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GCCLP Director Colette Pichon Battle is quoted in The Guardian's recent article on BP's PR efforts to insist all is well in the Gulf since the "spill" but looking beyond BP's propaganda lies a much different picture that shows oil is still present in water and wildlife is struggling to rebound. “As an attorney making these claims who has been out into the marsh many times, to see them act like this, it feels disingenuous at best.” Read the entire article and let us know what you think.

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Black History+Black Future= Climate Justice

Written by Michelle Pichon

While climate change affects us all, the fight for climate justice acknowledges that is the most vulnerable communities that bear the brunt of the effects as highlighted in the NAACP blog on climate adaptation.  This is true in the US Gulf South – Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida- where communities that have dealt with generations of oppression are on the frontlines of the climate crisis. This region has historically been the sacrifice zone for the US. Time and again we are used and mistreated, putting us directly in the position to bear the weight of the negative effects of climate change.

It’s a common perception that Black southerners don’t care about climate change.  Black people do not do polar bears. Tree-huggers we are not! The planet’s getting hotter? Hell, it’s always hot in the South. What’s the difference?

And while the impacts on polar bears and trees may be warning signs of climate change, climate justice is about the people and cultures that share this earth. Climate justice is about equity in the aftermath of hurricanes, justice for owners of eroding land, access to health care for workers and residents exposed to toxic products and process of the fossil fuel industry.  Climate justice is about protecting the human right to clean water, clean air and healthy food. Climate justice is about protecting the everyday lives of all people. Black people- poor people- people of the Gulf south. Here’s what I mean.  

An elderly Black man lives in Galveston, Texas with a physical disability, no car, and no homeowners insurance (because he can’t afford it since prices skyrocketed after Hurricane Ike hit). It’s hurricane season and there’s a big one heading for the Gulf. Climate change is about the frequency of more extreme storms. Climate justice is about the systems in place to keep you safe and help you recover.

A  Black woman is living in Gulfport, Mississippi where her family has lived for almost 200 years.  It took her family longer than most to amass enough wealth to establish a successful B&B.  Climate change is about the issue of sea-level rise that now threatens this generational investment.  Climate justice is about addressing the historical segregation of Black communities in low-lying areas when you have to be compensated for business or personal loss.

Climate justice is the fight of 5th generation descendants of Africatown, Alabama against the proposed more than 2 million gallons of tar sands oil will pass through your neighborhood by rail, and then unloaded through a controversial process converting tar sand sludge into a  liquefied chemical before traveling by pipeline under the Mobile River  Climate change is about the carbon emissions produced in the extraction and transportation of the Tar sands.

The Black Future of Climate Justice is why the NAACP is participating in the UN climate talks.  Climate Justice is why Dillard University in New Orleans (an HBCU) is involved in addressing demanding equal access to food, saying no to Keystone pipeline. This is why GCCLP’s work starts at the intersection of Climate Justice, Migrant Rights, Land Sovereignty, and Economic Opportunity for communities on the frontlines of climate change.

Injustices that created and maintain frontline communities did not end with the Selma to Montgomery March or when Senator Barack Obama was elected President of the United States. This Black History Month we must choose to learn from  to those who came before us, those who fought for our right to vote, to have quality education, to get equal pay for equal work, to sit wherever the hell we want to on a bus or in a movie theatre.  The struggle for justice continues, my friends. This Black History Month we must be resolute in connecting climate change to our continued struggle for justice.  

Remember the declaration of the great Bob Marley:

“You can fool some people sometimes / But you can't fool all the people all the time / So now we see the light / We gonna stand up for our rights”.

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GCCLP Urges Congressman Steve Scalise to protect immigrant families.

