Forum Focuses on Hurricane’s Effects on Poor Communities 

(JACKSON, Miss.) – While reconstruction of the areas devastated by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita are well under way, many residents of the Gulf Coast continue to struggle to rebuild their lives. Jackson State University and the Mississippi Urban Research Center will gather local experts on poverty to discuss the storms’ effects on poor communities and possible solutions to some of the problems of disadvantaged communities.

 “The Social, Political and Economic Consequences of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita on Poor and Minority Communities,” will be held from 9 a.m. to noon, Thursday, December 8 at Jackson State University, 1400 John R. Lynch St. The free event will be held in Room 134 of JSU’s School of Business.

Former Jackson Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. and Derrick Johnson, president of the Mississippi State Conference of the NAACP, will serve as key panelists for the symposium. Johnson is also the vice president of the Governor’s Commission on Recovery, Rebuilding and Renewal.

While the issues faced by the poor and wealthy are similar, poor people experience problems at a heightened level, said Johnson, a senior research fellow at JSU’s Mississippi Urban Research Center and visiting professor with JSU’s Department of Economics, Finance and General Business.

“For instance, if you are a homeowner and you have insurance, you are concerned with dealing with the insurance company to make you whole,” Johnson said. “If you are a renter and someone else’s property is now destroyed, you have to worry about obtaining affordable housing. What are the prospects of construction of affordable housing in the area?”

Sam Mozee, program specialist with MURC says this particular discussion is important to ensure that the poor get the recovery assistance they need. “A lot of the media coverage has concentrated on middle- and upper-income residents who were affected. There has been little discussion on minority communities who don’t have the resources to rebuild, relocate and re-establish their lives.”

For more information, or to RSVP, call Sam Mozee at (601) 979-4204. Email: smozee@murc.org.