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September/October 2005

HOUSTON BAR FOUNDATION


Our Finest Moment

By WILLIAM K. KROGER


The whole round country, Lord, river has overflowed Lord, the whole round country, man, is overflowed (Spoken: You know I can’t stay here, I’m goin’ where it’s high, boy) I would go to the hill country, but they got me barred.
– Charley Patton, High Water Everywhere (1929)

Somebody help me get out of Louisiana Just help me get to Houston town. There’s people there who care a little ‘bout me And they won’t let the poor boy down.
– Chuck Berry, Promise Land (1964)

In 1927, America suffered a catastrophic disaster when the Mississippi River, swollen by tremendous rains, broke through the recently constructed levees and flooded the South, from Cairo, Illinois to New Orleans, Louisiana.
The flood covered 27,000 square miles, an area equal to Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Vermont combined. The water remained above flood stage for two months, and left hundreds of thousands displaced from their homes. Many of the wealthy whites were able to escape the flood; most of the poor blacks in the region remained behind, either to drown or live in tent cities for months.
The floods flamed racial tensions between white Southern landowners, some of whom were responsible for flood relief, and black sharecroppers, who had their already difficult lives destroyed. Relief supplies were distributed on the basis of race. In Mississippi, whites rounded up blacks to rebuild the broken levees; when one worker refused to work a double shift, he was shot by the police. Blacks resented the relief efforts; whites thought the blacks failed to be grateful and get back to work.
The flood, the damage it caused to the plantations, and the heightened hostilities between the races set off a chain of events that led to the great migration of African Americans to northern cities. These northern cities were not prepared for this second flood. The Mississippi Delta blues of Charley Patton became the Chicago blues of Muddy Waters, but the misery was the same.
Charley Patton sang of this flood in this classic High Water Everywhere. He sings of the difficulties of finding a dry place to stay in Mississippi. Legend has it that Mr. Patton also wrote angry lyrics about the whites in Mississippi, but that he understandably chose not to include those lines when he made his recording in 1929.
Now, flash forward 75 years, and Houston finds itself in a similar predicament. The levees have failed again. Large numbers of poor people, largely African American, were left behind to suffer the storm. Many have come to our city for a safe place to sleep, a hot meal, and medical care.
And yet, there is one huge difference that makes 75 years seem like an eternity. Instead of ignoring the misery and devastation, Houstonians opened the doors of their homes, churches, shelters, and stadiums; donated truckloads of food and clothing; made arrangements for medical care for those in greatest need; and found room for evacuees’ children at Houston public schools. When the world swirled in chaos, Houston seemed calm, compassionate, and controlled.
That extended to the Texas Bar. I cannot think of a time when I was more proud to call myself a Houston lawyer. When the Houston Bar Association, the Houston Volunteer Lawyers Program, along with other bar associations, put out the word to local lawyers for legal assistance to Katrina victims, more than 400 lawyers answered that call. Dozens of Houston lawyers were visiting the Houston shelters within days of their opening. Over 50 shelters were visited by lawyers within the first week to assess conditions and legal needs. HVLP was able to set up its Katrina phone bank within a week of the influx; so many lawyers volunteered to cover a shift that the first two weeks of shifts were completely staffed within a couple of days. The HBA matched up attorneys with extra rooms and houses with those who needed a place to stay. Houston law firms matched donations of their employees, and donated hundreds of thousands of dollars and hundreds of boxes of clothing and other supplies. This is not the place to document all the efforts of lawyers; that can be left to another edition of this magazine. Suffice it to say that Houston lawyers played an important role in relief efforts.
I shudder to think of the consequences of this flood and the demands that will be placed upon us in the months, and maybe years, to come. Even before this disaster, our city and state budgets were depleted, and our schools underfunded. Many of our important charitable organizations are still recovering from the postEnron economy. Volunteers may be less enthusiastic when the excitement dies down. After the reporters, celebrities, and politicians leave, we will likely still be overwhelmed with needs to provide free legal assistance, to staff phone banks, to visit shelters, to donate money, to provide jobs, homes, and schools for those who decide to call Houston a permanent home.
If you have not yet volunteered to work a shift at HVLP, don’t worry; HVLP will need your help in the months to come. We are up to the challenge. We won’t let our neighbors down.


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