New Orleans, late October, 2006: I have never seen so much debris. It was everywhere. Home upon gutted home was thrown onto the sidewalk. On the surface it was just debris but the reality was that these were lives sprawled on the side of the road. Then, after two weeks it all became normal; the surreal became real. One fact, though, would never become normal. These were destroyed homes, destroyed lives lying here, and it flat out hurt to see that. The images stayed in my conscious for months.

I returned to Ohio and went back to work. For the first time in my life I was completely useless. My mind was in New Orleans and my body was in Ohio. My coworkers placed bets on how long I was going to last before resigning and moving to NOLA (it took me six months). This was not a choice. My body wasn’t “telling me” to return, it was forcing me.

From the time I resigned in Ohio to the time I landed in New Orleans was fourteen days. I dropped my apartment, moved back to Rochester, NY (where I am from) to unpack, repack and get on a plane to New Orleans. I took off without an apartment lined up, no contacts, no bank account due to my previous AmeriCorps term and enough t-shirts and shorts to last about two weeks. It was the best choice I have made…ever.

Some say New Orleans is dangerous and they would be right. It can be. There is crime, the roads are falling apart (partly because the sewers leak millions of gallons of water underground each day), neighborhood parks are now F.E.M.A. trailer parks, people are getting thieved by contractors, the levees aren’t strong enough, thousands are still displaced and the educational system is in deep struggle. In the midst of this deluge of problems, however, there is a heart, an aliveness, a resilience that makes the chaos beautiful. Surprisingly, people still dance in the streets as the Second Line passes, embrace their diverse culture of music, food and love for the common man. In NOLA every day is worth celebrating. All proof that this city is unique, valuable and must rebuild.

The first time I stepped foot on a “modular” school campus I found my cause. Modular schools are trailers placed on gravel and surrounded by chain link fences. These caged-in environments remind one of a prison. Indeed, they are prisons. They detain an individual’s imagination from expanding past their bleak and colorless surroundings. Art – by definition, the conscious use of skill and creative imagination especially in the production of aesthetic objects – is the key to the developing mind and the catalyst that will make the young minds of New Orleans see beyond the chain link.

Friend, artist and business partner “D.” Banfield and I conspired to stage a “psychological breakout” by founding the Crescent City Art Project (CCAP). Our mission – to transform school landscapes from mundane environments to ones of color, art and education by way of engaging individuals in service – is how we see the bleak turning bright. In collaboration with the Recovery School District, volunteer groups, corporations, nonprofits and others engaged in New Orleans, CCAP works to completely change schools with the introduction of murals, mosaics and art education. We will not stop until every school is changed for the better; until they resemble institutions of education, not incarceration. The need for the educational process to succeed in this city is too great any of us to even toy with failure.

A teacher of mine during high school once asked the question, “What good is a driver’s license if you do not give another a ride or teach them to drive?” The idea that our skills and experiences can benefit someone else if we take the initiative to share them is compelling and a driving force in my life. The key element in this equation is that my life (and, in theory, yours) is insignificant if it is not about them – those in struggle. To change the world you need to touch lives, individuals and keep that day-to-day goal in mind. This world will be changed not by legislation or large sweeping motions, but by a series of many small events. Live to be one of those “small events.”

Comments

TW2048
April 29, 2008 - 9:40pm

I'm proud to be his Father, and so pleased with his mission and enthusiasm.
Friends like Miss Jessie are the ones who have made this Tim's focus.
Best of luck to Tim, D, and all the others who have, or will, get involved.

daw
June 20, 2008 - 3:03pm

Congratulation to Tim and D on the success of your project! Tim, as always you make me you mom very proud!

Post new comment

Your name: *

E-mail: *

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.

Homepage:

Comment: *

Answer: *

To combat spam, please enter the code in the image.