One Year Later: Hopes Washing Away

One Year Later: Hopes Washing Away

Today marks the one-year anniversary of the catastrophic BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill that killed 11 workers, devastated animal life and heavily altered the lives of Gulf Coast residents. The despair remains. Many Gulf residents' fishing, food or tourist industry businesses were lost to one of the largest oil spills on record.  Seasonal incomes that typically forecast one year's wages are gone—claims still await processing by BP. Hopes of recovering what used to be, are washing away. Groups most impacted according to the NAACP Climate Justice Department are people of color on numerous fronts, including: health, housing and jobs.  Given that people of color are already disproportionately affected by challenges in these three areas, how do we realistically restore hope?

Highlighted Clip for Wednesday, April 20, 2011:
"Gulf Coast Is Still Hurting"

By: Cynthia Gordy On the one-year anniversary of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, President Obama released a statement marking the occasion. Noting his administration's efforts to hold BP accountable for the catastrophic damage wreaked on the Gulf Coast, he admitted that the job is far from done.