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Image by: Liliana Rodriguez / Oxfam America 

Sharon Hanshaw: Leading Out of the Ruins

From: American Public Media
Series: The Promised Land
Length: 54:00

Before Katrina, Sharon Hanshaw owned a beauty salon and lived in a house on a tree-lined street. All that all changed when the hurricane hit Biloxi, Mississippi. The storm brought her not just destruction, but also transformation. As executive director of Coastal Women for Change, she has turned her losses into strength, by becoming an advocate and role model for others. Hanshaw’s work empowers women to be political voices in the long-range planning and rebuilding of their community. Read the full description.

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When Hurricane Katrina hit East Biloxi, Mississippi, it destroyed Sharon Hanshaw’s home and the hairdressing business she had built over a lifetime. It also transformed her from cosmetologist to activist. After casually attending community meetings of women, she started Coastal Women for Change (CWC), an organization that mobilizes women around rebuilding Biloxi right. 
 
Although the whole Gulf Coast was devastated by Katrina, Hanshaw believes poor women were hit hardest because they had limited resources to fall back on. Hanshaw’s work empowers women to be political voices in the reconstruction of their community, especially concerning issues of lack of affordability, emergency preparedness, and now, climate change. 
 
Majora Carter meets Hanshaw and the women leaders who are stepping up to create the Biloxi they need. Hanshaw tells the women she works with, “I’m going to train you if it kills me. … You’re all going to be powerful women. Throughout this process, we’ve created more leaders.” 

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Piece Description

When Hurricane Katrina hit East Biloxi, Mississippi, it destroyed Sharon Hanshaw’s home and the hairdressing business she had built over a lifetime. It also transformed her from cosmetologist to activist. After casually attending community meetings of women, she started Coastal Women for Change (CWC), an organization that mobilizes women around rebuilding Biloxi right. 
 
Although the whole Gulf Coast was devastated by Katrina, Hanshaw believes poor women were hit hardest because they had limited resources to fall back on. Hanshaw’s work empowers women to be political voices in the reconstruction of their community, especially concerning issues of lack of affordability, emergency preparedness, and now, climate change. 
 
Majora Carter meets Hanshaw and the women leaders who are stepping up to create the Biloxi they need. Hanshaw tells the women she works with, “I’m going to train you if it kills me. … You’re all going to be powerful women. Throughout this process, we’ve created more leaders.” 

Timing and Cues

The Promised Land
Episode: Sharon Hanshaw
TRT 59:00

* Breaks: Two 1:00 minute Station ID Breaks. There is music under the break. *

Billboard: 00:00 - 1:00
Incue: Hi, I'm Majora Carter and this is The Promised Land, from APM, American Public Media. Today, in our special series, Voices from the Gulf Coast. On today's show…
Outcue:…don't believe the hype, baby. You better believe it. Join us.

News break hole 01:00 - 06:00

Seg A: 06:00 - 23:02
Incue: Hi, I'm Majora Carter and this is The Promised Land from APM, American Public Media, a show about visionaries and leaders who are transforming lives and communities...
Outcue:..You can watch videos of Sharon and all the visionaries we meet at thepromisedland.org. I'm Majora Carter, and this The Promised Land from APM.

Break One: 23:02 - 24:02

Seg B: 24:02 - 40:00
Incue: Hi, I'm Majora Carter and this is The Promised Land, Voices from the Gulf Coast, where visionary leaders are reshaping their communities and our world…
Outcue:…Become a part of The Promised Land community by finding us on Facebook and Twitter @thepromisedland. I'm Majora Carter. You're listening to The Promised Land from APM.

Break Two: 40:00 - 41:00

Seg C: 41:00 - 59:00
Incue: I'm Majora Carter, with The Promised Land, a show about visionaries who are changing their communities in innovative ways...
Outcue:…values that contribute to a healthy planet. This is APM, American Public Media.

Additional Files

Related Website

http://www.thepromisedland.org