New Orleans Case Studies: Illustrating Coalition Work of Organizers, Educators and Artists

This is a list of New Orleans organizations and the case studies of social-change projects they were asked to present at the Convergence on February 24, 2004, at Frederick Douglass Senior High School in New Orleans, La. During the 90-minute session, each organization/coalition planned to facilitate the following three broad tasks:

1. Present a case study of the local organization focused on how movement-building happens. What worked and didn't work and the methodology of summing up work (should include self-criticism) — 10-15 minutes
2. Gather similar ideas from other folk in the room — 60-70 minutes
3. Develop a model for reporting out to larger group (may include an issue that the collective needs to tackle) — 10-15 minutes

Liberation Zone Ministries
The four major current projects are: a) Morris F. X. Jeff National Center for Manhood Development, b) street-level outreach work — in association with Gov. Nicholls community project — to African-American males, c) construction and operation of a community center (in development), and d) convening of The Gathering, a long-range strategic-planning effort for people of African descent in New Orleans. This group also works closely with Community United to Reform Education — see below.

Community United to Reform Education (CURE)
This group works in opposition to high-stakes testing, but also works to develop grassroots involvement in public education. The major initiative over the last two or three years involves deep community involvement in A. P. Tureaud Elementary School, including development of a community learning center that combines arts, education and organizing.

Christian Unity Church
Uses social-justice ministries and African-oriented church arts traditions as community-organizing tools. In addition to typical education work, this congregation has recently embarked on a community-school partnership at Wicker Elementary, a public school located around the corner from the church.

Tambourine and Fan Club
Jerome Smith, grassroots civil-rights veteran activist, has worked for years with this organization that uses social aid and pleasure club, Mardi Gras Indian and "freedom school" traditions as key community-organizing strategies. Activities range from organizing 2nd line parades when community members die and the annual Super Sunday Mardi Gras Indian gathering to operating the Treme Community Center and running a summer recreation/culture/education camp. Treme Center hosts Community Labor United meetings.

Guardians of the Flame and Oretha Castle Haley Elementary
Cherice Harrison-Nelson, a veteran public-school teacher who works closely with both Community Labor United and the weekly adult math literacy workshops that Bob Moses and Staffas Broussard lead for the Douglass Community Coalition, is daughter of long-time Big Chief Donald Harrison and mother of current Big Chief Brian Nelson. Cherice uses Mardi Gras Indian and similar traditions in her teaching and is key person in organizing the Mardi Gras Indian museum at Oretha Castle Haley Elementary School.

People's Institute for Survival and Beyond
A locally based anti-racist, grassroots organizing entity that also works nationally, is an active member of Community Labor United and supports/sponsors numerous cultural events.

Jim Dunn Organizers' Roundtable
A coalition of organizations and organizers that will soon become successor organization to Community Labor United.

Twomey Center at Loyola
Does training and organizing around social-justice and education issues. For the 1/23-25 event will concentrate on telling story of involvement in collaboration with Junebug Productions' Environmental Justice Festival.

Ashe Cultural Center
Does extensive community-organizing work from its cultural-center base. Actively involved in organizing coalitions among arts, education, community and business organizations in the Central City area. Recently finalized planning for Kuumba, a partnership with Woodson Middle School to create a space near the school where community artists can work closely with teachers, students, classes on arts/education projects.

Blackout Arts Collective (BAC)
A nonprofit organization at the forefront of the movement to utilize and advocate self-expression, communication and communal collaboration as a means of empowerment. The mission is to empower communities of color through arts, education and activism. Blackout Arts Collective — New Orleans Chapter was established in August 2002 when the Lyrics on Lockdown (LOL) tour came to various N.O. poetry venues looking for support and recruitment. Several artists/activists joined together and BAC-N.O. was born. Since then, BAC-N.O. has been responsible for going into various communities hosting workshops in schools, prisons, halfway houses, detention centers and youth prisons as well as building coalitions with other organizations such as Black August International South, Critical Resistance, Angola 3, Kuumba Inc., Neighborhood Unity-M.E.R.G.E. and the Jump Out Poets. Blackout New Orleans has participated in New Orleans' Ethiopian Theatre's 30th year Anniversary, the Free the Angola 3 demonstrations on the premises of Angola prison, Ahmad Nelson rallies, Nanon Williams Freedom Rally in Houston, Self- Determination Weekend in honor of Malcolm X, the NAACP Conference in Miami, and the 2003 Black August celebration.

