Day 2 - service project and plantation tour

Wow - what a day we had! Our day started at the Trinity Community Center where we worked with Connie and Morgan from the NOLA Tree Project (NTP). We signed up to work a full day, 9A-3P, but we didn't actually start to work until 11:30 this morning. No, we weren't late in getting there, however, we were provided an amazing opportunity to explore the local Hollygrove neighborhood that this organization serves the most.

We were joined by several other groups of college students, from Massachusetts, Missouri, and Arkansas, who traveled to NOLA during their spring break to help with NTP, just like we did! With so many people providing support and lending a helping hand, we actually got all the work done that was scheduled for the day. We moved over 6 yards of bark in under 40 minutes, refurbishing a playground for local children. Furthermore, we painted a large storage shed with paintbrushes in just over an hour!

Since we ended earlier than expected, we drove straight out to the San Francisco Plantation to tour the area and learn more about the history of this sugarcane plantation. Our group learned about the plantation family’s legacy and the economic and social status they gained during the time period. The living quarters for the slaves on the plantation were also explored, which sparked a meaning dialogue and discussion about how these people lived and were treated.

We were asked to reflect on today’s service project and the tour that we took of the neighborhood. Here is what we took away from this experience and how we can use it to make a difference at CWU, the Ellensburg community, or our hometown.

Maurice:

The tour of Hollygrove that we went on before the service project was saddening, yet inspirational in the same breath. I feel like the tour of the neighborhoods and getting to see the less fortunate part of the city amplified the significance of our service project and it helped further my understanding of the importance of giving back to communities. Without that tour and being able to interact with members of the community, I do not believe I would be able to be as empathetic towards the circumstances. 

Today’s service project was what I expected and so much more! It felt wonderful being able to help out for the betterment of the community without expecting something in return. If I could go back and do it again I would! 

I can make a difference within my surrounding communities by continuing to broaden my cultural lens of the world. This will help me to better understand the people I come in contact with, but also myself in great ways. In order to understand a person, I believe you must first learn about where they come from and the things that they value. 

Leni:

Today, for me, was probably the most unique day that I have ever experienced while in New Orleans. We were able to see the transformation of segregation from the past to the present, and how it still exists today.

In the first half of the day, we were able to take a tour of Holly Grove, a very poor community with the majority of the population being African American. This was the community where we did our service project. My initial thoughts of the community were that they were very poor, and needed as much volunteer support as they could get. We helped maintain a community center where the children of the neighborhood come to play and do homework. This is a very important place for the community, so I was happy that we were able to help out. Before the service project, we took a tour of the very impoverished Holly Grove. We learned about an intersection that was a popular place to deal drugs, initiate in gang activity, and gamble. We also learned about the lack of resources that the neighborhood has compared to a richer, whiter, part of town just across the road.

From Holly Grove, we crossed a road going over a canal into a neighborhood called Jefferson Parish, and, boy, was the change in scenery DRAMATIC! We saw a wealthy, white, neighborhood filled with mansions and BMW’s, Mercedes’ and country clubs, wealthy white folk playing tennis while a man of color polishes their G-Wagon. I was in shock. I could not believe that 20 feet away from the mansion that I was looking at was a home still in shambles from Hurricane Katrina. Another thing that I could not believe was that this type of segregation was still very real.

After leaving the service project in shock, we were on our way to the San Francisco Plantation tour. As soon as we arrived at the plantation, everything clicked for me.

We came upon the property to a colorful plantation home that was at least 4 stories tall and had more than 7 rooms in it. And then, not to far from the mansion were 2 tiny shacks where the slaves had lived many years before.

What I saw from Holly Grove and this plantation was a mirror image. The segregation that existed in the past still exists now, it just took a different form. I was completely in shock at this point. I couldn’t believe it, and I still can’t. 

