Posted on 09/18/2005 7:49:57 AM PDT by twas
The Red Cross has been praised for its tireless efforts assisting storm victims in Middle Tennessee. But there are concerns in the black community that the organization lacks diversity, especially in an effort helping mostly black evacuees.
A number of minority churches and groups are offering to help, but say they've been left out.
The Red Cross Shelter in Franklin opened its doors to storm victims last week. It’s only one of two shelters in Middle Tennessee. The other is in Nashville.
Both shelters are in suburban areas, and the volunteers are predominately white, while the evacuees are almost all black.
Some members of the African-American community say that’s not good enough.
“When you're different and you're the lone person, you do feel different. When you're in crisis you like to have some familiarity there,” says Joyce Searcy with the Bethlehem Centers of Nashville.
Searcy says she tried to open up her community center as a shelter, but could not get approved by the Red Cross. It already had a list of 63 churches and community groups.
Searcy adds, “You know that big headline that we were gonna have six thousand evacuees and the list of shelters in the newspaper were in the suburbs and so the question is: why aren't these in our community?”
The Red Cross says it’s because the other groups were already on a pre-approved list. Their facilities had already been checked out, and the volunteers, already trained.
But Reverend Enoch Fuzz says in times like this, the volunteer corps should be more diverse, “Who in Brentwood would know where a black beauty shop or barber shop is?” asks Fuzz.
The Red Cross acknowledges most of it’s volunteers are white, but says training is open to anyone. Since then, Joyce Searcy went through training, and is signing up others.
A number of black churches are helping evacuees on their own even though it isn't through the Red Cross.
Also they are assembling teams of 50 take turns volunteering at the Red Cross shelters.
More whacky nonesense from race baiters. This does the black community no good at all and continues to promote the "poor helpless me image."
Martin Luther KIng must be turning in his grave....this is not what he had in mind.
Response: This litany is becoming a bore. It generally means give us access to the distribution of funds!
Yes. The Red Cross also wonders why Blacks refuse to be volunteers.
It's time to start giving instead of taking.
I do think that whites should find out where the beauty shops are so that they can better help the poor homeless people. Oh my!
Im convinced that these black "leaders" are actively trying to get whites to just throw up their hands and say "The hell with you - take care of yourselves. I'm sick of being called a racist." That way, they get proven "right", and their power increases.
Please don't fall into the trap that many people on FR have fallen into -- insisting that "all" blacks feel the same way, further dividing us.
That is the furthest from the truth.
Black conservative ping
If you want on (or off) of my black conservative ping list, please let me know via FREEPmail. (And no, you don't have to be black to be on the list!)
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Seems pretty clear to me.
Cute. What other stereotypes can you offer?
If you want a Google GMail account, FReepmail me.
They're going fast!
Translation: "Where can I gets me some of that FEMA money"
Beetle Bailey Revival Church.
Hey jackasses put on that armband.
Almost everyone on my CERT team showed up, including the two black guys for the 4 hour long class. When one checks the demographics that's just about exactly the percentage of blacks in my county, roughly 15%.
The one difference is that my county is relatively affluent and most of the blacks in the community are as well.
It seems to me the difference is in the mindset of the people, not the color of their skin.
L
What are they afraid of? That they will see the real white community instead of the one being fed to them by BS's like Jackson, Sharpton, etc.?
Would the title "Red Cross questions Aferican-American participation" be considered raciest? You Betcha'.
Some of us know better than to think that way, Mike. I blame the media and the liberals who insist on dividing Americans, with (racially) vicious lies, imho.
We all know there are plenty of those "victim-poor me-blame-da-man" attitudes in the white community as well. Media and the libs notwithstanding.
BUMP to what you said.
"The Red Cross Shelter in Franklin opened its doors to storm victims last week. It’s only one of two shelters in Middle Tennessee. The other is in Nashville."
This not even an accurate article. News 5 usually does a better job than this. There are several groups across TN.
I am a Middle TN County Deputy and I have been on duty guarding the National Guard Training Facility that has been home to these people for the last two weeks. These people will be here until they have been placed. We did have a few volunteers to go to the Franklin facility but most stayed here.
We initially received 350 evac's and through placement or subjects choosing to leave are down to about 65 as of Thursday my last day of work at the facility.
We had many local blacks come out to support the large majority of black evac's and during the first week usually had four volunteers to every evacuee.
Here's a funny one. The National Guard barracks are not air conditioned. Someone decided that this was not good enough for civilians and had an air conditioning contractor on the scene installing AC the first day. People from NO weren't used to AC and sat outside in the sun all day and then turned on the heat at night to keep it up to 80 degrees.
Most were really nice people. We did have a few gangbangers and they left the first day or two. Out of the original 400 we were to receive Federal Marshall's kept 40 as they exited the air port in Nashville for outstanding warrants or drug possession. funny no one mentioned that in the news...........
The race card is dead it's been over plaid to long nobody listens to it any longer.
You are most correct.
Gee, hitting up a mostly volunteer organization because most of the volunteers are white.
VOLUNTEER, BONE HEAD and get other people like you to VOLUNTEER.
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