UrbanHeart Community Learning Centers
These centers operate in five public schools, using arts and organizing as key components of after-school work. Each of the five sites is managed by a site team comprising students, parents, staff and neighborhood residents and organizations. These sites send representatives to the citywide UrbanHeart board, which assists with community organizing and ensuring local, grassroots, collective governance.

Douglass Community Coalition
Year-old experiment in building community-school partnership that involves a handful of organizations on this list as well as others. Includes sponsorship of adult math literacy workshop, arts/economic/organizing initiative under New Orleans Institute for Culture and Community Development project, and regular performance series in the school auditorium.

Young People's Project and Students at the Center
Youth education/arts/organizing programs sharing common work. YPP is a youth math literacy teaching arm that is related to the Algebra Project. SAC is a school-based writing program that enrolls students in elective writing classes limited to 15 students who then develop community-based organizing/writing projects.

Planned Parenthood of Louisiana
Based in N. O., this group culminated a week-long organizing drive the week of the Convergence in N.O., including a benefit concert at Cafe Brasil involving numerous local artists, performers. Education work includes traditional Planned Parenthood work as well as a history of women's struggles for reproductive rights in Louisiana. The case study was on Planned Parenthood's effort to organize a strong delegation to participate in the March for Women's Lives (www.marchforchoice.org).in Washington, DC on April 25, 2004. They highlighted their methodology for building a diverse statewide coalition & their new initiative to create feminist community spaces. For example, this fall they trained 20 volunteers to "house call" potential coalition partners using a process inspired by the labor organizing model. This winter they began a collaboration with Girl Gang Productions, an all-female promotions and production crew in New Orleans that promotes live music shows, drag-king shows, dance parties, spoken word and other performances and events by, for and about women, lesbians/queer girls/dykes.

Xavier University CAP Program
Part of the national Community Arts Partnerships initiatives, does community-based art work.

Making Connections New Orleans (MCNO)
A place-based initiative of the Annie E. Casey Foundation. MCNO seeks to improve the quality of life for families with children in the Central City neighborhood of New Orleans by engaging residents, community agencies and external partners in a variety of coordinated strategies that bring affordable housing, family-wealth initiatives, adult learning programs and workplace education to the neighborhood.

Voices From the Neighborhood
An oral-history project that uses the documentary in garnering neighborhood support for the Making Connections initiative and its commitment to listening to and responding to the expertise of Central City residents.

Institute of Women and Ethnic Studies
Does research and organizing around public-health issues focusing on youth and women of color. Projects include Teen Expression Talk Show, OUR VOICE teen newspaper, AHORA project (Latino youth organizing around sexual-health issues), Pillow Talk (discussion groups within mentoring relationship context involving female teens and young adult females) and numerous coalition activities.

Ahmad Nelson Defense Committee
Recently completed successful campaign to throw out murder charges against Ahmad Nelson. Work included grassroots organizing and music production.

Neighborhood Unity/M. E. R. G. E.
Does anti-racist direct action and grassroots organizing. Recent emphasis has been on public education, serving as watchdog on school board and successfully working to close a public school run out of the parish prison.

Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women Drama Club
Founded in 1996 by Kathy Randels of ArtSpot Productions, New Orleans, and 16 inmates from the Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women in St. Gabriel, Louisiana. Current co-directors include Mary Katherine Politz of Baton Rouge, and Ausettua Amor Amenkum of Kumbuka African Dance and Drum Collective, New Orleans. The LCIW Drama Club has presented ten original productions, and several adaptations over its eight-year history. Founding LCIW Drama Club member, Wilhemina Joseph and Elleanor Eveque, who joined the Drama Club in 1997, were both released in the spring of 2003 and currently live in New Orleans. They joined Ausettua and Kathy to discuss the intersection of arts, education and organizing surrounding prison issues both inside and outside the institutional walls.

Original CAN/API publication: February 2004