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Food is a Right— No Cuts to Food Stamps!

By Antranette Scott

Once again capitalist figurehead Donald Trump has continued his assault on the working-class. This time he’s focusing his attack on hungry working class families and students who receive reduced/free lunch. The administration is trying to strip more than 3 million workers of food stamps.

The attack will cut $25 billion from SNAP over the next decade by ransacking the Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility. This important provision helps states streamline SNAP eligibility for families that have applied for certain other assistance programs for low-income people. This key categorical eligibility also gives states the flexibility that they need to smooth benefit cliffs in SNAP that prevent low income families from facing sudden loss of benefits whenever a wage goes up slightly.

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities gives a concrete example of how the loss of this eligibility is bad for workers. They give the example of a woman earning $12.50 an hour and raising two kids. This puts the family at 125 percent of the federal poverty level, and they receive approximately $161 per month in SNAP. Thanks to the categorical eligibility, if that worker gets a 50 cent raise per hour (an additional $86 per month in earnings), the family’s monthly food assistance benefit will go down by $31, leaving them with a net gain of $55. Under Trump’s heartless rule, that same worker would lose all their SNAP benefits overnight! For making 50 cents more per hour the worker would be losing $75.00 a month.

This sudden loss of benefits also would have devastating effects at school cafeterias across the country. When a family loses SNAP benefits through the gutting of categorical eligibility at home, that immediately makes school children ineligible for a reduced/free lunch. For some students this is the only time in the day that they have access to a nutritional meal.

Here at the Workers Voice we know that the best way to trim the budget is to stop feeding the Pentagon our hard-earned tax dollars. With nearly 1 trillion dollars of OUR tax dollars being allotted to imperialist wars and the highest polluters on our planet, we see where the Trump administration’s priorities lie: in fattening the wallets of war profiteers! Trump and his goons do not care about working people.

We need our tax dollars spent on quality education, access to adequate healthcare, and job development. This resolution to undermine and defund SNAP is not going to benefit the working class. We need to organize to get our needs met. We need to agitate and say NO to defunding SNAP! No to Imperialist Wars! No to politicians that don’t care about workers!!! Only by ending the rule of the capitalist class can the workers see the wealth that our labor generates go to uplifting us ALL!

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Struggle for Fully Funded Relocation Heats Up

By Antranette Scott

On a Thursday morning, Shannon R, Lydwina, Marilyn A., and Jesse P., residents of Gordon Plaza, walked out the doors of City Hall to a press conference. The Residents of Gordon Plaza just finished meeting Mayor Cantrell to discuss the next steps towards a Fully Funded Relocation for the Upper Ninth Ward community. Since the Residents discovered that the homes sold to them through a program targeting Black residents of the Desire Project were on toxic soil, they have been fighting for relocation.

Four weeks before the press conference, the Residents of Gordon Plaza, along with the New Orleans People’s Assembly, engaged in a weekend of outreach during Essence Fest, a yearly cultural festival sponsored by Essence magazine that brings in 500,000 people to New Orleans and generates between $10-11 million annually. July’s issue of Essence magazine ran a story about the fight for relocation. After 1 year and 3 months of attempts to get a meeting with the mayor, the Residents took their story to the streets, the meeting rooms, and the stages of Essence Fest.

Throughout the weekend’s events, organizers handed Mayor Cantrell copies of a letter signed by over 40 community organizations who support fully funded relocation for the Residents of Gordon Plaza. After constant pressure from the People, Mayor Cantrell posted a message on all of her social media platforms saying, “my administration is actively working on a solution.”

After this statement, there were 4 weeks of silence. The day before the press conference, the Mayor’s office scheduled a meeting for an hour before the planned event.

At the press conference the Residents restated that any resolution must include: (1) a fully funded relocation; (2) a timeline for when the relocation will happen; and (3) the inclusion of the Residents in planning the relocation process. The Residents reported that Mayor Cantrell promised some movement on the issue in September. They will not, however, be tempered by words; only concrete action will do. The Residents of Gordon Plaza and the community will keep up the fight.

You can hear more about the residents and the fight for relocation on September 5th at The American Dream Denied: Gordon Plaza Seeks Relocation, an exhibit at Newcomb Art Museum on Tulane University’s main campus. The exhibit will have an opening from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. that includes a reception and informational panel. This event is free to the public. The exhibit will be on display through December 14th and is free and open to the public.

