Harvey, LA – On the evening of January 20, hundreds of Palestinians gathered at a local mosque to commemorate 17-year-old New Orleans native Tawfik Abdeljabbar. The day before, an undisclosed Israeli officer murdered Abdeljabbar in the Palestinian village of Al-Mazra’a on the West Bank.

“We’ve been marching for three months now, advocating about what’s going on. Now it really hits home when a New Orleanian gets killed, gets shot in the head while driving. I haven’t heard a word from any representatives. What’s it gonna take for them to say something?” said Mo Abdel, an organizer and speaker for the Masjid Omar mosque.

Abdeljabbar studied at the Muslim Academy Gretna Islamic School. “Tawfik was funny, beautiful, smart, witty and always had something sarcastic and hilarious to say,” says Sherean Murad, vice principal of Muslim Academy and Abdeljabbar’s former teacher. “He was also an American citizen. His parents pay taxes like me and you – taxes that funded the same weapons that were used to murder him in cold blood.”

At the vigil, men shook hands and gave heartfelt embraces to family members. Earlier that day, women gathered at a private residence to do the same.

“It’s honestly devastating. My heart goes out to his brother, who couldn’t make it here because he’s still in the West Bank,” said Mohammad Abdel-Wahhab, Abdeljabbar’s cousin.

The commemoration was solemn, but participants sharply condemned both the Zionist occupation and the U.S. government’s support for it.

“This boy was just starting with his life, his education. To them he’s not more valuable than a chicken,” said Mohammad Salem, Abdeljabbar’s uncle. “I call this a terrorist nation. By sending them arms the U.S. supports the terrorists.”

#HarveyLA #TawfikAbdeljabbar #Palestine #NewOrleans

Metairie, LA – On July 25, over 30 people marched on a mansion in the New Orleans metro area to disrupt a fundraiser for Donald Trump. Joe Canizaro, a wealthy retired banker in Old Metairie, hosted Trump’s campaign event. Jeff Landry, Trump’s handpicked candidate for the Louisiana governorship, also attended. The noise from the protest forced the event to end early, and the campaign raised only half as much as when he visited the city in 2019.

Demonstrators began in a shopping center by Canizaro’s neighborhood, then marched up to the mansion. The Secret Service stopped them across the street from the fundraiser. It was clear that the protesters outnumbered the Trump supporters gathered nearby. Demonstrators ranged from students attending their first protest to older community members expressing their discontent with Trump and his supporters.

The protest organizers began the march by emphasizing the danger LGBTQ people face if left to the mercy of the right wing.

“No matter how many laws and attacks they throw at us, it is important that we draw a line and say this reactionary movement can’t go further, because if Trump is the president, if Landry is the governor, then they can easily attack our rights to protest, they can throw more of our movement in jail,” said Quest Riggs, an organizer with Real Name Campaign, an LGBTQ rights group.

Metairie, a suburb that lies just outside of New Orleans, has long been a conservative stronghold in the region. Despite this, protesters received more support than condemnation from the community. Evidently, pressure from the demonstration was too much for Trump and his wealthy supporters. According to local news sources, Trump stayed in the city until midnight for his previous 2019 fundraiser. This year’s fundraiser called for guests to arrive between 7 and 8 p.m., but Trump, Landry, the attendees, and their dance troupe left by 7:40 p.m.

Chants from anti-Trump demonstrators like “Lock him up!” “No hate, no fear, Donald Trump ain’t welcome here!” and “New Orleans hates Trump!” drowned out pro-Trump jeers. Some Trump supporters turned on their car alarms, but protesters chanted to the beat of the horns and the event grew louder. One neighbor activated his sprinklers on the sidewalk that the protesters stood on to deter them. Many welcomed the relief from the evening heat. As more protesters gathered, community activists took the opportunity to agitate the crowd and keep pressure on Trump and his lackeys.

“This mansion and the $23,000 photoshoots show the lie in Trump saying he represents the working man. It’s the mass movements for justice and equality that represent what working people want and need in this country!” yelled Serena Sojic-Borne, an organizer with Freedom Road Socialist Organization. Although Trump allegedly raised $2 million from this event, this came far short of the over $4 million from his last fundraiser at Canizaro’s mansion in 2019.

