By Lori Adelman • @ladelman • 13 years ago

Justice for Hurricane Katrina Victims

Not that you’d know it from the recent news cycle, but Hurricane Katrina affected more than just George Bush and Kanye West.

While the Hurricane may have provided an opportunity for these two wealthy men to discuss who does or does not care about black people, or what their political and social legacies will be, it served quite a different function for a few other folks: thousands of people lost their homes, their belongings, their families, and sometimes their lives as a result of the disaster.

The victims of Hurricane Katrina deserve justice, and this week brought them one step closer. As reported by The Root and the Chicago Tribune, Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan announced this week that they will be giving $132 million in federal funds to help poor residents whose homes remain damaged as a result of the catastrophic event.

According to the Mississippi Development Authority, the money for the initiative will come from “reshuffling” funds for other projects planned with federal recovery dollars, and will be used to help folks rebuild damaged homes or find new places to live.

This is an important step, especially given the staggering amount of rebuilding that is still required in the region: The Mississippi Center for Justice estimates that there are still at least 5,000 storm-battered homes statewide, with many more in neighboring state Louisiana.

For more details on some of the politics behind this decision and others affecting Katrina victims, visit the Root.

Brooklyn, NY

Lori Adelman started blogging with Feministing in 2008, and now runs partnerships and strategy as a co-Executive Director. She is also the Director of Youth Engagement at Women Deliver, where she promotes meaningful youth engagement in international development efforts, including through running the award-winning Women Deliver Young Leaders Program. Lori was formerly the Director of Global Communications at Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and has also worked at the United Nations Foundation on the Secretary-General's flagship Every Woman Every Child initiative, and at the International Women’s Health Coalition and Human Rights Watch. As a leading voice on women’s rights issues, Lori frequently consults, speaks and publishes on feminism, activism and movement-building. A graduate of Harvard University, Lori has been named to The Root 100 list of the most influential African Americans in the United States, and to Forbes Magazine‘s list of the “30 Under 30” successful mediamakers. She lives in Brooklyn, NY.

Lori Adelman is an Executive Director of Feministing in charge of Partnerships.

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