[AKA2D '91]

Council of Presidents of the National Pan-Hellenic Council

A joint statement to President George W. Bush Members of Congress of
the
United States of America And our fellow Americans

From the Council of Presidents of the National Pan-Hellenic Council

Call for Independent Katrina Commission and "Marshall Plan" Inclusion
of
Minorities

(Washington, D.C.) Oct. 17-On behalf of the nearly two-million members
and
their respective families we represent, we, the presidents of the
nation's
leading African-American Greek-Lettered organizations, are happy to see
that
the president took new steps after delivering his address from New
Orleans
to the nation. However, we believe it is time for the country to find
out
really what happened in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. It is time that
we
put the very same effort in this query as we did in the 9/11
attack-with a
truly bipartisan and independent commission. We know that Congress has
oversight duties, but nowhere better was that performed when it used
its
authority to create the 9/11 Commission.

The president, the governors of Mississippi and Louisiana, and the
mayors of
local towns have many answers to provide, but the questions and probe
must
be genuine with no stone left unturned. This is not a Democratic,
Republican, or Independent problem; this is an American problem that
rises
above partisanship, cover-ups, and attempts to avoid what many expect
to be
embarrassment on all sides of the political spectrum.

Every poll taken by legitimate and respected news and research agencies
shows that approximately 75 percent of Americans (black and white; rich
and
poor; Democrat and Republican) want this 9/11-type commission. To
provide a
similar commission in this instance as in the 9/11 situation would go a
long
way in supporting the president's claim that the response and review of
this
country's worst natural disaster is truly color-blind. Most African
Americans believe if the majority of the evacuees were white Americans,
the
response would have been quicker and there would have already been
empanelled a 9/11-type commission.

Whenever we have had national crises or emergencies, the will of the
people
of this great nation has always been respected. President Bush and the
Congress should do no less this time. For example:

-In the 60s, we had two major commissions: the Warren Commission
(formally
called the U.S. Commission to Report upon the Assassination of
President
John F. Kennedy), led by then Chief Justice of the United States Earl
Warren, and the Kerner Commission (formally called the National
Advisory
Commission on Civil Disorders), led by then Illinois Governor Otto
Kerner.
President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed the Commission on July 28, 1967,
while
rioting was still underway, and charged it with analyzing the specific
triggers for the 1965-67 riots in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Newark;
with
determining the deeper causes of the worsening racial climate; and with
identifying potential remedies.

-In the 70s, we had Watergate and all of the transparency that resulted
from
a public magnifying glass on that crisis with true bipartisan review.


-In the 80s, we had the Iran-contra scandal which was at full steam
when
President Ronald Reagan took it upon himself to appoint the Tower
Commission
(formally called the Presidential Special Review Board) to investigate
the
scandal of illegal arms-for-hostages sales.

-Most recently, of course, we had the 9/11 Commission (formally called
The
National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States), the
most
expansive independent, bipartisan commission created by congressional
legislation and the signature of President George W. Bush in late 2002.
It
provided the most full and complete account of the circumstances
surrounding
the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, including preparedness for
and the
immediate response to the attacks, and provided recommendations
designed to
guard against future attacks.

Even Republicans have wondered aloud why the White House and certain
factions in Congress have resisted a 9/11-type commission. David
Gergen, a
top advisor to Presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Bill Clinton,
surmised on
CNN after the president's live Jackson Square speech:

". frankly, there's very little accountability here about what
happened. I
mean looking . to a congressional investigation it doesn't come
anywhere
close to what the 9/11 commission did which was very bipartisan, very
fair
and as a result we got one of the best reports we've ever had about an
investigation inside the -- what happened inside of government why we
weren't ready. It's surprising to me the White House continues to
resist
something similar to a 9/11 Commission."

It is surprising to all Americans who want a just and fair exercise in
what
happened and why.

Many of our family members and friends have been terribly hurt and
impacted
by the storm and the aftermath in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and
even
some in Florida. Many have lost homes and many have had traumatic
experiences while staying behind to help those who couldn't help
themselves.
Included among these are a dean of students who stayed with hundreds of
students in a dorm while dodging floating bodies in high water and one
of
our members who is a nurse at Charity Hospital who had to watch
patients
suffer in the dark and feed fellow medical personnel intravenously to
stay
alive while awaiting food and water.

Our organizations have always been at the forefront of national issues
affecting mankind. Whether it was with Thurgood Marshall leading the
effort
in Brown v. Board of Education to eradicate racism and discrimination
in
American society, with Martin Luther King Jr. working to end poverty
and
promote equal access to the ballot box, or whether it was sending
African-American men and women off to fight for the "American Way" in
every
war since World War I through the current conflicts in Iraq and
Afghanistan,
our groups have never turned away from a crisis. That is why we step
up and
call for a Katrina Commission inquiry now and ask every similar
organization
to make the same plea to our Congressional representatives and the
Executive
Branch of our government.

We also call for an inclusive rebuilding effort of the Gulf Coast and
New
Orleans. This will take time, a lot of money, and must include
African-American and other minority groups participation at all levels:
from
the morticians used to prepare the deceased victims for dignified
burials to
construction companies who will build the "New New Orleans," to the
telecommunications firms that will re-link the gulf coast towns to the
rest
of the world.

In June of 1947, Europe was still devastated by war when Secretary of
State
George C. Marshall spoke at Harvard University and outlined what would
become known as the "Marshall Plan." It took six years (to 1953) for
the
plan to work, and after the United States pumped in $13 billion, Europe
was
back on its feet again. No less of a commitment should be done here and
now.


Further, that the Katrina aftermath tore off the mask of poverty that
still
exists in poor and mostly colored communities, it is essential that
these
communities are a part of the rebuilding effort to help eradicate the
poverty that claimed so many lives when the storm and the flooding
happened.
We should hire these citizens at prevailing wages, not slave wages. We
should offer minority-owned businesses (small and large) real,
meaningful
contracts, not piecemeal work to satisfy the look of inclusion.

Like the Marshall Plan, the rebuilding of New Orleans and the Gulf
Coast
will benefit the American economy. The $200 billion-plus dollars (some
already appropriated by Congress) will be used to buy goods from all
over
the United States. We say, and rightfully demand, that those who need
the
work and the contracts get their share. We call on Congress and the
president and the governors and local officials to ensure this happens.

We call on the president and the Congress to quickly authorize a
national
independent commission just as it did in the 9/11 attack and a plan
that
authorizes full and equitable participation in the rebuilding of the
storm-damaged communities. Anything less than that would be
un-American.

The leaders and their organizations undersigned hereon support and
endorse
this call for action:


Linda M. White of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.


Darryl R. Matthews, Sr. of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.


Louise A. Rice of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.


Barbara C. Moore of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.


Steve T. Birdine of Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc.


Samuel C. Hamilton of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.


Mynora J. Bryant of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc.


Paul L. Griffin of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.


George H. Grace of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.