Activists from other organizations linked the fight against Trump to other campaigns like community control of the police and defending education.

“Although Trump is the leading candidate for the Republican nomination, DeSantis is rallying the right wing towards even more oppressive policies. The Tampa 5 are an example of what our movements will suffer under a Trump or DeSantis presidency. We must dare to struggle against these reactionaries! Our comrades in Tampa may be suffering, but that hasn’t stopped us from rallying to their aid. I know they’d do the same for me. Justice for the Tampa 5!” declared Carson Cruse, a member of Loyola University New Orleans’ Young Democratic Socialists of America, an affiliate of Students for a Democratic Society.

#MetairieLA #Protest #NewOrleans #Trump

New Orleans, LA – Community members gathered in New Orleans on the weekend after International Women’s Day to mark the holiday in the context of critical struggles unfolding across the country. They gathered on Claiborne Avenue at the sight of the 2015 murder of Penny Proud, a 21-year-old Black trans women.

Serena Borne of Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) highlighted the importance of gathering at this location. “We must understand the connection between legislation that attacks trans youth or women’s reproductive rights, and anti-trans hate crimes that happen far too often.”

Many local organizations joined together to hold the demonstration. Demonstrators waved signs that read “Abortion is essential healthcare” and “Decriminalize trans identity.” They received vocal support from passing drivers and residents along the route of their march.

United Teachers of New Orleans representative Lauren Jewett spoke about how the mistreatment and low payment of working-class women, such as teachers, negatively affects entire communities. She pointed out that in New Orleans charter schools that undervalue the labor of teachers has become the norm. This disconnects schools from the students and communities that they are supposed to serve.

Right-wing legislators in Louisiana have taken early measures to propose legislation that would deny trans minors gender-affirming healthcare and subject trans minors to isolation at school, similar to repressive laws recently passed in Texas. Kai Cavell from the Real Name Campaign said, “Last year activists challenged the politicians that are trying to repress trans youth and we won! We can show our strength again this year and continue the fight any time our community faces attacks.”

After chanting through the working-class Treme neighborhood, the marchers set up on traffic-heavy Broad Street. They yelled chants and passed out fliers to drivers at a nearby stop light. Members of Party for Socialism and Liberation-Central Gulf Coast marched in support under signs that read, “Defend Roe by any means necessary.”

Southern Workers Assembly member Tyra Sullivan spoke about the way that bosses in the local service industry have exploited the pandemic to treat women workers as disposable. She made the point that as the capitalist economy continues to get worse, women workers must organize in their workplaces to protect themselves against abuse from employers.

#NewOrleans #abortion #InternationalWomensDay #PennyProud

Houston, Texas – Hundreds more New Orleaneans came to the Astrodome today seeking help. Yet many were turned away at the security gate and given nothing. The people who left New Orleans before Katrina landed are very aware that without federal government aid, they will not be able to survive much longer.

Heather Pierre, a mother of a two-year old boy talked about being turned away from FEMA help for not having a wristband: “They're telling us to come to the Astrodome to see about FEMA funds, and when we get there they're turning you around at the gate because you don't have a wristband on your wrist. People have been standing here since 5:00 this morning and we haven't been getting any help. I haven't been able to find a job – I don't have any income at all. And if I don't get this help from FEMA, I'm going to be stuck out, just like everybody else. It's a no-win situation out here.”

Of the 1,000,000 people who fled New Orleans before Katrina, several hundred thousand are believed to be living in Houston, Texas. Most people have managed to find friends, family, strangers and hotels to take shelter. But as the draining of their city continues, most are now facing a confusing bureaucracy that drains them financially and emotionally as well.

FEMA? What FEMA!

Thousands of people walked to the Astrodome main entrance. Some were warned by those leaving that they would not be allowed to enter because they were not wearing a wristband.

FEMA cards worth $2,000 in cash value were supposed to be given out to Astrodome residents. Some cards malfunctioned and had no money. Stores next to the Astrodome (Target, Fiesta Mart, Big Lots, Payless Shoes and others) were racking up strong sales throughout the day with clothing, shoes, suitcases and hot, cooked food being the most popular items.

People from New Orleans, outside the Astrodome in Houston.

