The Common Ground Collective is a decentralized network of
non-profit organizations
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
offering support to the residents of
. It was formed in the fall of 2005 in the
Algiers neighborhood of the city in the days after
Hurricane Katrina resulted in widespread flooding, damage and deaths throughout the city.
History
Common Ground Relief, or Common Ground Collective, was founded on September 5, 2005, based on the ideas of
Malik Rahim
Malik Rahim (born Donald Guyton in 1948) is an American housing and prison activist based since the late 1990s in the New Orleans area of Louisiana, where he grew up. In 2005 Rahim gained national publicity as a community organizer in New Orlean ...
, a local community organizer and former member of the Black Panther Party; Scott Crow, an anarchist organizer from Texas; and Sharon Johnson, a resident of Algiers neighborhood. Other key organizers included
Jackie Sumell, Jimmy Dunson, Kerul Dyer, Suncere Shakur, Naomi Archer (Ana Oian Amets), Emily Posner, and Jenka Soderberg.
Common Ground started with delivery of basic aid (food, water, and supplies) that was arriving daily from the
Veterans for Peace
Veterans for Peace is an organization founded in 1985. Initially made up of US military veterans of World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, the War in Afghanistan and the Iraq War, and as well as peacetime veterans and ...
Bus. Led by
Desert storm
The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...
Veteran Dennis Kyne, they carried food and supplies brought in from
Camp Casey, Crawford, Texas.
Plenty International
Plenty International is an environmental, humanitarian aid and human rights organization based in Summertown, Tennessee, United States.
Background
In 1974, Stephen Gaskin and The Farm, an intentional community, started an outreach program call ...
would also play an instrumental role in the beginning of relief efforts and the establishment of a greatly needed medical
clinic
A clinic (or outpatient clinic or ambulatory care clinic) is a health facility that is primarily focused on the care of outpatients. Clinics can be privately operated or publicly managed and funded. They typically cover the primary care needs ...
in Algiers. The effort expanded to providing assistance to homeowners and residents trying to move back into other areas of the city and region—such as the
Lower Ninth Ward
The Lower Ninth Ward is a neighborhood in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. As the name implies, it is part of the 9th Ward of New Orleans. The Lower Ninth Ward is often thought of as the entire area within New Orleans downriver of the Indus ...
,
St. Bernard Parish, and
Houma—where
flood-protection infrastructure had failed after the hurricane.
Common Ground Health Clinic had its beginnings when The
Veterans for Peace
Veterans for Peace is an organization founded in 1985. Initially made up of US military veterans of World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, the War in Afghanistan and the Iraq War, and as well as peacetime veterans and ...
allocated contributions to purchase medical supplies. This money would come from the messages
Michael Moore sent to his followers. The first doctors and nurses providing services came through the VFP volunteer camp set up at PineView Middle School.
Providing outreach many volunteers began riding around on bicycles asking residents if they needed medical attention. Locals were surprised to be approached in this way, since no representatives of government agencies or of the
Red Cross
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and ...
had appeared up to that point. The clinic offered
first aid
First aid is the first and immediate assistance given to any person with either a minor or serious illness or injury, with care provided to preserve life, prevent the condition from worsening, or to promote recovery. It includes initial in ...
, took blood pressure, tested for
diabetes
Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...
, and asked about symptoms of anxiety, depression, and other disease.
Common Ground volunteers helped to provide free services and home gutting in the Upper & Lower Ninth wards. As of March 1, 2009, more than 23,000 people, mostly young white people from throughout the United States and Europe, had volunteered with Common Ground Relief for various lengths of time. They worked in the predominantly black neighborhoods that were severely affected by flooding and damage from the storm, and where many residents were poor.
An
ABC News
ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...
''
Nightline'' report described the volunteers as "mostly young people filled with energy and idealism, and untainted by cynicism and despair, and mostly white,
hohave come from across America and from countries as far away as Indonesia." The health clinic was especially helpful to remaining residents of New Orleans immediately after the hurricane since
Charity Hospital
Charity may refer to:
Giving
* Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons
* Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing
* Ch ...
and other emergency care providers were not available.
