Group to tell stories of storm victims: It seeks to remind Americans of disaster

By Bruce Alpert - The Times-Picayune
Wednesday, June 14, 2006 - Web Link
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WASHINGTON -- A coalition of churches and social activists is forming the Katrina National Justice Commission to document the firsthand experiences of hurricane victims during and after the storm in hopes of "keeping their needs" before the American people.

"Of course there was a lot of attention when it happened, but then it kind of waned, and we all know that it's not good yet in New Orleans," said the Rev. Susan Smith of Columbus, Ohio, a board member for the commission's sponsor, the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference. "People are still suffering, people still don't know where their relatives are, and the devastation, it's still there. Neighborhoods haven't been cleaned up; people are still being found dead. We don't want Katrina forgotten as we move on to new issues and new concerns."

The Proctor Conference, formed in 2003 to represent progressive African-American churches, announced Tuesday that the six-member commission, which has scheduled a series of hearings in Washington this week, will issue a report in September. It will include the personal stories of hurricane victims to "nudge the American conscience," according to the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr., a founder of the Proctor Conference.

The commission members -- four ministers, a retired Army general and an executive at an urban policy foundation -- said they see their role as similar to the 9/11 commission that examined American terrorism preparedness in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

"The people's experiences, the nation's compassionate responses, the failures and successes of those engaged in rescue and recovery, and the opportunities for restoration and healing must be documented and widely shared," the commissioners said in a statement of their goals.

Among those appearing before the commission this week are representatives of the Army, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Red Cross; a teachers union official and youth minister from New Orleans; and members of Congress, including Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and Rep. William Jefferson, D-New Orleans.

The commission said victims of the hurricane who want to share their experiences, good and bad, should write to the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference Inc., 4533 S. Lake Park Ave., Chicago, Ill. 60653, or send an e-mail to the organization at info@spdconference.info. The conference is named for civil rights leader Samuel Proctor.

Smith, pastor of the Advent United Church of Christ in Columbus, Ohio, said the commission is needed even though two congressional committees and the White House have issued reports that critiqued the government's slow response to the hurricane. It's important that the continuing and substantial needs of hurricane victims be chronicled, along with their own personal stories, she said.

Smith said she recalls watching the scenes of people trapped on rooftops, at the Superdome and at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, and feeling that "I just can't watch this anymore."

So, she said, she and members of her Columbus Church and local community arranged to rent a truck, to get supplies from Ohio merchants and others, and bring it down to New Orleans. "A lot of people watched and wanted to do something," Smith said. "But time passes, and people's attention turns to other things. We need to make sure that people don't forget all that happened and continues to happen as a result of Katrina."

Wright, pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, said the commission plans to print verbatim transcripts of testimony at its hearings, along with personal accounts of the hurricane from victims, in order to dramatize what has happened and all that needs to be done.