Margie Perez, New Orleans Jazz Singer & Song Writer from Musicians Village
Remarks as Prepared for Delivery
August 25, 2008

After 10 years of long-distance love for the city of New Orleans, I moved there in 2004 to start a new life as a musician. I was living there when Hurricane Katrina hit. I grabbed some clothes and a hula hoop and evacuated New Orleans with a group of friends. We thought we would be returning home soon. Then the levees broke, and we watched our beloved city drown. We found ourselves marooned in our own country, stranded with no help on the horizon. Those were painful days. We were scared and powerless. President Bush flew over the disaster zone in Air Force One, then went back to Washington. We were alone. The sight of New Orleans under six feet of water is a perfect symbol of what has happened to our country during the Bush presidency.

America can't afford to let John McCain drown our hopes in more of the same failed policies. As New Orleans struggled to rebuild, I was fortunate enough to qualify for a new home in a Habitat for Humanity project called the Musician's Village. I met many wonderful Americans like the couple from Boston who helped me build my porch. I also crossed paths with Senator Barack Obama--he signed a 2-by-4 that I keep on my coffee table. Thanks to his candidacy, I feel like the storm our country has weathered may be ready to pass. There is hope on the horizon.

America can't afford four more years like the last eight. Barack Obama offers the change we need, the hope we deserve and the future we can build together if we take back our country and vote Obama for president this November! It is said that those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it. We must never forget what happened to New Orleans. To help us remember, we have a short film by Academy award-winning director June Beallor that illuminates the lessons of Katrina.