Common Ground Relief initiated a number of programs and projects following its inception in September 2005. Its organizing philosophy is dubbed "Solidarity Not Charity," reflecting the
anarchist philosophies of many of its members. Some of the services and facilities they provided free to residents included debris removal, aid distribution centers, roving medical clinics,
bioremediation
Bioremediation broadly refers to any process wherein a biological system (typically bacteria, microalgae, fungi, and plants), living or dead, is employed for removing environmental pollutants from air, water, soil, flue gasses, industrial effluent ...
for toxic areas, house-gutting, roof-tarping, building neighborhood computer centers, free
tech support for
non-profit
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
s, stopping home demolitions in the
Lower 9th Ward
The Lower Ninth Ward is a neighborhood in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. As the name implies, it is part of the 9th Ward of New Orleans. The Lower Ninth Ward is often thought of as the entire area within New Orleans downriver of the Industri ...
, supporting community and backyard gardens,
anti-racist
Anti-racism encompasses a range of ideas and political actions which are meant to counter racial prejudice, systemic racism, and the oppression of specific racial groups. Anti-racism is usually structured around conscious efforts and deliberate ...
training for volunteers, a tree planting service, and legal counselling services. Common Ground volunteers established seven health clinics and nearly 100 community garden projects within a year.
In early 2006, Common Ground Relief volunteers completed an unsanctioned clean-up of
Martin Luther King Charter School in the Lower 9th Ward, which was subsequently reopened.
Common Ground Collective eventually split off into multiple independent organizations—Common Ground Relief, Common Ground Tech Collective, New Orleans Women's Shelter,
R.U.B.A.R.B. Bike Collective, and the
Common Ground Health Clinic. In November 2007 Thomas Pepper was the current operations director of Common Ground Relief.
Woodlands Apartment Complex
In May 2006, Common Ground Relief (CGR) assumed management of the
Woodlands Apartment Complex, a 350-unit complex of buildings. CGR management froze the rents at the Woodlands to pre-Katrina levels, helped create a tenants union, and ran a workers' cooperative with paid skills training. However, after 150 apartments were rehabilitated, owner
Anthony Reginelli reneged on his verbal agreement with CGR and sold the building to
Johnson Properties Group LLC. In November 2006, they took action to evict more than 100 families from the property.
Common Ground Relief lost approximately $750,000 in payroll, landscaping, electrical, plumbing and carpentry expenditures.
FBI infiltration
Brandon Darby, an Austin activist who moved to New Orleans to help after the hurricane and served as
Director of Operations of Common Ground Relief from January to April 2007, admitted in 2008 to serving as an
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...
informant
An informant (also called an informer or, as a slang term, a “snitch”) is a person who provides privileged information about a person or organization to an agency. The term is usually used within the law-enforcement world, where informant ...
in the months before the
2008 Republican National Convention
The 2008 Republican National Convention took place at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota, from September 1, through September 4, 2008. The first day of the Republican Party's convention fell on Labor Day, the last day of the popul ...
. According to ''
Democracy Now!
''Democracy Now!'' is an hour-long American TV, radio, and Internet news program hosted by journalists Amy Goodman (who also acts as the show's executive producer), Juan González, and Nermeen Shaikh. The show, which airs live each weekday at ...
'', "Darby has admitted to wearing recording devices at planning meetings and wearing a transmitter embedded in his belt during the convention. Darby testified on behalf of the prosecution at the trial of
David McKay of
Midland, Texas who was arrested at the RNC on charges of making and possessing
Molotov cocktails
A Molotov cocktail (among several other names – ''see other names'') is a hand thrown incendiary weapon constructed from a frangible container filled with flammable substances equipped with a fuse (typically a glass bottle filled with flammab ...
."
See also
*
List of anarchist communities
This is a list of anarchist communities representing any society or portion thereof founded by anarchists that functions according to anarchist philosophy and principles. Anarchists have created and been involved in a plethora of community expe ...
*
Nothing About Us Without Us
References
Further reading
A Healthy Dose of Anarchy: After Katrina, nontraditional, decentralized relief steps in where big government and big charity failed-
Reason Magazine
''Reason'' is an American libertarian monthly magazine published by the Reason Foundation. The magazine has a circulation of around 50,000 and was named one of the 50 best magazines in 2003 and 2004 by the ''Chicago Tribune''.
History
''Reaso ...
, December 2006
This American Life, "Turncoat" episodeCommunity Organizer Lisa Fithian of the Common Ground Collective on Rag RadioInterviewed by
Thorne Dreyer, March 23, 2010
*
External links
*
Common Ground Health ClinicNew Orleans Women's ShelterRubarb Bike Collective
{{Authority control
Hurricane Katrina recovery in New Orleans
Anarchist collectives
Anarchist organizations in the United States
Medical and health organizations based in Louisiana