For non-Astrodome residents to get FEMA cards, you need to go to Social Security to register even if you have already received your FEMA number from their website and then must return to get processed. Today processing of new cards stopped by 2 p.m. because there were too many people. The FEMA phone number had a recorded message, “Because of the high volume of calls for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, all representatives are busy. Your call will now be disconnected.”

“Bush really needs to open his eyes and see what's really going on and get off his high horse and help us. There's too many people walking around here with the clothes on their back,” Thomas said.

The real-feel temperature reached 95 degrees. Taking shade under trees at the intersection of the Astrodome entrance and Kirby Street was a temporary rest for two African American boys who only wanted to attend school. Ninety-nine percent of the people coming to the Astrodome are African American. From yesterday to today, the police and store security guards have become a visible presence watching over the people here.

The government brags about getting folks out of the Astrodome in Houston. However, as the thousands turned away today can speak to, once they are out, all help is gone. Proud families are forced to wander from place to place in search of the basics of food, clothing and shelter. This is the government's version of 'success.' But the people outside the Astrodome today were not fooled. The anger of the mothers, fathers and children was unmistakable.

#HoustonTX #News #AsianNationalities #AfricanAmerican #ChicanoLatino #HurricaneKatrina #NewOrleans #FEMA #NewOrleaneans #Astrodome #HeatherPierre

Statement by Freedom Road Socialist Organization

We express great sadness and extend our solidarity to all who have lost loved ones and their homes in the great disaster that has struck the South and New Orleans in particular. Bodies are floating in the water. Rooftops and bridges are crowded with those who have received no assistance whatsoever. No water. No food. Nothing.

While the rich were able to flee in their custom SUVs and get on planes to faraway second homes, the low income, working class and especially Black people suffered the brunt of the hurricane’s devastation.

Hurricane Katrina demonstrates the power of nature and the weakness of U.S. society. Not all of the disaster is natural; much of it is manmade and preventable. In fact, it is an unnatural disaster. Why do we say this? For poor African Americans there was no evacuation plan. None, period. Those who could not evacuate could only turn to each other and hold on for dear life. Not the city, nor the parish, nor the state had a plan for evacuation. Consider this fact: The authorities knew that in the event of a serious hurricane, a disaster of this magnitude was possible. Congress refused to spend money to protect the low-lying and poorest parts of the city. This is not ‘a mistake.’ It’s a crime.

Bush was warm and dry in Texas – on vacation. At his press conference following the hurricane, he had a stupid smirk on his face and preached “patience.”

Though the powerful storm was tracked and announced on every news station – every hour on the hour for days – and the region had experienced being smashed by big hurricanes in the past, government and politicians let this catastrophe happen and are now allowing the situation to get worse. The reason: Low-income Black people do not matter to them. Not to Bush, not to the Republican party, not to rich white people. Black people’s lives are not worth a thing to them. Poor people are expendable and their homes and livelihoods are unimportant to those who rule the land. Remember, this is the South and Black people are an oppressed nation in this part of the U.S. Black people’s oppression is not just history, it is now. The outrage is building across the country.

The authorities don’t care about those who need help – but let thirsty, starving, half-drowned people take from the shelves of stores sinking under water, and the police, the National Guard, the army and marines are called in to ‘keep order.’ Search and rescue operations were curtailed.

Bush and the handful of rich billionaires and multi-millionaires who rule the U.S. empire will send an army halfway around the world to occupy a country for its oil, but won’t mobilize the resources needed by the people of New Orleans and surrounding coastlines. Heaven and earth should be moved to stop this deepening disaster. Instead the politicians and the rich watch and wait. Allowing low-income African American people and others to suffer and die.

The current government-sponsored ‘rescue and relief’ operations are worse than inadequate. And those responsible need to be held accountable. We demand that the government do whatever it takes to provide meaningful aid to the victims of this crisis. Now. The priority must be placed on those who have the greatest needs. We must turn our collective grief into a storm of anger. Help is needed. And so is justice.

#UnitedStates #Editorial #AsianNationalities #AfricanAmerican #ChicanoLatino #HurricaneKatrina #greatDisaster #NewOrleans #PeopleAreDying #poorAfricanAmericans #AfricanAmericans #rescueAndRelief