I don’t know if it has to deal with generational wealth or the racial divides based on the history of the area, but the lines that divide are so real, and it isn’t hard to see if you take a drive of that area. What I saw today was a mirror of the past and the present, and I feel so blessed to have had this unique opportunity and insight to notice this. I don’t know how real this was for the other members of the group, or if they noticed it right away, but it was very real for me.

Samantha:

During the tour, I learned about the community that we would be serving today. Specifically, I learned about the ways in which structural racism has manifested within the community of Hollygrove. Hollygrove is primarily composed of low-income African Americans, while the community on the opposite side of the levy tend to be wealthy caucasians. Stormwater is drained into the impoverished side of the levy from the wealthy side of the levy. The homes reflect the drastic economic inequality. Levies are built higher on the wealthy side of the levy to protect the more expensive properties. Funding for parks has been consistently drawn away from impoverished areas to be put towards parks in wealthy areas. These are just a few of the ways in which the community suffers. We learned that it is important to listen to what the community needs and not just what we think the community needs.

Through our service project today, we were able to serve children living in the area by reviving the community center. The community center focuses on helping children with homework and providing children with summer activities. These services were chosen based off of the needs identified by the community itself.

I can make a difference in my hometown by asking my community what it needs. Then, I can follow through by providing for the needs that my community itself identifies.

Ramsey:

I definitely would like to say that I was expecting to do something meaningful for the service project and I would like to say that getting the opportunity to see the neighborhood before we got to work on made it even better to have a reason to be able to be a part of this project. I think seeing the difference between the poverty and rich houses in literally one block away from each other made it a more humbling experience for me to want to help even more. As well as the plantation tour which i expected to see some real history of slavery but, turned out that people are more likely to pay to see history the positive history and not the other side of the real history. I believe that I learned so much more from the slave house that we had to look at on our own then the mansion house that own the plantation.

I would say that what i can take from this experience form both of the events that happen today is more cultural competence. My main take away form today is that its all about perspective on a situation that will affect a person's view in life. For example the people were way happier in the neighborhood of poverty than in the rich neighbor and it shows that people understand that there is nothing you can do about it but be grateful for what you have now. And i believe i would like to give that same energy and mindset back to CWU that even though there are trials and tribulations that its all about the perspective of an individual that gives someone the power to be there own person.

Nate:

The biggest impact for me personally today was the tour we took around the city.  I knew they were still working on things that had been destroyed in Katrina but I didn't know the degree that they still had to work.  Also,  to see how classism or other systemic oppressions play such a huge role in how a community is loomed after or taken care of was a bit of an eye opener for me.  It's something you discuss in classes or debates amongst peers but to see it up front and personal really drove it home for me. It was painful to see how detached (for lack of a better word) the wealthier community was from Hollygrove which was literally down the street from them. It almost felt as if they were making the conscious decision to not even engage with Hollygrove at all to the point of not even wanting to see it.

What I'm taking away from this back to CWU and my community is really just knowledge of how to successfully create positive change within an environment. In order to do that, I have to engage with the people in that environment and get their perspective on what is and is not working before I form any plan to contribute to them.  I learned today that the most effective solutions or created by the ones who experience the problems and I think that's a lesson I can use anywhere in my life.

Brandon:

Today was another great day here in New Orleans. We spent the majority of the day doing our service project with the Trinity Community Center. It felt incredible giving back to a local neighborhood in the area where we fixed the playground, planted new trees and painted one of their run-down additional buildings. We also went on a tour around the area where we were educated about the new green infrastructures being put in place, the community-sponsored playgrounds and the plight that the average resident faces everyday. 

