[p4k] heroes
We had another short week at Playing 4 Keeps. Due to various unforeseen circumstances, the group was only able to get together on Thursday, but we had an interesting day and our design is moving forward so we’re still feeling good.
We divided the class into two main tasks on Thursday: research and brainstorming. First, we spent time researching the everyday heroes of Hurricane Katrina. The Coast Guard did an amazing job in the disaster and we want to represent that, some of the New Orleans police acted heroically, and eventually the military arrived, but the real story of the disaster is the bravery of regular people. Neighbors helped neighbors, strangers saved strangers, and there was sharing and respect in the midst of chaos, suffering, and violence. While there are stories of treachery, opportunism, and misdirected frustration becoming wanton cruelty, we want to celebrate the selflessness that shone through the worst situations.
Our students researched and presented their findings on a handful of the many heroes that emerged from the tragedy. Jabar Gibson was a 20-year-old man who commandeered a school bus and evacuated residents to Houston before the first FEMA bus arrived. Deamonte Love was a six-year-old child who cared for a group of toddlers after they were separated from their parents and sent to Baton Rouge. Mama D and the Soul Patrol started cleaning the Lower Ninth Ward and getting it ready for people to return without any help from the government. Malik Rahim founded Common Ground with two friends and a fifty-dollar boat. They’ve expanded from rescue operations to all volunteer free health clinics, legal services, and rebuilding efforts, and are still growing today. The Cajun Navy and the NOLA Homeboys are groups of citizens who had access to boats and decided to put them to good use helping stranded people.
After discussing these people, and the many others who put their own safety second and the needs of others first, we began a discussion of who our hero should be. Our GK leaders offered physical attributes and personality traits that they wanted to incorporate into the character. While everything can’t be included, we developed a rough sketch of a teenage African American woman who has left New Orleans, but still has family there. There are still many details to work out, but every meeting progress is made.