Gulf Coast Center for Law & Policy  620 Oak Harbor Blvd., Ste. 203 Slidell, Louisiana 70458 985.643.6186 office 985.643.6118 fax www.gcclp.org January 13, 2015 The Honorable Representative Steve Scalise United States House of Representatives 2338 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 FAX: [phone] RE: Oppose 5 Amendments to DHS Appropriations Bill (H.R. 240)  Dear Representative Scalise: It is has come to our attention the U.S. House of Representatives will begin floor debate HR 240, including 5 amendments that challenge the progress toward immigration reform and attack immigrant families. This letter is to tell you that as an immigration service provider in Louisiana, we oppose all 5 amendments to the DHS Appropriations Bill.  These amendments are intended to stop DHS from implementing the administrative reforms announced on November 20, 2014 that ameliorate serious, long-standing problems with our nation's immigration system. These systemic failings include an inadequate number of employment and family visas that has resulted in extremely long multi-year waits for visas and long family separations and unfilled job openings. In the absence of reform there is now a large unauthorized population residing in the U.S. that simply cannot be deported en masse and whose presence is both integral and essential to our country. Finally, the poor allocation of finite enforcement resources has resulted in the deportation of hundreds of thousands of low priority individuals who have lived in the United States for years, when there are higher priority individuals that should be targeted, such as those who present serious threats to public safety. The November 20 reforms will help unify and protect families, greatly benefit businesses, and enable millions of unauthorized individuals to come forward, register and obtain a temporary reprieve from deportation. In the absence of an immigration reform bill being passed, these executive branch reforms are urgently needed. Preventing the implementation of these smart reforms, which by GCCLP’s assessment are fully within the legal authority of the executive branch, is counter-productive and will hurt thousands of families, businesses and the entire U.S. economy. We urge you to pass H.R. 240 with no amendments.  • Vote No to the Aderholt Amendment because we believe that ties to the US reflect the unification of families. We believe that ties to the US should be a consideration when enforcing deportation regulations.  • Vote No to the Blackburn Amendment: because this puts immigrants who came here through no fault or action of their own as risk of deportation. In Louisiana, many of these youth- which have never known allegiance to another country, go on to serve our economic, military and social interests.  • Vote No to the DeSantis Amendment: because this prevents ICE from setting enforcement priorities and could result in the deportation of victims of domestic violence or other crimes. In Louisiana, many of these victims are aiding law enforcement to achieve a safer community. • Vote No to the Salmon Amendment because we need deferred action and work authorization for DREAMers. These youth are an essential part of the Louisiana economy and social fabric.  • Vote No to the Schock Amendment because this bill is based on a flawed reality that the immigration system is working. Immigration regulations are in need of any fast tracking that will make the broken immigration system more efficient.  GCCLP also opposes these amendments as improper attempts to legislate policy on an extremely complex and controversial issue in the limited context of an appropriations bill. Passage of a DHS spending bill is vital to ensure the continued operation of not only U.S. immigration programs but also border protection and national security. Playing politics with DHS funding would be unwise and could undermine public safety. It is our hope that the House Majority does the right thing. We urge you to refrain from attaching language to the Homeland Security funding bill that defunds the President’s executive order on immigration. Attempting to defund DHS over the President’s Executive Order will jeopardize our national security, challenge our economic security and deepen social inequity. During today’s floor debate, please consider what is in the best interest of Louisiana and our nation. Americans have been waiting on Congress for years to fix our immigration system, and we have yet to act. Using the Homeland Security funding bill as a way to defund the President’s immigration executive order is a political shot that misses the mark and puts our nation at risk. We stand ready to work with you to fix our broken immigration system through a thoughtful bipartisan process and address one of our nation’s biggest issues.  Sincerely, Colette Pichon Battle,  Executive Director Gulf Coast Center for Law & Policy CC:  The Honorable Cedric Richmond  240 Cannon HOB  Washington, DC.  Fax: [phone]  The Honorable John Fleming 2182 Rayburn HOB Washington, DC 20515 Fax: [phone] The Honorable Charles Boustany, Jr. 1431 Longworth HOB  Washington, DC  Fax: [phone]  The Honorable Ralph Abraham 417 Cannon HOB Washington, DC Fax: [phone] The Honorable Garret Graves 204 Cannon HOB Washington, DC 202. 225.7313

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Hurricane Katrina Remembered

Question: Was this created in honor of Hurricane Katrina?

Answer: Yes, These are all over the coast carved from trees killed in the storm.

Photo taken by Gar Pickering August, 29, 2014 in Bay St. Louis, MS