This week, we’ve heard a lot of mocking of community organizers. Former New York Gov. George Pataki even took time to ask, “What in God’s name is a community organizer?”

Well, governor, I’ll tell you.

Community organizers are the ones who fill in the cracks left behind by government and the private sector. They are the ones who helped regular people change their block, their neighborhood, their city, even their country. They are the ones who are there to stop absent landlords, rally for new parks or hold crooked politicians accountable. They are the ones who are needed most by those most in need.

Without community organizers, we wouldn’t have had the civil rights movement. Without community organizers, we wouldn’t have even the most basic labor protections. Without community organizers, parents wouldn’t have the power to make sure their kids’ school was up to snuff.

There are many kinds of experience we need in our political leaders. To dismiss the hard, vital work of community organizers is an insult to everyone who has ever carried a picket sign, spoken out for justice or rallied for a better, more just world.

This post was written by Chione Flegal, a PolicyLink Senior Associate working to ensure public investments promote social, economic, and environmental equality.

We hear about climate change all the time now. The Olympics have gone green. Car commercials tout their MPG rating the way they used to tout heated seats. And even a Texas oilman is going on TV to promote clean energy.

But don’t be fooled. Just because “being green” has entered the mainstream doesn’t mean that climate change affects us all equally — or that the costs and benefits of addressing climate change will be shared fairly. In fact, while we all lose if climate change advances unabated, some of us risk losing a whole lot more. Similarly, how we address climate change has the potential to create clear winners and losers.

A recent report published by the Environmental Justice and Climate Change Initiative (EJCC) notes that African Americans have 19 percent lower carbon emissions per capita than Anglos. This is striking considering that African Americans already spend an estimated 25% greater share of their income on energy than the national average. Unfortunately, while African Americans may contribute less to climate change, African Americans, and other people of color and low-income people will bear the lion’s share of the costs associated with a warming planet. Increased exposure to toxic air pollutants, economic hardships related to rising fuel costs, and heat-related deaths are just the beginning of the many climate hardships that these communities will face.

In fact, these communities are ALREADY experiencing many of these problems. One study found that 80 percent of Latinos and 65 percent of African Americans live in areas that fail to meet federal EPA air quality standards, as compared to 57 percent of whites. Not surprisingly this has huge health impacts. According to researchers, Latinos, African Americans and Asians in California’s South Coast Air District, have a lifetime cancer risk from exposure to  ambient air toxics, that is nearly 50 percent higher than the cancer risk for Anglos.

The solutions we use to address climate change will profoundly impact people of color and low-income communities. In fact, in many ways, these communities will serve as a measure of how effective our solutions really are. As we continue to debate the question of how to address climate change, we must reframe our thinking. Fundamentally, climate change is not simply another environmental problem. Climate change is an equity problem. Only by viewing it in these terms can we develop climate policy that serves us all.

For more information on climate change as an equity issue, please see the new PolicyLink report, “Understanding Climate Change: An Equitable Framework”

A recap of the week’s equity news

“Obama Promotes Plan For Urban Development,” - The Wall Street Journal

Barack Obama’s campaign plans to relaunch his “urban agenda” Monday in what people close to the strategy say is an effort to assure urban leaders and voters of the Democratic nominee’s commitment to cities and minorities without alienating skeptical white voters.

The plan features an increase in the minimum hourly wage, a new White House office focused on metropolitan areas and $60 billion to establish a national bank to finance public-works projects.

“Nation’s Poverty Rate Holds Steady as More Get Health Insurance,” - Washington Post

The nation’s poverty rate held steady as median household income edged upward and the number of Americans without health insurance decreased by more than 1 million people last year, according to annual census data released today.

The Census Bureau report says that 37.3 million people — or 12.5 percent of the population — fell below the official federal poverty threshold in 2007, which is not statistically different than the 12.3 percent who were in poverty in 2006.

“Cities Debate Privatizing Public Infrastructure,” - New York Times

Cleaning up road kill and maintaining runways may not sound like cutting-edge investments. But banks and funds with big money seem to think so.

Reeling from more exotic investments that imploded during the credit crisis, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, the Carlyle Group, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse are among the investors who have amassed an estimated $250 billion war chest — much of it raised in the last two years — to finance a tidal wave of infrastructure projects in the United States and overseas.

This post is written by Sarah Treuhaft,  a PolicyLink Senior Associate.

Who has a stake in the city? Who participates in making decisions, and who benefits from them? Who are cities for?

A new wave of community organizing is embracing a Right to the City frame, asserting that residents of low-income and working class neighborhoods who contribute to the development of their cities have a right to live and thrive in those cities, and participate politically.