Reflecting on today, I realized two big lessons, or ideas, that have resonated deep within myself. The first one follows the theme of leadership. The saying, "Knowledge is power," holds a much more intense meaning with me now. After talking to Andre, the director of the CLCE at CWU, I started to understand that the knowledge that one has about another's culture truly impacts their potential to become a leader. It is one thing to know how another acts or behaves, but it is a whole other thing to know the background and history that causes people to be who they are today. This knowledge also enables a future leader to make decisions in a completely different scope that factors in many different perspectives and how each choice might impact other people other than themselves. This allows those leaders to create positive and meaningful relationships with others and make the type of connections that can unite us all. The second big lesson I learned was the power of community and not many people realize how incredible it is. While visiting a park on our tour, the guides told us that the neighborhood had to fundraise to afford the required supplies as well as assemble it. The guides then continued to say that that park was one of the quickest parks to attain the needed funds, and it had record-breaking attendance for volunteers to build it. It was incredible that these people came together and empowered each other to be the best versions they can be. It was incredible that a neighborhood with little-to-none could come together and think about their children and youth first while there are other well-developed communities that don't even care to make relationships with those around them. Why does this occur in the US?

I have thought about this all day and am still looking for an answer. However, I will bring back this knowledge and experience to Ellensburg and apply it in a meaningful way. I hope to bring the community together through a project or some sort back home and make it a better, safer place to live for those that will come after us. If you're also looking to do the same or want to help organize it, please reach out!!

RJ:

Today’s service project and tour of the plantation house was humbling. During the tour of the plantation house, we were given the opportunity to reflect the reality of what had occurred on that land. That slavery was present and real, and the living conditions were harsh and mediocre compared to the “Big House”. However, comparing the service project and the plantation, they are not that far apart from each other’s reality. Granted slavery is abolished, but in terms of the living conditions, the difference between the two levels of power was quite comparable. We got to go on a tour during our service project as well, and on that tour, we were able to learn the history of Hollygrove. Overall, Hollygrove is a rebuilding community that has had a history of crime, etc. It contained many homes that were unfinished or damaged from hurricane Katrina. However, when we went to the opposite side of the canal, the houses were big enough to be considered mansions with pricey cars, etc. The transition between a rebuilding neighborhood, to a completely different high wealthy neighborhood, took mere seconds. Much like the walk from the “Big House” to the slave cabins, the transition from the Hollygrove to the neighbor on the other side of the canal was a drastic change. Two very vast different living conditions, two very different lifestyles, separated only by a canal or a walk down the property.

In terms of specifically the service project, the thing that stuck out to me was the effectiveness of past community service events within the community. We were introduced to a popular park within the neighborhood, and it was new and well kept. However, it wasn’t always like that. The park was initially built from an outside source giving back. Although the neighborhood did benefit from the result immediately, it was not well kept and managed and eventually got torn apart after a year of being built. The observation that I obtained was that giving back to the community isn’t only about the big gestures, it’s about the consistent effort to continue to improve it. One can make a brand-new park, but without the maintenance or the follow up then the park won’t mean much down the road. Thinking about how I’d like to give back to my community when I get back home, I must think about the longevity of the projects that I host. How will the project effect the community in the long run? Will the project affect the community in the long run? What steps can I take to ensure that it will affect the community in the long run? These are all things to consider when I make future projects for my job as a community programmer.

Aubrey:

Reflecting on today’s service project, I was actually really surprised. I know how poor New Orleans was and that they are still trying to recover from Katrina. It’s was not what I expected it to be from what I have seen on tv. Driving through Holly Grove and then the more “wealthy” neighborhood, it was eye opening. The difference was surreal. In the poor neighborhood, the road conditions were concerning because there were a significant amount of potholes, several polices cars driving through the neighborhood, and houses that were still damaged from Katrina. Going on the tour made doing the service project 10x more meaningful. It’s one thing to do community service out of the kindness of your heart just cause, and then doing community service where you actually know the cause and the effect that it will make. What really impressed me was Connie and Morgan. Their dedication to rehabilitate and not give up on the city when others thought of it as a lost cause was truly inspiring. It’s been over 10 years and they’re still working hard to make changes to make the neighborhood a better place. What I would take away from this experience is that it’s important to know what the community that you are apart of’s needs and that there is a power in numbers. How I could make a difference is possibly become more involved in the community, figure out what is currently going on, and figure out if there is any way I could help and try to spread to get others involved.