Two boys show a craft Christmas reef one made at the Drew CDC's Family Preservation Christmas party

I’ve currently been working with a talented group of pro-bono consultants from a nonprofit called Taproots Foundation. The organization pairs up professionals from a variety of concentrations with small, local nonprofits that need help in achieving some goal or developing something.

In this case, my team and I are helping LA-based Drew Child Development Corporation (Drew CDC) develop an annual report. Drew CDC is a community-based child development and family support organization serving the Watts/Willowbrook area of Los Angeles. As the photographer for the project, I’m tasked with the creative direction and production of images that are to be used in the document.

After a lengthy discovery phase, we are now moving into production. This month, I made the first of many visits-to-come to Drew CDC’s facilities. I got to see and capture what they do. It has been inspiring and moving, to say the least, witnessing people, passionate about their work, help to lift up a community of mostly under-served families. This is the kind of selfless pursuit for the greater good that continues to draw me to working with nonprofit organizations. Visit their website to learn more about Drew CDC.

The following are a few of my favorite shots from their annual Christmas Potluck and a Christmas party held as part of their Family Preservation program.

Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship addresses the National Press Club at a luncheon, July 22, 2010. Mr. Blankenship discussed the need to increase surface mining of coal in order to meet the nation’s energy requirements.

The United States faces increasing loss of jobs if it continues to impose regulations of dubious merit on the nation’s business and industrial sector, Don Blankenship, chairman and CEO of Massey Energy Co., said at a July 22 National Press Club Luncheon.

He spoke in the face of wide criticism of his company over the April 5 explosion at Massey’s Upper Big Branch coal mine in West Virginia that killed 29 miners. It was the worst such disaster since the 1970 explosion killing 38 miners in Hyden, Ky. But his opening remarks were directed at the U.S. government’s massive debt, which he said could cause it to fail “if it continues to bleed that way.”

Blankenship warned against saddling business and industry, including coal mines, with more regulations that he said are often counter-productive, costing jobs at home and sending many overseas.
“People are losing jobs because of environmental extremism,” he said, adding that the focus should be on making business more productive rather than on “political correctness. We are trying to get sensible behavior in Washington.”

He defended coal mining, saying it played a major role in giving Americans the quality of life and extended lifespans they enjoy. Moreover, he said, “coal is 70 percent cleaner today than it was 30 years ago.”

The government’s mounting debt comes at a time when “1.3 billion people in the world exist on less than a dollar a day,” he said. “We can forget them if we don’t see them. Millions die of preventable diseases.”

The native West Virginian, who worked in the mines as a young man, said Massey tries to make its mines as safe as possible. “Coal mining in central Appalachia is difficult,” he declared. “We have spent tens of millions of dollars on safety.”

A 1972 accounting graduate of Marshall University, Blankenship received the school’s “Most Distinguished Alumni” award and was inducted into the Lewis College of Business Hall of Fame in 1999.

In the question-answer period, he told how he was “with families (of explosion victims) every night — 25 of the 29 families — and didn’t sleep for two or three days” after the April 5 disaster. “We are trying everything we can to see that it won’t happen again.” He said the company is “very focused on improving the ventilation (in the mine).”

But the 60-year-old executive warned new regulations could be harmful. He said Massey hires only the best engineers from the best schools and suggested they were often better than the government inspectors. He contrasted U.S. mines with those in China, which are relatively free of regulations.

Blankenship said he lives near the Upper Big Branch mine in a 106-year-old house he figures is worth around $250,000.

– Bob Webb, rewebb@aol.com

Reposted from The National Press Club

A protestor at a rally outside the National Press Club

Demonstrators disguised as journalists disrupt Blankenship's speech during a luncheon at The National Press Club.

Demonstrators disguised as journalists disrupt Blankenship's speech during a luncheon at The National Press Club.

Demonstrators disguised as journalists disrupt Blankenship's speech during a luncheon at The National Press Club.

Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship addresses the National Press Club at a luncheon, July 22, 2010.

Protestors outside the National Press Club calling for Massey Energy CEO to be held accountable for the April 5, 2010 Upper Big Branch mine explosion that killed 29 miners.

