We Cannot Look Away This Labor Day
Today, on Labor Day, we honor the people whose labor sustains our communities as we carry our Give 8/28 question forward: Who Funds Freedom?
To everyone who gave, shared our message, or invited others into the work, thank you.
Labor Day calls us to honor the history of workers whose labor and organizing helped shape the protections and possibilities we know today. It also asks us to look at the conditions people are being asked to live and work under now and at the systems responsible for protecting communities when crisis comes.
That brings our attention to Gary, Indiana, a predominantly Black city where nearly 38,300 homes and businesses lost power after the August 11 storm. Several weeks later, some residents are still without electricity. What began as a storm has become a much larger question about recovery, accountability, and what happens when communities are left waiting for the basic infrastructure they need to live, work, and care for one another.
As Community Renewal Society (CRS) Community Impact and Special Projects Consultant Keron Blair wrote in a recent statement:
“This should be a national story. Because the question is bigger than whether a utility company can replace poles fast enough.
What does it say about whose emergencies become our emergencies? Whose suffering moves the machinery of government? Whose suffering commands national attention?
Gary is not a distant place. These are our folks. These are our elders, our children, our families, our small businesses, our churches, and our communities.
We cannot look away.”
CRS is partnering with Senior Pastor Rev. Dr. John E. Jackson Sr. and Trinity United Church of Christ–Gary to support the recovery, organizing, and accountability work already being led by the community.
As the labor for justice continues, will you join us?:
Donate to help provide generators, solar lanterns, coolers, health kits, and other recovery resources.
Stay informed as this work continues beyond the immediate crisis.
Knowledge helps us name what happened. Action helps meet immediate needs and demand accountability. Change means building the power necessary to ensure Gary is never left behind again.
With Love and in Solidarity,
The staff of Community Renewal Society
P.S. Hear directly from Rev. Jackson and other Gary leaders in “‘Katrina 2.0’: Residents of Gary, Indiana Fight to Survive Without Power.”