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Gordon Plaza Healing Circle

By Antranette Scott

On September 9th, The Peoples’ Assembly, The Congo Square Preservation Society, and Wendi Moore-O’Neal of Jaliyah Consulting came together to have a Healing Circle for the Ancestors and living members of the Gordon Plaza Community in the historic Congo Square. The Healing Circle centered on honoring the residents of Gordon Plaza who have lost their lives during the struggle demanding fully funded relocation and lifting up the residents who continue in the struggle.

Rev. Denise Graves opened the Healing Circle with the pouring of Libations and grounding the space by acknowledging the past and calling forth the power of possibility of the future. We spoke the names of the residents who have died from a variety of illnesses, honoring their lives. Up next Angela Kinlaw conveyed the story of the residents of Gordon Plaza and shared that community healing and community struggle go hand in hand.

While we must focus on the personal work of healing trauma inflicted upon us, gaining and using tools that help us relate to each other in healthy ways, and combat the effects of white supremacy on ourselves; we must also not lose sight of the battle we wage collectively against the systems and symbols that uphold white supremacy, environmental racism, and economic injustice that. We must work on inner change and collective liberation at the same time. Both are necessary components for true transformative change of the world we live in.

Then Mama Aya Fiyah Mganga and Brotha Shack from True Love Movement lead a guided meditation for the visualization of life after the battle is won. Taking us to the moment when the Residents are living in their new homes after Relocation. Mama Fiyah implored us to engulf all of our senses in that reality, to manifest that future and hold it closely while the residents engage in the struggle for their lives. Brotha Shack also offered the residents access to mental, physical, and emotional health services through True Love Moment’s network of Black health professionals.

Mr. Jesse, a Gordon Plaza resident, gave a testimony on how he has been able to stay in this struggle for over 20 years, and why engaging in activist work is important for not only yourself, but your children and the community at large. Mr. Jesse also talked about taking dedicated time for yourself when you are tired and weary when it is necessary, but jumping back into the fight when you are able again. Wendi Moore O’Neal lead us all in song, calling us to fight for freedom with every breathe in our body. Closing out the Circle, Baba Luther of the Congo Square Preservation Society, called the drummers to play as folks were invited to learn an African dance of healing. Drumming and dancing continued until dusk.

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Take ‘Em Down Takes the Streets

By Antranette Scott

On the 4th Thursday of every month Take Em Down Nola, takes to the street to continue the struggle to bring down ALL monuments and symbols of white supremacy from the landscape of New Orleans. In this current phase of the work, TEDN is focusing on 5 monuments in and around the French Quarter.

On August 23, the protest began with a rally at Lafayette Square where there are two especially egregious shrines to racism, Henry Clay and John McDonough. The community gathered and were educated by speeches from organizers. Lea Thompson from Mississippi Rising gave a passionate talk about the work that is happening in Ocean Springs, Mississippi against the racist flag of the state of Mississippi. Lea spoke on the commitment of the organizers, particularly the youth of the city to making sure the flag, embedded with the Confederate emblem, is not risen in public space.

The crowd then got into formation, and took to the streets. Chants of “White Supremacy Got To Go!” rang through the French Quarter. Protesters were joined by passersby, and raised fists of solidarity came from many hospitality workers in various shops and restaurants. The next stop was in front of the Louisiana Supreme Court building where stands a monument to E.D. White, known member of the white supremacist Crescent City White League and Supreme Court justice of the racist “Separate but Equal” Plessy v. Ferguson verdict that sanctioned segregation and ushered in Jim Crow area violence for decades to come. Spoken word artist, Chuck Perkins gave a moving piece following an informative speech. Next up was Jackson Square where those dedicated to the end of white supremacy gathered to listen to Sonny Patterson speak truth to power at sunset after an indigenous activist spoke on the multitude of atrocities that slave owner and architect of the Trail of Tears Andrew Jackson committed against the Indigenous Peoples of this land.

The final stop was on Decatur St where a statue glorifies colonization and mass death at the hands of Jean Baptists Le Moyne de Bienville. After a closing affirmation, protesters marched down Canal St loudly and proudly declaring that the fight against white supremacy is not over. The citizens of New Orleans will not be satisfied with a job partially done. Next month join Take Em Down NOLA in demanding that Mayor Cantrell FINISH THE JOB!!! REMOVE ALL MONUMENTS TO WHITE SUPREMACY FROM THE LANDSCAPE OF NEW ORLEANS!!!!

