Remembering Katrina*
Two years ago, an American city experienced the costliest and one of the deadliest natural disasters in U.S. history. As a native of that city, New Orleans, Louisiana, it is deeply troubling to note that the devastating effects on the city of Hurricane Katrina still remain largely unaddressed. Those in power in the current American oligarchy continue to channel billions and billions of dollars toward their self-serving imperialist enterprise, while New Orleans and its inhabitants continue to be neglected, largely due to issues of class and race.
And so it goes...
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Personally, I have been to New Orleans about 5 times since the storm hit. Each visit is bittersweet; a chance to return home (or revisit the question of home), to see family (though my mom has relocated/been displaced to Houston), and to experience the culture...or what's left of it. JAZZFEST still happens, and, as noted here before, it is an anticipated, joyful reunion time for close friends and family. It's still that, yet many discussions about things to do, see or experience in the city end in a brief silence after an acknowledgment of what's "not there anymore." Driving around the city, seeing all the abandoned homes and businesses, only confirms the absences present in the conversations. I didn't drive around the city on my last visit.
So on this second anniversary after the storm, I am wondering about the future of the city that was.
See also:
How to Destroy an African American City in 33 Steps - Lessons from Katrina
Beyond Katrina
New Orleans Independent Media Center
(*listening to John Coltrane's "Lonnie's Lamment)
Bryan
in New Orleans, Politics, Hurricane Katrina
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