At 4:53 pm EST January 19^th, precisely one week after the 7.0 earthquake that shook Haiti, a moment of silence was held at the Haitian Embassy in Washington, D.C. led by Reverend Yearwood of the Hip Hop Caucus. “Not only did Haiti shake,” he said, “but I believe that all the world shook because at that moment so many lives were lost, and when lives in the thousands leave this earth as it did at that moment... something happens, not only in Haiti but around the globe.”

Later that evening Yearwood hosted a conference call with nearly 700 people including Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA), Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus; rap artists and activists, MC Lyte and David Banner; rapper Jim Jones; and reality TV personalit, Omarosa, Yearwood reported that the Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive has found the body count from the aftermath to be more than 72,000.

While it was acknowledged that indeed, around the globe, there has been a response of an outpouring of support, much of the call was focused on the need and methods for continued action and awareness because the road from rescue to recovery needs to be paved through to reconstruction.

“...The people of Haiti have been facing an earthquake way before now,” said David Banner referring to Haiti being the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and the past bureaucracy, including foreign policies of the U.S. government, that has kept it as such. Banner had been an advocate for community building in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina that struck the Gulf Coast in 2005. “It is up to us as people, regardless of what part you play in society, it’s about us being human beings and doing for others that are in need, he said. “We have to watch those people that we donate money to and hold them accountable. Make sure that that money is getting to the people because... to this day our people in Mississippi are still hurting.”

Dr. Ron Daniels, President of the Institute of the Black World 21^st Century, an organization that has provided service to Haiti for the past 14 years, also stressed the importance of a long-term commitment to awareness and action based on reports from the ground in Haiti. “People should know, two-thirds of Haiti was not affected by the earthquake... people are beginning to move [to the unaffected central and northern areas of Haiti]. Now that’s good news/bad news. Good news is they’ll be traveling to safety. Bad news is some of these towns will double, triple, quadruple in size and there’s a need to meet that challenge.”

Nicole Lee, President of TransAfrica Forum outlined legislative concerns.  “It was a huge victory last week when [Homeland Security] Secretary [Janet] Napolitano did call and say that they would be granting Haitians in the United States Temporary Protected Status but what we have to realize is that it is temporary.” However she takes issue with the TPS expiring in 18 months. “...We still have a lot of work to do because 18 months, we know Haiti is still going to have massive problems and that TPS is still going to be needed.” Also needed, she noted, is to “ensure that Haitians can actually work in the United States while they’re here... a part of that is waiving fees to allow Haitians to work in the United States.”

Yearwood recommends that people create a profile on HipHopHelpHaiti.org in order build a network for action that will stay connected even after the television cameras turn off. “We have experience from what we went through with Katrina and we must now use that for the people of Haiti.”

Words By Sia Tiambi Barnes