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Poverty Lawyers and NOLA

There's a must-read article in Salon today, Dreams Unrealized on the failure of the civil rights movement in the U.S., in the context of the yeoman's job foreign poverty lawyers are doing for the poor and those facing the death penalty in the U.S.:

While it may be easy for American tourists to turn a blind eye to their own third world, a steady stream of young Australians and Europeans have been coming to Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and the rest of the deep South for years to serve the needs of the indigent people throughout these states.

As the co-director and recruiter for Reprieve U.S., an organization that sponsors and places volunteers at poverty law offices, it is always mildly surprising and embarrassing to me to hear these bright and passionate people explain that they are applying either to work for the poor in the criminal justice system in Texas or to help build shelters in Guatemala, and are unable to determine where the needs are greater. What seems most shocking to our volunteers is the complete disregard that the U.S. government has paid our clients throughout their lives, failing to provide housing, healthcare, education and other basic needs.

[Via Capital Defense Weekly]

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    Re: Poverty Lawyers and NOLA (none / 0) (#2)
    by cpinva on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:50 PM EST
    wait a minute, that's not quite true! the federal and state govt's have both raised the "standards" in the schools, and the "accountability" of those schools, for the benefit of the lower socio-economic masses. while it's also true that they've done absolutely zero for the past 30 years to provide an actual means for those lower socio-economic masses to actually achieve those higher and higher standards, it isn't fair to say they've done nothing at all, just nothing that will actually make a difference, other than to those politicians aspiring to be re-elected as "education" whatevers. oh, don't forget all those lofty, completely out of touch academics, who helped design those raised standards, while having no clue about what actually goes on in an inner city school. they deserve special mention and praise. not to mention grant money.

    Re: Poverty Lawyers and NOLA (none / 0) (#3)
    by Ernesto Del Mundo on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:50 PM EST
    The poverty rate is about the only thing that's been going up faster than the price of gas under this administration.