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Community Solidarity Makes the Difference Rodneka Shelbia – Stood Up to Police Abuse

By Antranette Scott

I first met Rodneka Shelbia over a year ago at the Peoples’ Assembly Community Sing as she shared her song ‘Thankful’ with the group. As her voice rose, her hands clapped, and she expressed that every moment is something to be grateful for, I found myself nodding in agreement. Then she shared her story with us.

For coming to the aid of a young woman and infant who were being abused by an NOPD officer in the name of an unwarranted arrest, Rodneka was falsely accused of battery on a cop and resisting arrest. In her pleas with the cop to “be human”, Rodneka stood firm in her unwillingness to be desensitized to police brutality and injustice. Rodneka knew that she needed support and solidarity but was unsure of where to turn to for it. After the Sing, I introduced myself to Rodneka and invited her to the People’s Assembly weekly organizing meeting. I knew that the Peoples’ Assembly could offer on the ground support, magnify her story to our working-class community, and most importantly, provide comradeship and solidarity. When Rodneka joined the PA, the motion to stand with Rodneka’s fight for justice was overwhelming. With many other justice organizers, we created social media outreach for her upcoming court dates, formed community coalitions to get folks to fill the court room, and a variety of other tasks to get Rodneka’s story out to the working-class community.

We stood with Rodneka through a yearlong struggle of 12 court date postponements, subpoenas being served back and forth, change of legal representation, and a myriad of other obstacles. Rodneka was just as much a pillar of strength for the PA as we were for her. It was a symbiotic relationship that affirmed that only through collective strength is our liberation guaranteed. A few weeks ago, Rodneka closed that chapter of her life a free woman who has now welcomed her warrior daughter Iamme into this world, and I gained a beloved comrade and sister heart friend.

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Dr. Barnwell Brings Fellowship and Harmony to New Orleans with Community Sing

By Antranette Scott, Peoples’ Assembly Organizer

On April 7, the Community Sing, headed by Wendi Moore-O’Neal, hosted a weekend of events that featured Dr. Ysaye Maria Barnwell. The weekend started with a welcoming dinner for Dr. Barnwell. Wendi and The Heart Team broke bread and fellowshipped with Dr. Barnwell; sharing the work that various members of the Heart Team and each individual’s passion for our collective liberation from white supremacy and freedom for all people in the city of New Orleans and around the globe.

The Community Sings acts as a bridge between the front lines of struggle and a way to recharge and energize ourselves for the work ahead. By focusing on songs of struggle, liberation, and freedom, we connect the past with our present day fight. These songs give us a type of technology that can be used to flex our collaborative muscles, practice intentional vulnerability, and realize that there is no safe space, only spaces that we step into courageously.

On Saturday, at the White Buffalo Community Center (CORE USA), Wendi and Dr. Barnwell lead a workshop centered on Singing in the African American Tradition and Organic Harmonizing. Voices were lifted and attendees were given a sweet sample of the power of communal sound. Black Swan Food Experience prepared a lunch that fed everyone body and soul. After lunch attendees worked with a song written by local freedom fighter and songwriter Rodneka Shelbia “I Am the Prize”. By utilizing her phenomenal understanding of sound, Dr. Barnwell transformed the community singers in ways they had never imagined and brought out the power of Rodneka’s song in new ways.
Later that evening Dr. Barnwell closed out Tulane’s “What is the Sound of Freedom?” concert. Dr. Barnwell was joined by Dr. Courtney Bryan, Dr. Tyshawn Sorey, as well as William and Patricia Parker.

The highlight of her visit, was when Dr. Barnwell led a Community Sing held at Southern University’s Dr. Millie Charles Building of Social Work. Over 200 folks were in attendance to learn of Spirituals as Storytellers. Dr. Barnwell harvested the power of our vocal community and truly transformed the space. The Peoples’ Assembly presented a call to action for equity and equality of the working class people of New Orleans by recognizing we have to wage relentless struggle against symbols and systems of oppression.

We are forever grateful to Dr. Barnwell for answering the call and sharing her knowledge with the Community Sing. Also thank you to Wendi Moore-O’Neal, Jaliyah Consulting and The Heart Team.