Over 40 community-based groups in seven states have come together in the Right to the City Alliance (RTTC) to advance a framework for action around an expanded notion of human rights and citizenship, urban justice, and participatory democracy. The Alliance is aligning dispersed local efforts, integrating the experience and expertise that comes from on-the-ground organizing and elevating it to a national level. The members and supports of the Alliance see the Right to the City frame as one that can unite people across cities, across race and class, and across issue areas.

Gihan Perera, co-founder of RTTC and executive director of the Miami Workers Center, describes the Right to the City frame as “trying to urbanize and make very practical the human rights frame. It’s taking this general declaration of human rights and making it real to people who live in cities.”

The alliance emerged in January 2007, when a group of organizations working in historic urban communities came together to discuss the challenges of gentrification and displacement they were facing and craft an agenda for change. The idea was to find a unifying framework-a common understanding of the conditions that were shaping their communities, a common vision and principles, and a set of common demands for change. Since then, the alliance has grown tremendously, with potential new members approaching them on a regular basis. Eighteen resource and research allies are allied with the movement. Working groups have emerged around civic engagement, public housing, tenants rights, and New Orleans.

RTTC sees New Orleans is the front lines of the struggle for the right to the city, and against displacement and gentrification. Today, on the third anniversary of Katrina, RTTC is organizing a national mobilization to express solidarity with New Orleanians, demand that displaced residents have a right to return, assert the right of all urban dwellers to stay in their cities. The day of action includes a march in New Orleans, and actions in Los Angeles, New York City, Oakland, Providence, San Francisco, Washington, D.C. and Miami.

Please watch this great conversation between Perera and donor-activist Connie Cagampang Heller that captures the essence of the alliance — and illustrates why the “right to the city” is a critical framing to advance urban justice in today’s global economy.

With today’s announcement that John McCain has chosen Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate, it is virtually assured that America will swear in its first African-American president or first female vice-president in January. The march of history continues….

This post was written by Milly Hawk Daniel, the PolicyLink VP of Communications. She just returned from Denver.

No, infrastructure is not sexy. But somehow, some way, the nation seems to be all abuzz about it.

And in Denver this week, alongside the Democratic National Convention, the Rockefeller Foundation brought together some of the top policy orgs, elected officials, labor reps and private sector leaders — including PolicyLink CEO Angela Glover Blackwell — to talk about how we reinvent our crumbling infrastructure to face 21st Century challenges.

Infrastructure is the backbone of our country — the bridges, tunnels, sewage systems, water supplies and transportation networks that move people and goods.  Our infrastructure is in serious danger of collapse as 100-year old structures and networks go un-repaired and the nation’s growing populations create the demand for new and sustainable ways to meet the needs of all communities. How can the United States be a truly competitive nation in the 21st century when its backbone is weakening and in danger of collapse?

Some municipalities are looking to public-private partnerships for solutions.  Leasing (or even outright selling) highways and toll bridges or farming out the management of public transportation systems can seem like a way to shore up collapsing infrastructure. But without clear protocols to ensure transparency and fairness about how such agreements are reached and maintained, the people in our cities and states will pay the price.  And all too often, the heaviest penalties will fall on those most vulnerable–people in low-income communities and people of color who are denied a voice in answering the classic infrastructure questions:  who benefits, who pays, who decides?

As Angela said - and her fellow panelists agreed - infrastructure is all about people. Addressing the nation’s infrastructure needs could be a way out of our economic woes.  Facing up to our infrastructure challenges could lead to new jobs and a new standing in the global economy.  And as jobs become available, poverty decreases and more families reach the middle class and live the American dream.

You can click here to listen to the full 76-minute panel discussion, featuring Gov. Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania, Mayor Shirley Franklin of Atlanta, former Rep. Dick Gephardt, among others. And visit the PolicyLink Center for Infrastructure Equity for some more idea on how to make infrastructure investments work for all communities.

Note: The photo above is of the I-35W Bridge in Minneapolis, which collapsed just over a year ago on Aug. 1, 2007. For more information on the disaster and links to organizations that are helping victims and their families, please visit Minnesotahelps.org. 

Trouble the Water tells the story of a young New Orleans’ couple—trapped by the deadly floodwaters of Hurricane Katrina—who courageously survive the storm and its calamitous aftermath. It chronicles their flight from home and their quest to rebuild their lives and Lower Ninth Ward community.

This powerful story vividly illustrates community fortitude in the face of adversity.

Foremost, it is a tool for discussion and action around the ongoing rebuilding of one of our nation’s most valuable treasures.

You can play an important role in the rebuilding effort.

There are a number of action steps to get the word out about the film and the issues it raises. Download the “Take Action” brochure for details. 

Also check out the Trouble the Water site for more info on what you can do to make sure New Orleans and the Gulf Coast is not forgotten on the domestic policy agenda.

