Change from Within: Three Stories from New Orleans

About Our Work in New Orleans
The Open Society Foundations have been engaged in strengthening civic engagement in New Orleans for more than a decade—work that became even more urgent and nationally relevant after Hurricane Katrina and the floods.

When Sheriffs Become De Facto Immigration Agents
Raquiba LaBrie
December 1, 2010
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After Antonio Ocampo, a day laborer, served a short sentence for simple battery last August, a judge ordered him released from the Orleans Parish Prison. Nearly 100 days later, he was still there.

Tune in Here for a Ten-Minute Briefing on New Orleans's Recovery
Thomas Hilbink
September 2, 2010
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How do you describe five years in the life of New Orleans in ten minutes? Allison Plyer of the Greater New Orleans Community Data Center does just that in a video briefing that assesses the city's recovery after the storm and the failure of the levees.

From Katrina's Crucible, a New Vision of Democracy
Saket Soni
August 31, 2010
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For poor communities of color in the post-Katrina South—and all across America—citizenship isn't enough. Their real fight is for first-class citizenship.