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Obama Takes New Orleans by Storm

By Drew Daniels
Black College Wire

Boisterous groups chanted "Yes, we can" and camera flashes flickered throughout Tulane University's Fogelman Arena, Thursday, Feb. 7, as spectators eagerly anticipated Sen. Barack Obama's address.

Drew Daniels for Black College Wire Obama surrounded by supporters at Tulane University

With the Louisiana primaries approaching, New Orleans residents, students and political activists packed the arena to hear Obama's address, leaving some outside listening to the candidate through speakers.

"Everywhere I go, we have been seeing young people involved in ways we have not seen in generations," Obama said, thanking young people for their overwhelming participation in his campaign.

"With each passing day, with each student who goes to school, with each business that opens its doors, with each worker who puts in a shift, New Orleanians are reclaiming their future, and showing America just what can be done in this country when citizens lift up their communities," Obama said.

The Democratic presidential hopeful, who views this presidential election as an "a defining moment in our history" told the audience post-Katrina New Orleans is one of the central premises of his campaign.

Frequently interrupted by enthusiastic applause, Obama criticized the Bush administration's failures in the recovery process from the devastating blows of Hurricane Katrina.

"Change in America does not happen from the top down but from the bottom up," Obama said. "It is time for change and that is one reason why I am running for president."

"When the people in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast extended their hands for help, the government was not there," Obama said.

He explained that Hurricane Katrina exposed silent storms that have ravaged New Orleans for years, storms of poverty and injustice that existed before Katrina hit.

"We know that over 25,000 families are still living in small trailers, that thousands of homes sit empty and condemned; and that schools and hospitals and firehouses remain shuttered," Obama said.

"Too many schools are still closed, kids are still going to class in makeshift buildings or trailers and that is not acceptable," he said.

"It is time to invest in education here in New Orleans, which has been needed here for so long," said Obama. "Federal money is not reaching communities that need it," said Obama.

Students from Dillard University, Louisiana State, Loyola, Tulane and Xavier came in large numbers to support Obama in one of the tightest presidential primary battles in recent American history.

"College students are extremely important in the election process, when we actually voice our opinion," said Valerie Fontenot, an LSU student who arrived at the arena before 6 a.m.

College students comprise a significant part of the returning population. Administrators report that enrollment has climbed to between 60 percent and 75 percent of pre-Katrina levels at most of the New Orleans universities.

"It has been too long [that]we have just sat there and not voted and now we need to take a more active role in decisions and policies that affect our future," said Fontenot, a graduate student from New Roads, La.

"Everyone wants change," said Stepfionne Williams another LSU master's student. "It is time for a positive change, that's why I support Obama's policies about health care and education."

"I think Obama did a great job," said Sharon Walker a Tulane master's social work student from Dallas, Texas. "He was eloquent in terms of speech."

Walker, who supports Obama, disagreed with his statement that he would have the levees rebuild by 2011 and would have liked to see Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., especially since the race is very close.

Another student, Michael Sanders, who attends Xavier, said many of the issues being discussed by the candidates are relevant to college students.

"Many college students are now coming into health care and coming into social security [taxes] which makes college students the target audience for this election," Sanders said.

He is excited to see a woman and a minority compete in the upcoming election. "With this being a historic election ... this is the first time I have ever witnessed anything different from the classic white male running for president and actually having a shot of winning," Sanders added.

Drew Daniels is a student at Dillard University and a regular contributor to Black College Wire.

Posted Feb. 7, 2008