The Porch 7th Ward Cultural Organization
We are a cultural organization commited to the Seventh Ward area, in New Orleans. We seek to promote and sustain the cultures of the neighborhood, city, and region and to foster exchange between cultural groups. The Porch is a place where all can come to do and to share their culture, and to take care of each other and our communities.
Our Values
We believe that people come first. We look at the whole person – the physical, emotional, spiritual, and intellectual. We see the humanity in each person and honor his or her struggles. We put our community before our own interests. We believe in actively working for a more just and humane society. We are a volunteer-driven, action-oriented organization. We all must be willing to think creatively about our problems and stand up for our core beliefs.
We believe in culture as our primary tool of empowerment. We address the individual, the community, and our work through culture. We value traditional and local knowledge and seek to pass it down through generations.
We believe that taking care of each other means openly talking about and actively dealing with questions of race, class, gender, sexual preference, cultural differences, power differences and other issues that face us as a community. We believe in developing a shared language that is inclusive and empowers people to have these conversations.
We believe in affordable housing. We respect the rights of renters as well as homeowners. We believe that a dynamic neighborhood maintains access for people of all income levels.
We value the public sphere. We work to create safe and accessible public spaces.
We believe in developing young minds. We set good examples for young people through our work.
We respect our environment and share a deep sense of place.
We value integrity in our work and in our actions.
We believe that transformation is possible.
We work with…..
Residents, artists, community organizations, and national partners including Neighborhood Housing Services of New Orleans, University of Kansas Architecture School, Tulane City Center, Xavier University Art Department, the Original Big Seven Social Aid and Pleasure Club, the Neighborhood Story Project, the Seventh Ward Warriors Mardi Gras Indian Tribe, Parkway Partners, The New Orleans Food and Farm Network, KID smART, Tisch School of the Arts NYU, New Corps, Common Ground Collective, and many others. We always welcome new partners and collaborations.
How we make decisions
Porch meetings and events are open to all.
The Porch is a governed by a five member council and a general membership. The council is voted on by the members and may rotate. The general membership makes decisions about programs and projects. The council makes decisions with the general membership about organizational structure. We make decisions by consensus. Our Council members are Willie Birch, Edward Buckner, Helen Regis, Hubert Dixon, and Larry Poirier.
The Porch is supported by NHS New Orleans, a non-profit, 501C3 organization.