These images have never been shared with the public. I had only taken them for myself to remember that day. Most people remember exactly what they were doing that morning, where they were, and how they were reacting as the events unfolded. I was a college student who had lived in New York City for nearly a year and was getting ready to make the commute from Brooklyn to Manhattan. I never made that commute. I remember sitting in my living room that morning listening to the radio with a feeling of deep disbelief and helplessness. The pictures you see below were my attempts to come to grips with reality. Unlike those who witnessed the collapse in person or on television, I was instead confronted with ashes in my face, smoke, and burnt pages of paper floating down like feathers to the ground. The experience wasn’t “like a movie,” something I have heard repeated by detached witnesses over and over. For me, it was the closest I had ever come to mass destruction and death and I was forever moved by that sight.

It is difficult to forget the day of September 11, 2001 when much of what is going on today is in some way a consequence of the occurrences of that day. From the emotionally impacted individual to the drastic reactionary measures in foreign and domestic policy, the character of this country has changed for better and for worse. When historians in the future attempt to trace the roots of this change, this day will surely be marked a turning point.

]]> http://www.waynehuang.net/2009/09/september-11-2001/feed/ 0 http://www.waynehuang.net/2009/08/town-hall-with-rep-adam-schiff/ http://www.waynehuang.net/2009/08/town-hall-with-rep-adam-schiff/#comments Mon, 10 Aug 2009 23:09:36 +0000 Wayne http://www.waynehuang.net/2009/08/1073/ ]]> ]]> http://www.waynehuang.net/2009/08/town-hall-with-rep-adam-schiff/feed/ 0 http://www.waynehuang.net/2009/07/ensenada-the-makers-and-pushers-of-a-tourism-economy/ http://www.waynehuang.net/2009/07/ensenada-the-makers-and-pushers-of-a-tourism-economy/#comments Sun, 26 Jul 2009 02:45:51 +0000 Wayne http://www.waynehuang.net/?p=884 ]]> ]]> http://www.waynehuang.net/2009/07/ensenada-the-makers-and-pushers-of-a-tourism-economy/feed/ 0 http://www.waynehuang.net/2009/06/iran-election-protest-in-irvine-california/ http://www.waynehuang.net/2009/06/iran-election-protest-in-irvine-california/#comments Fri, 26 Jun 2009 14:59:44 +0000 Wayne http://www.waynehuang.net/?p=797 June 25, 2009 – Iranians of Orange County rally at Irvine City Hall to make their voices heard and to show solidarity and support for the uprising in Tehran.]]>

June 25, 2009 – Iranians of Orange County rally at Irvine City Hall to make their voices heard and to show solidarity and support for the uprising in Tehran.

No Man's Land, U.S.-Mexico Border Fence between San Ysidro, California and Tijuana, Mexico. Click on image for 360 degree QTVR.

The 1,951 mile (3,141 km) border between the United States and Mexico traverses a variety of terrains, including urban areas and deserts. The barrier is located on both urban and uninhabited sections of the border, areas where the most concentrated numbers of illegal crossings and drug trafficking have been observed in the past. These urban areas include San Diego, California and El Paso, Texas. As of August 29, 2008, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security had built 190 miles (310 km) of pedestrian border fence and 154.3 miles (248.3 km) of vehicle border fence, for a total of 344.3 miles (554.1 km) of fence. The completed fence is mainly in New Mexico, Arizona, and California, with construction under way in Texas.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported that it had more than 580 miles (930 km) of fence in place by the second week of January, 2009. Work is still under way on fence segments in Texas and on the Border Infrastructure System in California.

The border fence is not one continuous structure and is actually a grouping of short physical walls that stop and start, secured in between with “virtual fence” which includes a system of sensors and cameras monitored by Border Patrol Agents. As a result of the success of the barrier, there has been a marked increase in the number of people trying to illegally cross the Sonoran Desert and crossing over the Baboquivari Mountain in Arizona. Such illegal immigrants must cross 50 miles (80 km) of inhospitable terrain to reach the first road, which is located in the Tohono O’odham Indian Reservation.