In the meantime, if you’ve seen the film, tell us what you think.

Don’t forget to read the policy recommendations in the report, A Long Way Home. Let us know if you’d like to join the thousands of folks who’re working to help New Orleans and other Louisianans make it home.

A recap of the week’s equity news

 ”Report: Road Home falls short,” - The Times-Picayune

Most storm-beleaguered Louisiana homeowners did not receive enough Road Home money to completely rebuild their homes, and limited recovery dollars will only help replace a portion of the state’s damaged rental units, according to a report to be released today.

The group PolicyLink produced the report, called “A Long Way Home: The State of Housing Recovery in Louisiana 2008,” after analyzing three major federally funded housing-recovery programs: the Road Home and the state’s small and large rental-repair programs. Researchers concluded that “enormous obstacles” blocked the recovery for homeowners, most of whom faced shortfalls to rebuild, and renters, who cannot find moderately priced places to rent.

“More families requesting free or reduced lunch,” - USA TODAY

The troubled economy may be prompting more families to turn to federal school nutrition programs that aid poor children, a survey suggests.

For the first time since 2004, a majority of cafeteria operators say the number of children getting free or reduced-price lunches has risen.

“Can NY infrastructure handle floods, intense heat?,”  - Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Flooded subways. Bridges deteriorating in the hot sun. Rising seas nipping at the edges of Manhattan. Those scenarios are up for review by a panel of scientists, government officials and private sector representatives studying how the city’s infrastructure will hold up to climate change.

The Climate Change Adaptation Task Force met Tuesday for the first time as part of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s plan to address global warming in New York City, which already includes orders to switch the city’s taxi fleet to hybrids by 2012 and to retrofit city buildings to meet greener standards.

Can you believe it’s been almost three years? Three years since the levee breaks? Three years since the Superdome? Three years since President Bush making promises in a generator-lit Jackson Square?

But three years out, where are we? How much progress has really been made? According to a new report released today by PolicyLink, we’ve seem some progress the past year, but not nearly enough — especially when it comes to the bedrock issue of housing for Louisianans. Far too many residents still can’t afford to rebuild their homes or find an affordable place to rent.

The new report, “A Long Way Home: The State of Housing Recovery in Louisiana 2008,” shows that while some progress has been made during the past year, thousands of residents who want to return home are facing a critical rental housing shortage, inadequate rebuilding grants and a recovery plagued by red tape and ever-changing rules.

The report (which I co-authored along with my colleagues Kalima Rose and Dominique Duval-Diop) analyzes the three major federally funded housing recovery programs – the Road Home (for homeowners) and the small and large rental programs (for renters). Together, these programs allocate nearly $12 billion in federal recovery funds to restore housing in Louisiana.

Some key findings:

• In New Orleans, 4 of every 5 Road Home recipients rebuilding their homes did not get enough money to cover their repairs. Statewide, more than 2 of every 3 face the same predicament.
• Statewide, the average Road Home applicant fell more than $35,000 short of the money they need to rebuild their home. The shortfall hit highly flooded, historically African-American communities particularly hard.
• Nearly 40,000 low-income homeowners received an average of about $27,000 each from an additional Road Home grant program designed to help vulnerable residents.
• Renters still face huge hurdles—only 2 in 5 damaged affordable rental units statewide will be repaired or replaced with recovery assistance. In the New Orleans metro region, it’s an even more dismal rate of 1 in 3.
• The national credit crunch and personal financial vulnerability keeps many mom-and-pop landlords from being able to rebuild through the small rental repair program. Meant to restore more than 10,000 rental homes, the program has completed only 82.
• Nearly 28,000 families nationwide still rely on disaster rental assistance, with 14,000 in the greater New Orleans metro region alone. There will not be nearly enough affordable rental units on the market by the time the assistance runs out in March 2009.

The election season provides another chance to put the issue of Gulf Coast rebuilding at the forefront of our national dialogue. Let’s hope we’re at a very different place in the process come Year 4.

The good folks at the California Center for Public Health Advocacy sent around this great new YouTube video they made showing how impossible it is for real consumers to use the “helpful” menu labeling brochure produced by the fast-food companies.

From CCPHA’s email blast:

The restaurant industry continues to claim that nutritional brochures  are more helpful to consumers than putting the information directly on the menu board.

See what happens when real customers try to use the industry’s helpful brochures.  We hope you will watch this clip and then forward it to colleagues, friends and family.

…snip…

Support for menu labeling on menu boards and menus is increasing daily: today two members of LA County Board of Supervisors introduced a measure calling for mandatory menu labeling in the unincorporated areas of LA County, and Monday, Senator Padilla (author of SB 1420) cited the findings from the newly released study, Kids Meals: Obesity on the Menu, as another reason California must have strong menu labeling.