Common Ground Collective - History

History

Common Ground started with delivery of basic aid (food, water, and supplies) and an emergency clinic in Algiers. The effort expanded to providing assistance to homeowners and residents trying to move back into other areas of the city and region—such as the Lower Ninth Ward, St. Bernard Parish, and Houma—where flood-protection infrastructure failed after the hurricane.

Common Ground Health Clinic had its beginnings when four young street medics arrived in Algiers a few days after the hurricane. They began riding around on bicycles asking residents if they needed medical attention. Locals were surprised to be approached in this way, since no representatives of government agencies or of the Red Cross had appeared up to that point. The medics offered first aid, took blood pressure, tested for diabetes, and asked about symptoms of anxiety, depression, and other disease.

Common Ground Relief, or Common Ground Collective, was founded originally on the ideas of Malik Rahim, a local community organizer and former member of the Black Panther Party, Scott Crow, and Sharon Johnson on September 5, 2005. It began to coalesce as a cohesive organization with an influx of activists and organizers two weeks later, including Lisa Fithian, Kerul Dyer, Suncere Shakur, Emily Posner, Jenka Soderberg, William Waites, Geoffrey Young, Jacob Appelbaum, Jackie Sumell and Brandon Darby. Although many others contributed substantially behind the scenes, these people were responsible for many of the underpinnings, philosophy, and organizational directions Common Ground Collective took until 2007.

Common Ground began community organizing in the Algiers neighborhood and surrounding areas in the first few weeks. Subsequently, it began recruiting volunteers to help gut homes and provide other free services in the Upper & Lower Ninth Wards. Common Ground also housed up to approximately 500 volunteers at a time in the St. Mary of the Angels school in the Upper 9th Ward of New Orleans. As of March 1, 2009, over 23,000 people had volunteered with Common Ground Relief for various lengths of time, creating an unusual social situation in the predominantly black neighborhoods, since most of the volunteers were young white people from throughout the United States and Europe. An ABC News Nightline report described the volunteers as "mostly young people filled with energy and idealism, and untainted by cynicism and despair, and mostly white, have come from across America and from countries as far away as Indonesia." The health clinic was especially helpful to remaining residents of New Orleans immediately after the hurricane since Charity Hospital and other emergency care providers were not available.

Common Ground Relief initiated a number of programs and projects following its inception in September 2005. Its organizing philosophy is dubbed "Solidarity Not Charity," reflecting the anarchist philosophies of many of its members. Some of the facilities provided free to residents included debris removal, aid distribution centers, roving medical clinics, bioremediation for toxic areas, house-gutting, roof-tarping, building neighborhood computer centers, free tech support for non-profits, stopping home demolitions in the Lower 9th Ward, supporting community and backyard gardens, anti-racist training for volunteers, a tree planting service, and legal counselling services.

In early 2006, Common Ground Relief volunteers effected an unsanctioned clean-up of Martin Luther King Charter School in the Lower 9th Ward, which was subsequently reopened. In the winter of 2007 Common Ground opened a family homeless shelter in the 7th ward of New Orleans which was closed a few months later.