Muncie Times, Muncie, Delaware County, 6 October 2005 — Page 3

The Muncie Times • October 6, 2005 • Page 3

continued from page 1 Until that question, I never really focused on which city my uncle lived in. As the Bishop of African Methodist Episcopal Church’s 8th District, he could have had an official residence in either Mississippi or Louisiana. Either way, he has to run frequently between both states. This is the uncle who shows quiet strength in the midst of any storm, the uncle who made his only son’s funeral a celebration, the uncle who had buried both his mother and a younger brother. This uncle moves like a slower Energizer Bunny. This man just keeps going and going. Would Katrina be his undoing? Did I mention that the Bishop’s Residence sits.

should I say, “sat” in the 9th Ward on the Pontchatrain? Did I mention that he was conducting conferences and ordaining new ministers in Mississippi when the storm hit? Did I tell you that the only things he is likely to see again are those things that he took with him to Mississippi? If I didn’t, you missed an important part of the story. I had to go. As the day wore on I kept trying to figure out what his condition was. I contacted my aunt, Episcopal Supervisor Yvonne Parks on the 30th and September 1st, finally reaching her the second day. She assured me that my uncle was safe but that the denomination was as devastated as the people. That’s when it all began.

I knew that I had to go help my uncle, the church, somebody. I had to go. I was concerned about how I could help. I was into a new semester with new students who wouldn’t want a teacher away from class this early in the semester. Since I was going to render aid to a church, I worried about whether I could render aid to a church as a professor. There are always church and state conflicts. My main concern, however, was that my denomination was drowning. There were ministers whose churches were under water, their bishop’s residence, on the Pontchatrain Canal, was under water and it appeared that the oldest African American denomination in the country was about to be

drowned by Katrina. But we were approaching Labor Day. Would anyone care? Just before the holiday, I had to acknowledge that I cared and I had to do something. I knew there were difficulties getting supplies to the people but I also knew that people needed helpers to set up shelters and organize the supplies that were making it into the region. I e-mailed my aunt before she left to start her work there. She told me that the Eighth District of the AME Church would provide housing for my students and me to live in while we worked. I told my dean and department chair that I really needed to go to Louisiana and Mississippi. I told my small graduate class that I needed to go and would be

away for a week getting the stories of those who had survived and helping establish shelters. They immediately asked to be able to go with me. I was encouraged by their willingness to serve while they were also bringing the stories back to the rest of the world. We got an initial OK, but needed to make sure there were no problems. Ah Labor Day, that gave us a day to watch television and see just how bad things were. There was no help for the people. People were trapped on rooftops and people were hysterical. I still had to go. So, I told my husband that I had to go and would let the department know that I had to go. For the first time, I had come up continued on page 13

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