Kevin P. Chavous: College Readiness Is More Than Academics
In 2006, director Spike Lee created an astonishing record of the cataclysmic effects of Hurricane Katrina on the city of New Orleans with his sweeping documentary 'When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts.'
An intimate glimpse of thousands of lives disrupted and destroyed, the documentary earned universal critical acclaim, as well as two Emmys and a Peabody Award for its powerful depiction of a tragic societal and political breakdown.
Five years later, Lee returns to New Orleans, where he finds a patchwork of hope and heartache just as a new disaster unfolds in 'If God Is Willing and Da Creek Don't Rise.'
In early 2010, almost a half-decade after the brutal devastation of the Gulf Coast by Hurricane Katrina, Lee returned to the Crescent City to see how the ambitious plans to reinvent it were playing out.
In all, more than 300 people shared their stories of reconstructing unraveled lives with Lee, including the mayor of New Orleans, Mitch Landrieu, former Governor of Louisiana Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, historian Douglas Brinkley, actors Brad Pitt and Sean Penn, Mayor George Schloegel of Gulfport, and community organizer Tanya Harris.
Long-time New Orleans residents Phyllis Montana LeBlanc, Kimberly Polk, Shelton "Shakespeare" Alexander and others -- whose compelling testimony contributed to the power of 'When The Levees Broke' -- provided updates on their lives. Lee and his crew also went to Houston to speak to some of the approximately 150,000 evacuees who have remained there, unable to return to their shattered lives in the gulf.
HBO will show the film in two parts, starting tonight at 9 p.m.
It will be later broadcast in its entirety on Aug. 29, which will be the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and the breaching of the levees.
Comments: (14)
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By: bastiat on 9/02/2010 4:53PM
No spike lee is trying to shed light on the fact the government sent hurricane katrina!!! its a conspiracy!!
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By: Mother of Men on 8/31/2010 12:20PM
America will stop moving forward when it refuses to recognize its mistakes and flaws. Spike Lee is a powerful voice, whether you agree or disagree you should at least LISTEN...you can't learn ANYTHING when you have shut your mind and your heart to the pain and suffering and anger of others....this has been and I hope will always be a strong yet compassionate country...we'll see...God willin' and the creek don't rise....remember young ones...no matter what the color of your skin, we all bleed red, we all share heaven and hell and none of us get out of the life alive...we're all in the together and sooner or later you'll come to realize it....peace to all seek it...love to all who need it....
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By: Mother of Men on 8/31/2010 3:50PM
"this" life, and in "this" together - guess i should proof before speaking....so to speak....
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By: michael gordon on 9/12/2010 10:22AM
Hello my name is Michael Gordon I was born in Brooklyn NY I am 32 years old. My mom and dad struggled through their lives raising my two brothers and two sisters. Both my sisters suffer from breast cancer my older brother has diabetes and I have high blood pressure with a slight heart problem. Only one brother has good health.
My parents still live in the same apartment I was raised in since my birth. In 1999 I left New York and moved to Maryland where I worked off to books and saved money to create my dream.
In 2006 I started a radio station and media company “Show and Prove Radio and Media” The company did do a great deal of community out reach amongst other things. We found what everyone knew there were very little things to occupy the youth but no one was doing anything about it. If someone stood up and put together programs for young people things would change. Giving young people an alternative to the streets in the only way to keep them away from gangs and gang activity.
Two years after starting “Show and Prove Radio and Media” I lost the company. The home, which I rented, was foreclosed on, and we were put on the street. After remodeling the basement of this house and installing thousands in equipment we lost everything, due to a dead beat landlord.
This has not stopped my passion. I have been living with family going from house to house but I have to rebuild. In the attempt to rebuild I have gone to banks for loans of course without success. The company was not around long enough to establish enough credit for a loan. These are just minor set backs, I will rebuild.
My passion is to help the young people has taken shape in the form of an 800 service. “Before you pick up the gun, call someone!” This teenage out reach service will be built for young men and women on the edge. Giving these young people someone to turn to 24 hours and day seven days a week. The 800 services will be free from every phone including cell phones. We will accept calls and text messages and even chirps for cell phone walkies. After all almost all young people today have a cell phone of some type; this puts our assistance into the palm of their hands.
I would advertise digital resources along with traditional commercials. Using my contacts that I have made in the Hip Hop industry. Hip Hop Crime Stoppers can be a great pilot for young people because urban music reaches and great deal of young people. Music artist and entertainers will give young people a resource that the streets have in the past. This 800 service will act as a surrogate when parents can’t be there.
After the 800 services are established the service will branch off to centers in inner city communities where they are needed most. Giving young people a place to go when there is no place. The centers will become a second home keeping the kids off the streets, running career guidance programs along with college placement assistance. We can give our young people a chance. After all a great author once said “It takes a village to raise a child”. The hip-hop community can be the village so we can raise our young people in a positive way.
Contact Information
Michael Gordon
Gordonbi840@verizon.net
Telephone 609.490.0339
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