Gini Courter at Monday's event
Gulf Coast Relief partners
New Orleans: Learning the Meaning of Home
August 27, 2007
Below are remarks from Gini Courter, Moderator of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA), at an August 27, 2007, press conference hosted by the UUA, the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC), All Congregations Together (ACT), and other organizations in New Orleans.
The event marks the launch of a program to furnish homes in the 9th Ward with donated furnishings and to bring attention to the many needs still unfilled—needs that go beyond basic home repairs.
Mary Fontenot, mentioned below, is the executive director of the New Orleans chapter of ACT, one of the Gulf Coast Relief Fund's partner organizations and hosts of this event. Ms. Fontenot is also a resident of the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans.
August 29, 2007, will mark the two-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.
Moderator's Remarks
My name is Gini Courter, and I am here today representing the member churches of the Unitarian Universalist Association.
We're here today with the people of New Orleans to witness their heroic struggle to rebuild their lives, their homes and their neighborhoods. We’re here to lift up their accomplishments and mark an important milestone in their long journey home. But we are also here to speak out. We cannot ignore the fact that many institutions have failed the people of New Orleans—they failed to respond adequately to the hurricanes two years ago, and they are still failing this city today.
There are heroes here with us, including my friend Mary Fontenot of All Congregations Together. Mary is a tenacious force for justice. For two years now, Mary has fought government apathy and bureaucratic red tape without quitting or tiring.
There are thousands of heroes in devastated neighborhoods throughout New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. I’m moved by these courageous citizens, and I’m humbled by their determination.
But I’m also dismayed by the lack of a timely, adequate government response. These neighbors are rebuilding—step by painful step. They’re reclaiming their homes and schools, and we can all be inspired by their hard work and courage. But we must ask our leaders—why have so many been forced to rebuild alone? Why have so few homeowners received the financial assistance promised to them many months ago?
These questions matter to all of us, because a disaster like Katrina can happen anywhere at anytime. But the questions matter for a deeper reason as well. Katrina peeled off the cover of the other America—the one that is neglected, and easily forgotten, the one that rarely makes headlines. But it is an America that lives and dreams, that works and worships in every state, in every city. It is Our America. How we respond to the structural and economic problems exposed by Katrina says a lot about who we are as a nation. If we can’t get it right New Orleans, how will we get it right anywhere else? If we can’t get it right in New Orleans, how will we call our society just or compassionate?
Yes, in New Orleans houses are being repaired, albeit at great personal cost, but many of these houses are still empty. Today’s efforts are an attempt to bring attention to the insides of the houses, because a home is more than four walls and a roof.
In my many visits to this region since Katrina first hit, I’ve been transformed by the work I’ve shared and by the love that embraced me, the love that has embraced so many volunteers. Because of my experiences in New Orleans and the communities of the Gulf Coast, I’ve learned the true meaning of Home.
Home is a safe, comfortable dwelling.
Home is family reunited, a family that’s healthy, educated, and employed.
Home is a neighborhood filled with working schools and hospitals.
Home is a city that’s growing and thriving.
And Home is a strong network of care and compassion that reaches from the quietest neighborhood street to the highest tiers of government.
On behalf of the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations, the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, and people of conscience everywhere, I call on our government—at all levels—to take an honest look at New Orleans, to acknowledge how much still must be done to rebuild neighborhoods and communities, and to provide the help that is still so desperately needed. The people of New Orleans are ready to come home.
For more information contact gulfcoastrelief @ uua.org.
Last updated on Tuesday, August 28, 2007.