There have been around five thousand migrant deaths along the Mexico-U.S. border in the last thirteen years, according to a document created by the Human Rights National Commission of Mexico, also signed by the American Civil Liberties Union Between 43 and 61 people died trying to cross the Sonoran Desert during that same time period; three times that of the same period the previous year. In October 2004 the Border Patrol announced that 325 people had died crossing the entire border during the previous 12 months. Between 1998 and 2004, 1,954 persons are officially reported to have died along the US-Mexico border. Since 2004, the bodies of 1086 migrants have been recovered in the southern Arizona desert.

U.S. Border Patrol Tucson Sector reported on Oct. 15, 2008 that its agents were able to save 443 illegal aliens from certain death after being abandoned by their smugglers, during FY 2008, while reducing the number of deaths by 17 percent from 202 in FY 2007 to 167 in FY 2008 . Without the efforts of these agents, hundreds more could have died in the unforgiving deserts of Arizona.

The sustained trend of quality enhancements including additional manpower, growing infrastructure and improved technology have allowed the Tucson Sector agents to expand border security, reducing the number of apprehensions at the borders by 16 percent compared with fiscal year 2007. Tucson Sector agents apprehended 317,696 illegal aliens that attempted to circumvent enforcement efforts at the border and interior checkpoints. 12,267 of those arrested were from countries other than Mexico. (Source: Wikipedia)

The Jongo da Serrinha Cultural Group Association was created in 2000 aiming to continue the historical heritage protection of Jongo. The original social protection project was founded more then 40 years ago by Vovó Maria Joana Rezadeira and Mestre Darcy do Jongo.

Jongo is a manifestation of Afro-Brazilian culture, originated in the African Banto rites and rituals, blending circle dance, music and, some Umbanda processions. Jongo has been carried out since the time of slavery in Brazil. Jongo (“amusement” in Banto, cf. Alceu Maynardi) has its origins in rural Africa, most likely in Angola. It was brought to Brazil, during the colonial time, by the slaves who came to the country to work in the plantations of coffee and sugar cane of states like Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Minas Gerais. In times of captivity, Jongo would be one of the rare moments of interaction among slaves, and it was practiced during the parties, holidays or just during a moment of rest after harvesting.

With the end of slavery and the economic crises in some regions of the country, the slaves managed to migrate from the plantations of Paraiba river valley to the hills of Rio de Janeiro, and began the first Jongo associations clustered in specific slums (favelas) locations of Rio de Janeiro, and in Madureira (Northern Rio), in a slum called Serrinha, the perfect environment to settle and carry on the tradition of Jongo. It did not take long to observe the influence of the accent of the ‘Carioca’ (Native of Rio de Janeiro) infused with the Jongo tradition. The manifestation of Jongo, its characteristics and core values, strongly influenced the history of samba and Popular Brazilian Music (MPB).
Jongo as it flourished in Rio de Janeiro, and more precisely, the one developed in Serrinha, is a dance usually with instruments (usually two sticks), percussion of different types, called “caxambú” and “candongueiro” encourage the participants to reach out for their spiritual enbodiments, connecting “earth and heaven”. The music leads to the motion, to the dance, easing the integration of the movements whereas the song carries important historical messages that speak about the mystery of the traditions and memories of the past. (Source: Dreams Can Be Foundation)

I would spot Leroy, a homeless Vietnam Veteran, at the 34th St. Madison Square Garden station. He would usually be sitting at the bottom of a stairwell with a box for people to throw money in. A few times he would have some artwork he had made expressing certain spiritual beliefs he held, especially of the Islamic faith. There was also a time when he adopted two kittens that stayed beside him. He got more money and attention by having these kittens. Could anyone blame him for this plea for sympathy? Certainly not I.

Throughout the years, I saw his health decline–he complained of being unable to hold down any food except for bread and water, anything else gave him diarrhea, a swelling eye filled with pus, and when I last saw him, he was slumped over in a wheelchair after having fallen down a flight of stairs. I asked him where he had gotten the wheelchair and he said the VA gave it to him.

I made these pictures of him on two separate occassions, however I saw him at least a dozen times throughout the years.