Recovery and Renewal

Last night in Washington D.C., a BP clean-up worker and the son of a Vietnamese fishing family spoke to thousands of fired-up youth leaders.  Tony Nguyen and Andre Gaines were representing a diverse contingent of over one hundred people who traveled to Power Shift 2011 from across the Gulf Coast.

Just this past week I decided to leave my job as a food server at a casino in Hancock County, Mississippi.  I’ve worked in tourism for 15 years. I just could not continue to serve Gulf seafood to unsuspecting tourists and locals after the BP disaster.  There were other reasons for my leaving as well, but risking people’s health and pretending things are normal is totally against what I believe in. 

By Jacqui Patterson, On The Issues Magazine. The Deepwater Horizon Oil Drilling Disaster of April 20, 2010 (the “BP Oil Spill”) is, as the news sometimes tells us, causing grave damage to the waterways and shores, marshlands and bayous of the Gulf of Mexico. Far more hidden is the devastation wrought on the women in scores of coastal communities.

“My name is Sharon Hanshaw… I’m a native of Biloxi, Mississippi.  I was a cosmetologist for twenty-one years… and Hurricane Katrina hit.  Hurricane Katrina just sped my life into this whirlwind of activism.  I had no choice but to step up, and try to make sure that our voices were heard in the recovery process, now and in the future.”

In the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, communities across the Gulf Coast began to meet, share experiences, and work together across previous geographic and racial divides.  Now facing new and ongoing challenges like the BP oil disaster, hurricane "recovery" efforts, and coastal land loss, these communities continue to rely on and strengthen these relationships.

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