I am first grateful for the opportunity David’s house has provided us to take a trip to New Orleans, a trip that will most definitely travel with us for the rest of our life. I am appreciative of the opportunity with the pro bono project. It allowed us client interaction that will grant us a level of understanding that could not have been obtained except in New Orleans. Those who worked in succession worked in a beautiful firm and in conditions I am most definitely not used to. My time spent here has also raised the issue of the need to modernize the civil rights movement, to no longer define the movement on racial lines rather on the lines opportunity.

The powers to be, those in political office, ceo’s, ect. enjoy watching those who have less of an opportunity fight each other over the bread crumbs that fall from their table. They enjoy watching use divide upon racial and ethnic lines rather than address issues as a whole, such as the fact that both the inner cities and rural areas have inappropriate education institutions. It is by no mistake that only two senators have children in the armed forces. It is by no mistake that upwards of 70% those who have perished in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are the rural poor. The recruiters only concentrate on the inner city, or rural schools, leaving those without resources to take the so called opportunity to be the best that they can be and end up dieing in their attempting to attain the so called American dream. If we build a coalition across racial lines, affording the opportunity for a bigger voice, maybe power in numbers would have a positive affect. To be honest, why not try-nothing to lose.

Continue to divide upon racial lines- nothing will be addressed. So as we leave New Orleans lets rid our desire to build groups on the basis of color and build a coalition that includes every race/ethnicity that have little opportunity. As those who worked in the construction department today will vouch, the community that was devastated was predominantly Caucasian and Hispanic. Those affected by the devastation in the lower 9th were predominantly of the African American community. Neither are restored. Neither community has acceptable standards of living, all while the war in Iraq bills out 400 billion dollars (which by the way we are borrow from China, the country America was attempted to craft as the “evil other” before “terrorist”) All were affected. The devastation, and lack of proper recovery efforts, has affected all, not just A, B, or C.

While race is a significant factor in the states, it is long overdue to modernize the civil rights movement (remember folks civil rights is nothing more than civilian rights, our rights) and build coalitions across racial communities and address the issue as a class. While those with economic resources were affected by the storm; as we saw first hand with their boats sitting in the middle of the park-they have already been paid by their insurance companies. But clients without the financial resources are still fighting for their insurance check. If we continue to divide upon racial/ethnic lines we will once again come to New Orleans and see the destruction this time not 18 months after the storm but 36 months, then 54 months. I would like to see those without opportunity no matter what race stop fighting eachother over the crumbs from the tables of the Clintons, or the Bush’s. I thought we left the peasant villages outside the castle back in the 16th century.