** Please support low income women of color and their communities to survive Hurricane Gustav! **
In March 2005, the Historic Tremé Community in New Orleans, one of the oldest communities of free people of color in the U.S. home to a vibrant organizing community and culture, hosted INCITE!'s third Color of Violence conference, "Stopping the War on Women of Color." This was INCITE!'s first conference to take place in the South and in a community setting, where grassroots organizing efforts by women of color have historically been and continue to be among the most creative and vibrant, and most necessary. COV III changed how we engage in organizing projects, ensuring the diverse and distinct experiences of women of color most vulnerable to violence, exploitation, and discrimination are made visible and addressed in accessible and practical ways.
INCITE!'s New Orleans chapter served as lead organizers for the COV III conference and was preparing to build a women of color resource and organizing center. Then, on August 29, 2005, at the onset of Hurricane Katrina, the world witnessed the shocking injustice of thousands of poor people crying out for help, stranded for days at the Convention center and Superdome, on rooftops, in attics, and on interstates without food, water, or basic provision for health and public safety services, before assistance arrived 5 days later. Communities were destroyed because of a failure of the U.S. government to value communities of color and low income people. The intersecting systems of oppression we theorized and organized around at COV III converged in the lives of survivors, particularly women of color, whose location within the intersections of racism, sexism, poverty, and labor exploitation, and roles as caregivers to young people, elders, and people with disabilities, have beeen on the front line of the struggle for survival in the days and months following Hurricane Katrina.
In September 2005, as we worked to reconnect with so many members who had been displaced, INCITE! wrote a statement about the deep loss. Here's an excerpt:
"INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence is stunned by the catastrophe and tragic loss in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. In New Orleans and in many other communities along the Gulf, people are experiencing unimaginable devastating conditions. We are especially alarmed for the people who have the fewest resources, who were unable to evacuate New Orleans because of poverty, who were – and in some cases still are - trapped without food, water, and medical attention. Because of racism and classism, these people are also overwhelming folks of color, and because of sexism, they are overwhelmingly women of color - low income and poor women, single mothers, pregnant women, women with disabilities, older women and women who are caregivers to family and community members who were unable to leave the city. Women living at the intersections of systems of oppressions are paying the price for militarism, the abandonment of their communities, and ongoing racial and gender disparities in employment, income, and access to resources and supports."
After assessing the profound need in the community for repair from the violence of government abandonment, INCITE! New Orleans members prioritized building the New Orleans Women's Health & Justice Initiative, which is a community-based collective of women of color feminists, survivors, mothers, organizers, workers, and activists organizing to end violence in the lives and on the bodies of women of color in New Orleans. This initiative includes:
- a feminist of color health clinic accessible to uninsured and underinsured women
- political education around health and justice issues that are priorities to women of color
- organizing opportunities and community outreach programs
- and much more
Staff members of the New Orleans Women's Health Clinic In order for this urgently needed project to get off the ground, INCITE! organized delegations of women of color and allies to visit New Orleans for temporary periods of time to lend vital assistance to this work. Delegates and local folks worked hard to renovate a clinic that had been damaged by the flood, completed an endless amount of administrative work, wrote grants and fundraised in their own communities for the project when they returned home, and supported local women who were reaching out for resources. INCITE! members renovating clinic INCITE! member renovating clinic INCITE! member renovating clinic The New Orleans Women's Health Clinic officially opened on May 1, 2007 and is a successful location for community driven health justice and support. Though we have ended our delegation project, we are still considering ways for allies outside of New Orleans to continue to support this vital work, building the capacity of local women of color political leadership. Stay tuned for more developments! In the meantime, ways to help include assisting us in fundraising for local projects, contributing to our call for books for our radical women of color lending library, or, if you are in or near New Orleans, please contact the chapter directly to get involved! 
In the meantime, here are links, essays, and news media discussing this work in more detail.