Walk supports hurricane survivors

Harlem’s 125th Street was the site of a “Post-Katrina/Rita Awareness Walk” on May 29. The purpose of the walk, attended by more than 60 people, was to protest that the issues arising after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 have not been resolved. Those issues include that more than a million people from the Gulf area — many of them Black — still remain displaced, the census will undercount the population, and the BP oil spill threatens the region. The walk also expressed support for immigrants who are being hounded and displaced.

High school students Rayelle Parker, a Katrina survivor now living in New York City, and Dalia Griñan coordinated the event, with the assistance of long-time community/political organizer Johnnie Stevens. Before the walk stepped off, a program at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church featured speakers from supporting organizations. These included the Association of Black Social Workers, Nation of Islam, Picture the Homeless, Bail Out the People Movement, Coalition to Save Harlem, Vietnam Agent Orange Relief and Responsibility Campaign, Honduran Resistance, May 1 Coalition for Worker and Immigrant Rights, and others. The ballet class of Public School 126X delighted the audience with a dance performance.

The N.Y. Solidarity Coalition with Katrina and Rita Survivors announced a local fifth anniversary event on Aug. 29. For more information, go to postkatrinaritaawareness.webs.com.