Patty Whitney
STORYTELLER: Patty Whitney
A lifelong resident of the Bayou Region of southeastern Louisiana, Patricia “Patty” Whitney is a graduate of Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, Louisiana, with a B.S. in Business Education and a minor in English. She is a retired court reporter. Patty is the mother of three sons and has two grandsons. Her youngest son, A.J., was born with DownSyndrome, which began Patty’s work as an advocate, and she still maintains a strong interest in advocacy for the rights of people with special needs. She currently holds the position of Executive Assistant for BISCO and is their environmental and housing specialist. She is a passionate genealogist and local historian and currently serves as the President of the Lafourche Heritage Society as well as the Terrebonne Genealogical Society. Patty also plays the flute with the “Sacred Folk” choir at St. Joseph Co-Cathedral in Thibodaux.
ORGANIZATION: Bayou Interfaith Shared Community Organizing
BISCO (Bayou Interfaith Shared Community Organizing) is a faith-based nonprofit which uses Community Organizing to build community. Their mission is to build a powerful, multi-faith, multi-ethnic, multi-race, multi-issue organization that serves as a voice for the people of Terrebonne and Lafourche Parishes in southeastern Louisiana. With a current staff of 9, BISCO has become the go-to organization in the Bayou Region for accessing the local community and addressing issues for growth and sustainability. They work on policy advocacy, leadership training, and capacity building.
COMMUNITY: Lafourche and Terrebonne Parish
The parishes of Lafourche and Terrebonne in southeastern Louisiana form a major part of the Bayou Region of the State and are located in the Barataria-Terrebonne Estuary, an archaic delta of the Mississippi River noted for being the site of the fastest rate of land loss in the world. With a combined 2000 population of over 200,000 the area consists of a large urban area (Houma), a small urban area (Thibodaux), and numerous small rural communities, as well as a fertile and beautiful coastal wetlands environment. The major industry in the region is Oil and Gas Production, followed by Navigation and Seafood. The region boasts a population that is the LEAST transient population in the country, and most residents of the area can trace their ancestry in the region back to the earliest settlement of the coast.
COMMUNITY VISION: Bayou Region
The major vision for the Bayou Region is to remain in existence. The small, rural bayou communities in the southernmost reaches of these parishes face complete destruction and forced internal displacement within the very near future. The larger urban areas are coming to the realization that they are facing the same issues as their neighbors.
REGIONAL ISSUES:
Environmental Justice
The Bayou Region shares a hugely disproportionate burden of environmental damages based on the movement of goods through our fragile wetlands for the benefit and profit of private industry and the federal budget. The residents of the first communities to face forced migration are traditionally Native American, descendants of exiled Acadians, as well as descendants of Africans forced into bondage. The annual average income in these specific communities is low, the educational levels are generally high school diploma or less, and there are a large number of subsistence level shrimpers, fishermen, and oystermen.
Cultural Preservation
The culture of the Bayou Region is a unique blend of ethnic groups who have a unified desire to remain in the area. Just as the traditional “gumbo” provides both sustenance and a delightful taste, each of the ethnic groups who make up the region provide their own potency and style to bringing out the intensity and depth of the culture. The people and the environment each add their own dimension to this culture. If either is removed or degraded, it can never be re-constituted anywhere else on earth.
Sustainable Development
As said above, “sustainable” to our area means the very ability of our communities to remain in existence. We need to have communities that can maintain their unique culture while providing a safe and healthy environment for its residents. Environmental restoration and protection is the key issue in sustaining our communities. After that, affordable, accessible and safe housing is a necessity that is severely lacking in our area.
Other Regional Issues
As with most other communities, we in the Bayou Region need improvements in education and community development. We need to bring up the income levels of our residents and develop employment opportunities that are not subsistence level or dependent upon environmentally destructive industries. We need to give our people a voice to fight corrupt governmental practices and unjust institutional systems. We need to find creative ways to try to break down long-held patterns of racism and poverty.
MEDIA PROJECT IDEAS:
Is there a short video or photo essay about your community that you’d like to create?
I would like to see a video that focuses on the unique nature of our culture and it’s current vulnerability.
Who do you hope to reach with this project and why?
While my community is facing this disastrous issue at a local level, the solutions to resolving this crisis are national in scope. I would hope to reach people from around the country so as to build a federal political will to promote and fund restoration and protection projects in my community.
What support would help you create this project and ensure that it has an impact?
Creating the video would of course be the first step. The biggest support would be in getting the video and speakers on the subject before a national audience on a very large scale. The dialogue needs to be brought to the country. It will take people with the power to get the word out there on a scale that can force action.
ORGANIZATION CONTACT:
Patty Whitney
BISCO
1206 Cardinal Drive
Thibodaux, LA 70301
985.858.3214
ORGANIZATION WEB SITE:
