I got a call from a horrified Red Cross volunteer serving in Alabama today. There is racism at the Red Cross and it is affecting how they are giving away assistance. The Red Cross in Tuscaloosa is telling workers to deny vouchers to as many people as possible because " these people are trying to double dip. It has been four weeks since Katrina. They should be back on their feet by now. They just want a hand-out.". A local Red Cross official went on to say, "You have to look at them in the eyes and you'll know if they are telling the truth. Keep probing, keep probing, they will back off if they are lying." A Red Cross official told an upset west coast volunteer today, "A lot of these people are poor because it is their choice. Don't you know that AL and MS are the poorest states in the nation? These people are always looking for a hand-out. They will stand for hours in the heat and humidity if they think they can get a hand-out. These people are totally different from we are. We just have to see if these people can learn to live like we do."
Workers were told in a 20 min. training session today to use their "gut feeling" to approve or deny vouchers for Katrina survivors.
Many Katrina survivors from the Gulf Coast are being told to go to the Red Cross center in Tuscaloosa to get vouchers for money. Once they get to the Red Cross servicing center they stand in line for hours waiting to get a voucher. At the end of the line a Red Cross worker decides based on "gut feeling" if they will receive a 346 to 1600 voucher for cash. They have been getting water and food while in line, but the Red Cross is going to stop doing that in a few days so that "people will go away".
99% of the evacuees are black.
Millions of Americans are giving to the Red Cross because of seeing their fellow Americans abandoned at the Superdome and Convention Center in NOLA for days without food, water or safety. Now these southern Red Cross chapters are withholding aid based on their racist views. Are other people getting reports of this?