Rebuild the Gulf Coast, Rebuild America

Posted by on October 6, 2008

Rebuild the Gulf Coast, Rebuild America, November 14-16, Dillard University in New Orleans

We would like to invite you and your students to a national conference entitled “Rebuild the Gulf Coast, Rebuild America” on November 14-16 at Dillard University in New Orleans.

Three years after Hurricane Katrina, the Gulf Coast still does not have adequate housing, hospitals, or schools.  This student conference will focus on:

1. the current state of Gulf Coast communities;
2. The Gulf Coast Civic Works Act (HR 4048), which creates a regional authority to fund resident-led recovery projects creating 100,000 good jobs and training opportunities for local and displaced workers to rebuild infrastructure and restore the environment (http://www.SolvingPoverty.com)
3. Building a national campus movement for racial, social, and environmental justice

The student conference will include a Wetlands and Toxic Tour, testimonies from community leaders, strategy sessions, and spoken word.

Attached is the registration form, which includes information about the student stipend.  Please complete the form, and fax or e-mail it to Mary Williams, Program Manager for Community Outreach at Dillard University, at mivorywill@aol.com

Right now, we have 60 stipends.  They cover room in a local hotel, food at Dillard, and $100 airfare if flying.  What we expect from this stipend is that you give 5 hours a week to the Gulf Coast Civic Works Campaign, starting from the conference until early May, 2009 (the 1st 100 days of the next Administration).

The Gulf Coast Civic Works (GCCW) Campaign is gaining support in Congress and throughout the nation.  Check out the news coverage on the inter-faith statement supporting the GCCW campaign, which was signed by over 100 faith leaders: http://www.abpnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3523&Itemid=53

Beverly Wright, Ph.D.
Director, Deep South Center on Environmental Justice
Dillard University
(504) 816-4028