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Rose Johnson You would never guess how difficult it is to give away $25,000 to Katrina victims in North Gulfport. A week ago our Chapter was contacted by a group in Jackson, Conscious Living Project, who said they were serving as the conduit for money earmarked to help low-income, minority residents of the Gulf Coast. These folks came down Saturday to write checks. I initially took them to the Good Deeds Community Center, where there is a shelter operated by the Red Cross. Things were going well, checks were being handed out on a personal, one-on-one basis, but then Red Cross said we weren't doing it right and had to line up. Then, a while later, they made us go outside because it wasn't sanctioned by Red Cross. But I had gotten permission the night before to do this. We went outside to a table to write the checks, and then we were asked to leave the property. We went across the street to continue writing checks, and a sheriff deputy arrived and advised us that we could create a riot giving out money and food stamps. I was getting pretty frustrated. So I asked if I could go to people's houses - some are elderly and handicapped and I wanted to go to them - and the deputy said we would need a police escort. We waited a while but the Gulfport Police didn't arrive. I wanted to show them how ridiculous this was so I said, "Well, can I go to MY home and write checks to people?" The deputy said that would be fine. I continued through the Forrest Heights subdivision, which had flooded, and delivered checks door to door. We also handed out checks to the Turkey Creek community and Mount Pleasant Methodist Church. Rose Johnson with Lark Mason at her home in Gulfport It was a stressful day for me, to say the least. In part because people receiving the checks were very grateful and many of them started crying. But certainly there was never any danger of riots, and I think that it is unfair to believe African Americans can't be orderly when accepting assistance. It stereotypes the black community and it makes us feel bad when the authorities say you can't hand out food stamps or money in a black community in a peaceful way. We didn't have any problems. Whoever gathers the police and Red Cross ground intelligence should do a better job and not unfairly stereotype black communities. Last week a Red Cross employee told me that he was warned that North Gulfport was a very bad neighborhood, and that it was dangerous to go in there. He was told to be careful and watch his back. But the young man said that he encountered no problems, and met the nicest people. He said if he hadn't already had a job offer, he would love to come back and work in this community. Rose Johnson is co-chair of Sierra Club's Mississippi Chapter. Back to Notes from the Gulf main page. Have your own story from the Gulf Coast? Contact us. Photos: Becky Gillette/Sierra Club collection; all rights reserved. Up to Top HOME | Email Signup | About Us | Contact Us | Terms of Use | © 2008 Sierra Club