Thursday: Tamborine and Fan

On Thursday, I returned with a group of five other people to continue our work with Jerome Smith, the director and founder of Tamborine and Fan. On Wednesday, we met with Jerome and had the honor and privilege of hearing his narrative. For four hours, he spoke in a beautiful rhythmic cadence about his many rich life experiences. Just to name a few of the topics, he talked about his experience growing up during segregation, the amazing teachers that influenced his life, the music of New Orleans, his experience as a Freedom Rider, and his interactions with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Despite his life experiences, he explained that nothing compares to the trauma and injustices imparted upon the children in the aftermath of Katrina. In his humble recount of his life, he spoke in reverence only when referring to the children and the youth of New Orleans and their heroic deeds during the storm. Tamborine and Fan, housed in the Treme Community Center, is an organization dedicated to the youth and children. Tamborine and Fan incorporates reading, sports, social activism, music, art, dance, and history into the lives of the children encouraging and fostering growth and leadership. Since Katrina many of the children have not come back to New Orleans, therefore Tamborine and Fan has become committed to bring the children back to Treme.

After having such an incredible experience on Wednesday, we were charged to work and give all that we could. We were asked to have one group walk through the local neighborhoods and document the addresses of homes still vacated and destroyed. The other group was asked to research these addresses to find the names of the owners. Then the organization would attempt to track down the owners and begin to help the families rebuild and move home. I took on the latter of the tasks and went with another student to City Hall to research land titles. Although we were completely clueless in this process, we eventually found all of the names, primarily due to the assistance of many helpful and friendly people. Once we finished, we joined the other group in walking through the neighborhoods of the 7th and 8th wards. We were led by one of Jerome’s protégés, Belden Batiste also known as “Nuni”. He is a man of twenty, yet an incredibly wise and strong leader of the community. As we walked through devastated neighborhoods, he talked of the continued horrors of the aftermath of Katrina and lack of resources and attention given to New Orleans and his community. He spoke of his disappointment and lack of trust in the government, but remained hopeful of the community’s will and determination to persevere. After obtaining 90 addresses, we took a break and enjoyed delicious New Orleans Soul food at one of the most popular local spots, Two Sisters. We left the day feeling profoundly affected by the work of Tamborine and Fan, the presence of Jerome Smith and Nuni, the devastation of Katrina, and the continued injustices of the aftermath.