NOW to Join March Over New Orleans Bridge

March 21, 2006

NOW Officers Kim Gandy and Latifa Lyles at a rally for Katrina Survivors across from the White House

On April 1, NOW leaders and activists will join Rev. Jesse Jackson and others concerned about post-Katrina policies in a march and rally in New Orleans. A rally will be held at the New Orleans convention center where thousands of evacuees took shelter, followed by a march across the Crescent City Connection. It was this bridge where a group of predominantly African American survivors was met with gunfire and blocked from crossing the bridge to higher ground.

"We will demand voting rights and the right to return for all the residents of New Orleans. We will not allow basic voting rights to be trampled by those happy to build a New Orleans stripped of its racial majority," said Rev. Jackson.

"Women were among those hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina," said Latifa Lyles, NOW Membership Vice President. "Just as officials failed to provide adequate relief in the immediate wake of the hurricane, the government is still failing the women, children and families by not providing adequate resources for relocation, rebuilding and returning families."

NOW President Kim Gandy and Rev. Jesse Jackson at a press conference, March 14.

On March 14, NOW President Kim Gandy was among the speakers at a press conference protesting the evictions of survivors from hotels where they have been staying, demanding protection of voting rights for displaced New Orleans residents, and urging passage of the Katrina Bill for comprehensive hurricane relief. Last November, Kim Gandy and others marched across the same bridge where they will march again this April.

We'd love to have you join us on April 1 in New Orleans. Please let us know if you can make it!

See also:

• Take Action: Urge Your Representative to Cosponsor Katrina Bill
• NOW Joins Call to Demand Action for Hurricane Katrina Survivors