone and I believe that prayer helps.

I feel you, HK, but in the U.S., who gets to say "when the time is" for anything? Most of us have either donated $, blood, or set in motion whatever it is we're going to do. Unless you're a part of FEMA/disaster aid and charged with direct involvement, how exactly do Moore's comments, or Rush Limbaugh's comments "take away" from anything?

Whose comments are hindering FEMA's ability to reach those dying babies? Do Moore's comments prevent you from knowing as much as you can stand about why people are still trapped in their homes? For that matter, do we know that Moore/Limbaugh have not already directed their "followers" or "ditto-heads" as to what they should do? I've already said I think critical thinking/opinion--when it reaches a critical mass--can have a political impact. So what truly is harmed by free expression?

But I know it's all in the perspective. After 9/11, I didn't see what ribbon-wearing or flag waving did. Yeah, I wanted to break my foot off in somebody's azz, but I donated blood instead because I felt that was a direct way I could affect what went down. For those not directly affected, talking can be a cathartic first step. (isn't that what GC is about to some degree?)

but we still ----->here<---right? :cool:

Bush admits relief efforts are not acceptable
 

On a special ABC news report: "Before he (President Bush) left on this 3 state tour, he made some comments at the White House he said the results were not acceptable, speaking about the relief efforts so far.This from a President loath to admit failure..."

NO Mayor is sick of Bush
 

Oh, we still down like four flats TonyB :cool:

My heart is just seriously breaking for those that are just stuck there in those deplorable conditions. :(

Re: NO Mayor is sick of Bush
 

Wow!:eek: He was a cussin' all over the place. He is truly tired. I have never heard a politician be so honest. He even addressed the drug addicts that are breaking into the hospitals to get a fix.
I liked how he asked "Did the tsunami victims have to go thru a formal process to ask for help? Did the Iraqis ask us to go over there?" Then he continued "I'm probably gonna get in trouble for this..."

The Rev. Jesse Jackson said cities had been dismissed by the Bush administration beca
 

From Margins of Society to Center of the Tragedy

By DAVID GONZALEZ, The New York Times

(Sept. 2)
(Sept. 2) - The scenes of floating corpses, scavengers fighting for food and desperate throngs seeking any way out of New Orleans have been tragic enough. But for many African-American leaders, there is a growing outrage that many of those still stuck at the center of this tragedy were people who for generations had been pushed to the margins of society.



Dave Martin, AP
Residents appeal for help Thursday as they gather at an evacuation staging area along Interstate-10 in Metarie, La.

Disaster Coverage: Latest News

Talk About It: Daily Pulse Blog | Post Thoughts


The victims, they note, were largely black and poor, those who toiled in the background of the tourist havens, living in tumbledown neighborhoods that were long known to be vulnerable to disaster if the levees failed. Without so much as a car or bus fare to escape ahead of time, they found themselves left behind by a failure to plan for their rescue should the dreaded day ever arrive.

"If you know that terror is approaching in terms of hurricanes, and you've already seen the damage they've done in Florida and elsewhere, what in God's name were you thinking?" said the Rev. Calvin O. Butts III, pastor of Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem. "I think a lot of it has to do with race and class. The people affected were largely poor people. Poor, black people."

In the days since neighborhoods and towns along the Gulf Coast were wiped out by the winds and water, there has been a growing sense that race and class are the unspoken markers of who got out and who got stuck. Just as in developing countries where the failures of rural development policies become glaringly clear at times of natural disasters like floods or drought, many national leaders said, some of the United States' poorest cities have been left vulnerable by federal policies.

"No one would have checked on a lot of the black people in these parishes while the sun shined," said Mayor Milton D. Tutwiler of Winstonville, Miss. "So am I surprised that no one has come to help us now? No."

The subject is roiling black-oriented Web sites and message boards, and many black officials say it is a prime subject of conversation around the country. Some African-Americans have described the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina as "our tsunami," while noting that there has yet to be a response equal to that which followed the Asian tragedy.


More From the Times


· Storm Erased Most of Set of Barrier Islands
· In Hunt for Life's Necessities, Rumors Fly and Lines Crawl
· You Want How Much a Gallon?


Roosevelt F. Dorn, the mayor of Inglewood, Calif., and the president of the National Association of Black Mayors, said relief and rescue officials needed to act faster.

"I have a list of black mayors in Mississippi and Alabama who are crying out for help," Mr. Dorn said. "Their cities are gone and they are in despair. And no one has answered their cries."

