We are still in the middle of a public health pandemic, one which continues to highlight how Black and Brown communities remain vulnerable to natural disasters in this country at alarmingly higher rates than those of our white neighbors. Just as the COVID-19 mortality rates remain twice as high for Black people as for white people, August 29th marks seventeen years since Hurricane Katrina: a natural disaster which ravaged the Black communities in New Orleans.

As part of the continuum of Black struggle for justice in this country, Hurricane Katrina was the first major event of the 21st century that laid bare our struggle, which began more than 400 years ago when the first enslaved Africans were brought to our country.

In recognition of the 17th anniversary of Katrina, Hip Hop Caucus is releasing a list of demands for justice. Sign on today!

To achieve justice for Black America we MUST:

• Urge the state of Louisiana to make August 29th a holiday commemorating the lives lost in Katrina
• Demand racial, economic, and climate justice through investment in our communities and divestment from the systems and institutions that harm our communities
  • Divesting from fossil fuels and investing in a just transition for climate solutions. Otherwise we will only see more disasters such as Katrina in the gulf coast, throughout our country, and around the world.
  • Defunding police, investing in community programs of social uplift
  • Investing in education, health, housing, and Black businesses