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Commentary
	Out of tragedy, a silver lining? (Published September 19, 2005) By BILL MOSLEY

The miseries that befell New Orleans and surrounding communities in the wake of Hurricane Katrina were unprecedented in U.S. history – hundreds of thousands homeless, yet-uncounted numbers of dead, entire neighborhoods swept away in an instant. Many Americans quickly stepped forward to do what they could to help, and the government and residents of the District of Columbia were at the forefront of this wave of compassion. Hundreds of the newly homeless sheltered in the D.C. Armory, and many others found temporary refuge in the homes of D.C. residents. And in performing this mission of mercy, the District may have advanced – however subtly or unconsciously – its quest for full democratic rights.

Indeed, the community of evacuees, as those who fled New Orleans could be called, has much in common with the majority of D.C. residents. One common feature of the two communities is the daily coexistence with real or potential catastrophe: New Orleans has always lived at the edge of natural disaster, while the District of late has come to have reason to fear the manmade kind. But more fundamentally, the victims of the New Orleans flood were predominately poor and African-American, and seldom came within the sights of visitors to the French Quarter, the Garden District and other popular tourist haunts that were largely spared the hurricane's wrath.

The District, like New Orleans, is a majority African-American city. But one might never know it to visit the National Mall and other A-list tourist attractions. (Years ago, a tourist was reported to say that he never knew there were black people in D.C. until he happened to watch the local TV news). D.C., like New Orleans, has its visible city, but also its forgotten city – where, even within sight of the Capitol dome, people struggle to feed their families and keep a roof over their heads.

This connection was no doubt part of the reason D.C. residents reached out so quickly and generously to the victims of New Orleans. And while I don't know whether any D.C. residents provided the evacuees with tutorials about the District's colonial status – there were, after all, higher priorities – we can trust the good feeling will live on after our new friends have returned to their homes, and that they can be counted on to help us when the time comes.

We also should not fail to remind Louisiana's elected leaders of the District's generosity – particularly Sen. Mary Landrieu, ranking Democrat on the D.C. Appropriations subcommittee who, although professing to be a friend of the District, fashions herself the czarina of D.C. schools. Her anti-democratic meddling in local education matters includes grabbing 15 acres of land near Robert F. Kennedy Stadium as a gift for the SEED School, her favorite local charter school, and her slipping into last year's D.C. appropriations bill a measure to force the District to give charter schools first crack at surplus school properties. Perhaps in the coming months the senator will have more pressing matters on her mind. (Sen. Landrieu has taken full advantage of congressional control of the District's budgets and laws – something to keep in mind as the District's budget languishes in Congress with Oct. 1, the beginning of the new fiscal year, right around the corner).

So after the waters recede and the jazz bands return to the banks of both Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi River, let's remind our new friends that we could use a little help, too. We especially should call in our chits with Sen. Landrieu and Louisiana's other elected leaders, reminding them that – in the words of a Sept. 5 editorial in The Common Denominator – "the second-class citizens in the nation's capital deserve first-class respect."

IRAQ PLUS TWO-AND-A-HALF YEARS: Many advocates of full democracy for the District plan to participate in the Sept. 24 actions in opposition to the war in Iraq as a reminder that D.C. residents pay the full price of citizenship, including service in America's wars, but have yet to enjoy the full benefits. Participants will gather at 11 a.m. at the Ellipse; the march steps off at 12:30.

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Mosley is a member of the Stand Up! For Democracy in D.C. Coalition. Contact him at bill@thecommondenominator.com.

Copyright 2005 The Common Denominator