The Rev. Jesse Jackson said cities had been dismissed by the Bush administration because Mr. Bush received few urban votes.:eek:

"Many black people feel that their race, their property conditions and their voting patterns have been a factor in the response," Mr. Jackson said, after meeting with Louisiana officials yesterday. "I'm not saying that myself, but what's self-evident is that you have many poor people without a way out."

In New Orleans, the disaster's impact underscores the intersection of race and class in a city where fully two-thirds of its residents are black and more than a quarter of the city lives in poverty. In the Lower Ninth Ward neighborhood, which was inundated by the floodwaters, more than 98 percent of the residents are black and more than a third live in poverty.

Spencer R. Crew, president and chief executive officer of the national Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, said the aftermath of the hurricane would force people to confront inequality.

"Most cities have a hidden or not always talked about poor population, black and white, and most of the time we look past them," Dr. Crew said. "This is a moment in time when we can't look past them. Their plight is coming to the forefront now. They were the ones less able to hop in a car and less able to drive off."

That disparity has been criticized as a "disgrace" by Charles B. Rangel, the senior Democratic congressman from New York City, who said it was made all the worse by the failure of government officials to have planned.

"I assume the president's going to say he got bad intelligence, Mr. Rangel said, adding that the danger to the levees was clear.

"I think that wherever you see poverty, whether it's in the white rural community or the black urban community, you see that the resources have been sucked up into the war and tax cuts for the rich," he said.

Outside Brooklyn Law School yesterday, a man selling recordings of famous African-Americans was upset at the failure to have prepared for the worst. The man, who said his name was Muhammad Ali, drew a damning conclusion about the failure to protect New Orleans.

"Blacks ain't worth it," he said. "New Orleans is a hopeless case."

Among the messages and essays circulating in cyberspace that lament the lost lives and missed opportunities is one by Mark Naison, a white professor of African-American Studies at Fordham University in the Bronx.

"Is this what the pioneers of the civil rights movement fought to achieve, a society where many black people are as trapped and isolated by their poverty as they were by segregation laws?" Mr. Naison wrote. "If Sept. 11 showed the power of a nation united in response to a devastating attack, Hurricane Katrina reveals the fault lines of a region and a nation, rent by profound social divisions."

That sentiment was shared by members of other minority groups who understand the bizarre equality of poverty.


More Resources


Connecting With Victims
· Red Cross: Family Network
· CNN.com: The Safe List
· FirstGov.gov: Find Loved Ones
· Post Available Housing & Help
· Katrina.com

How to Help
· Network for Good

Emergency Agencies
· Alabama
· Florida
· Louisiana
· Mississippi
· All States

Travel Advisories
· Air, Hotel, More

Getting Through It
· Before, During and After
· Health and Safety Tips

About Hurricanes
· Science and Facts



"We tend to think of natural disasters as somehow even-handed, as somehow random," said Martín Espada, an English professor at the University of Massachusetts and poet of a decidedly leftist political bent who is Puerto Rican. "Yet it has always been thus: poor people are in danger. That is what it means to be poor. It's dangerous to be poor. It's dangerous to be black. It's dangerous to be Latino."

This Sunday there will be prayers. In pews from the Gulf Coast to the Northeast, the faithful will come together and pray for those who lived and those who died. They will seek to understand something that has yet to be fully comprehended.

Some may talk of a divine hand behind all of this. But others have already noted the absence of a human one.

"Everything is God's will," said Charles Steele Jr., the president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in Atlanta. "But there's a certain amount of common sense that God gives to individuals to prepare for certain things."

That means, Mr. Steele said, not waiting until the eve of crisis.

"Most of the people that live in the neighborhoods that were most vulnerable are black and poor," he said. "So it comes down to a lack of sensitivity on the part of people in Washington that you need to help poor folks. It's as simple as that."

Contributing reporting from New York for this article were Andy Newman, William Yardley, Jonathan P. Hicks, Patrick D. Healy, Diane Cardwell, Anemona Hartocollis, Ronald Smothers, Jeff Leeds, Manny Fernandez and Colin Moynihan. Also contributing were Michael Cooper in Albany, Gretchen Ruethling in Chicago, Brenda Goodman in Atlanta and Carolyn Marshall in San Francisco.










09-02-05 07:59 EDT


Copyright © 2005 The New York Times Company.

Yay! We got a flier this afternoon that our homebuilder is accepting donations at their model homes:

www.eastwoodhomes.com

I am there tommorrow - lickity split.