My drive from New Orleans into St. Bernard Parish just got a lot more scenic. Every day I drive over the North Claiborne St. Bridge and through the Lower Ninth to get to St. Bernard. Now, as I pass over the Industrial Canal and look to my left down at the battered neighborhood, I see dozens of big structures draped in pink scattered across several blocks. They’re here because of Brad Pitt, and his “Make It Right” project.
I actually think this is very good thing, and certainly big news. New Orleans needs attention, and it needs support. Pitt’s project brings both. He has expressed a connection to this city for many years now, has expressed a desire to help it since Hurricane Katrina, and he certainly put his money and action where his mouth is, putting up $5 million of his own money to fund almost 50% of a project that aspires to build 150 eco-friendly homes. And he’s done so the right way, including residents in planning meetings and aligning himself with the right kind of people who can make this project a success. In other words, there are no politicians involved and no public officials. People who know what they’re doing are leading it. (For much more detail on the project, see the links below to a pair of stories that have run in The Times-Picayune the past two days). I think it’s great, I commend the guy, and it’s awesome that someone with so much star power is using it for the right reasons. For example, check out Larry King Live on Wednesday night, 9 p.m. EST, on CNN. Pitt sits down with King for an interview right in the neighbor
hood.
My only qualm with “Make It Right” and what Pitt is doing is that it really needs to expand beyond the Ninth Ward. I’ve said it before on this site and I’ll say it again, yes, these neighborhoods need help and assistance in their recovery, but so too do many other areas, including St. Bernard Parish. The Lower Ninth borders St. Bernard Parish, they are neighbors, and right down the road from Pitt’s big pink blocks are neighborhoods full of hard working people in need of the same help. But they don’t get it because the Lower Ninth is what everyone knows and sees on TV, and in the media. That is not right. That needs to be fixed. I want to fix it. I’m not Brad Pitt, though. He put up $5million. I’ve put up quite a bit of my own money in my time here, but it’s a fraction. People and organizations and foundations will flock to support his project, no doubt (and that’s not a bad thing). But don’t forget everything else.
I’ve emailed Make It Right. I plan on emailing them again and again. I plan on calling. I was over there today, in these neighborhoods, looking to see if there was anyone involved with the project that I could talk to. I couldn’t find anyone. But I’ll be back there. The St. Bernard Recovery Corp. and what we do would be a terrific partner and natural fit for a project like Make It Right. They get people into new homes, and then we help them get furniture and other essentials.
Pitt’s heart and head are in the right place, and I applaud that. I also applaud how he’s going about the project (again, see articles below for details). I just hope that my sightings of these scenic pink block structures don’t end when I get off the Industrial Canal Bridge. I’d love to see them as I drive into St. Bernard Parish as well.
http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/index.ssf?/base/news-9/119666393579390.xml&coll=1
