NY2NO

This morning we were tasked with tackling a difficult question: What are we going to do?

Turner gave us an assignment:

Imagine you are a community organizer and you have arrived in the Lower Ninth Ward after Hurricane Katrina.

   a. How will you engage with the community?

   b.Will you be a non-profit or a for-profit?

   c. What will your goals be?

   d.Who will you partner with?

   e. Develop a first year plan

Needless to say, at first it seemed to be a daunting task. Where do we even begin? The infrastructure that led to the devastation that we are addressing today stems from such deeply embedded historical roots. What could a group college kids possibly do now to undo the damage? How could we revitalize what had once been a thriving community?

It began with a lot of questions. Once we began talking, however, the tools that we have gained from Our School in the short time we've been here kicked in. Ideas were flowing, and every member contributed such an enormity of potential resources and solutions. The hour and a half that we had to formalize our ideas flew by in the healthy dialogue. I was amazed at the creativity and inspiration that our group provided, because everyone drew upon their past experiences and their own unique perspectives to create a model that would nurture and restore this broken community. For that hour and a half, I truly felt that our group of eight individuals might have just created a viable solution for empowering the remaining community of the Lower Ninth Ward.

We finalized our ideas and were ready to present them to representatives from the National Youth Leadership Council. Nat Turner began with story of The Lorax. This Dr. Seuss book, one of my childhood favorites, had never seemed more relevant. It's a story about the destruction of a forest of Truffula trees by a careless Once-ler looking to make a profit, ultimately displacing the native Bar-bo-loots and Swomee-swans. It was said that this community could not be restored because of the environmentally devastating consequences of the Thneed factory, and its endless BIGGERING and BIGGERING. The Lorax, the speaker of the trees, leaves the Once-ler a cryptic message:

UNLESS.

Unless someone like you

cares a whole awful lot

nothing is going to get better.

It's not.

We care. A whole awful lot. And it showed in our presentations. The three groups had unique approaches in addressing the needs of this community. One thing the models all shared was a respect for the people who live here, and the need for their input in every step of the way. When I was listening to people discuss their creations, I was shocked at how so many of us have developed the basic tools of community organizing in the five days that we've lived here.

After that we composted, we sifted soil, we learned. The people of these three separate colleges have become a family, a big boisterous monster that gets things done and talks about what else could be done and is ready to do more. We all have a deep respect for the staff here and their knowledge. I discovered a question that I love and that I feel reveals a lot about a person: If you had a garden all to yourself, what would you plant? Hopefully we'll all be able to make these dream gardens a reality someday.

Debrief tonight was deeply personal. The simple question of "How are you feeling?" made us all reflect on how we've developed in the past five days. We talked about ourselves and each other and how our assignments from this morning should be a reality. The amount of love that I feel for this inspiring group of young people is enormous. We are all hopeless confronted by the fact that we only have three days left in this place.

Three days of organizing/thinking/learning/composting/sifting/absorbing/raising hell ahead.

Let's make them great.