A Look At Hurricane Katrina, 7 Years Later [PHOTOS] - Page 2
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It’s been seven years since Hurricane Katrina made landfall in the South, causing the death of more than 1,000 people and further crippling the Gulf Coast region. Many lessons were learned from Katrina, and as most prepare for Hurricane Isaac, Hip-Hop Wired is taking a look at the changes that have been made in the city of New Orleans and neighboring states in the years since.
Katrina effectively unearthed the disparaging treatment of poor Black people in New Orleans and beyond. President George W. Bush, who was in office at the time, took several days to actually make it to the city, and initially branded those affected as “refugees.” His words caused nationwide backlash and were ruled both racist and discriminatory. Making matters worse was his mother Barbara’s statement that Black citizens who sought shelter in the crowded New Orleans Superdome were placed in better living conditions once they made it to the arena. “So many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway,” she said. “So this is working very well for them.”
Several deaths were confirmed at the Super Dome, some of which were not immediately removed from the venue. The lack of respect for human life, further deepened the racial divide that has plagued this country for hundreds of years. “[I remember] just how hard that time was, how stressful it was, the things that I was able to see and the TV [was] unable to show,” David Banner tells us of when Hurricane Katrina hit. “How America continues to flip our pain into money. You have companies like Halliburton making money off of our pain and don’t even allow us to work in a lot of cases, to help our own situation when there’s money to be pushed back into our neighborhoods. To watch the tourist aspect in the places we’re from flourish, a lot of the places that we are actually from are in similar situations but because we’re so used to pain, we don’t expect more.
“The disaster recovery model in America has room for improvement. There were folks who received insurance and then the mortgage company took their payments.”
“Historically I can’t remember in recent history when any president has done much for the state of Mississippi, regardless of who that is,” adds Banner. “Mathematically it doesn’t add up, if you have the poorest state than that’s the state that needs the most funding and the most help, that’s never the case when it comes to the state where I’m from.”
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Photos: AP
The Gulf region has proven itself resilient, and while there is still more work to be done, the people in the area continue to push forward with or without help from outside entities. “I think the most important thing really is the scope of the problem,” notes Zack Rosenberg, who runs the non-profit organization, the St. Bernard Project. Rosenberg and members of his team have been on the frontlines of the disaster area, re-building houses for families who own property but are not financially capable of fixing their homes in New Orleans and the area known as St. Bernard Parish. The St. Bernard Project gives priority to the elderly, disabled, and parents who have children younger than 18. “There were 180,000 houses flooded,” Rosenberg tells Hip-Hop Wired. “That’s a massive number. The disaster recovery model in America has room for improvement. There were folks who received insurance and then the mortgage company took their payments.”
“George Bush doesn’t care about Black people.” -Kanye West
Opening the door for fraudulent activity, at the hands of contractors, many who lost their homes because of Katrina have been scammed. As a result, 60 percent of residents helped by the St. Bernard Project have been victims of fraud.
Back in 2005, New Orleans was a hot spot for media attention and is credited with shifting the way in which reporters covered stories on a national scale turning them from the “lap dog” media to the “watch dog media.” Many celebrities headed to the area, and held fundraisers to elicit donations to aid the Gulf Coast. Kanye West poignantly appeared on a telethon and spoke what had been hanging heavy on the hearts of many watching the disparaging treatment of America’s own citizens. “George Bush doesn’t care about Black people,” West said. His words were heartfelt, honest, and true.
Bush was criticized for proclaiming that FEMA head Michael Brown was doing a “helluva job” with helping people in New Orleans, yet the countless pictures of residents stuck on rooftops, trying to swim in the water that flooded the city once the levees broke, and the dead bodies strewn throughout the city streets begged to differ.
Now that the television cameras have left, and the many of the celebrities have stopped offering their support, Rosenberg is encouraging the nation not to forget about New Orleans. “What I used to tell people [is], ‘It’s a year after the storm, we need your help more than ever.’ But the truth is now is that time. Now is the time. People need to keep this on the radar or else it will be forgotten. New Orleans is family that’s what it really is and we all have family who we love and many of us are lucky enough to have a safety net, but [there are] those who don’t. The family who [are] not our blood, who [are] not our direct kin, we have to step forward. The time is now.”
Supplies for each home that the St. Bernard Project builds costs between $20-$25,000, and with a projected 15 years until New Orelans is restored to its post-Katrina status, Rosenberg feels that things are right on track. “Arguably we’re a third of the way there,” he says. “I think 15 years is probably right for it to be completely recovered. I think the window is about three years more for owner-occupied free buildings. I have clients who are living in gutted houses still today.”
Yet even with a reported $10 billion allocated to restoring the New Orleans, the economic downturn has made an already trying situation worse. “It’s multi-leveled. New Orleans is an awesome place. The schools are getting better, the community is full of love. If people are back in there house that means many, if not all, have their families around,” says Rosenberg. “[But, an] Unimaginable number of hard working folks who— of no fault of their own— haven’t been able to recover. The recovery is by no means complete for them.”
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In preparation for Isaac, President Obama sent FEMA representative to New Orleans one week before the storm was to make landfall. According to Rosenberg, citizens in the city are “cautiously optimistic” since the Obama administration has taken over. “I think it’s a ‘Wait and see’ attitude. But we’ve seen since the Obama administration has come on board that FEMA and HUD and other federal entities that relate to post-disaster work have been doing a heck of a job. [They] have been working with the sort of sense of purpose and commitment that we expect out of our government agencies. [The people of New Orleans are] going to give the government that chance, not a free pass but a chance, and that’s fair.”
“Katrina was just an example of what America has historically always been doing to us. A recession? A recession for who? It’s always been a recession in Mississippi.” -David Banner
Banner, who has long been a vocal social advocate, sees Katrina as an example of what Black people have been experiencing for years. For Banner, the spirit of Mississippians—who have received much less press after Katrina hit— has always been solid. “I definitely will say it didn’t break our spirits. Historically it has nothing to do with Katrina, from slavery we always just had to stay. Those who stayed in Mississippi learned to deal with the worst; we’ve always just had to deal with it. I’ve never understood that about America, people from Mississippi haven’t done nothing to people but love them, stayed when they ran, stayed when everybody else couldn’t take no more and we get laughed at and talked about and no help, almost to a disrespectful manner. For me, part of the thing that makes Mississippians so special is ‘What else can you do to us?’ A guy asked me one time, he said ‘David Banner you’re so outspoken, you ain’t afraid something gon’ happen?’ What else can they do to me, besides murder me, that they haven’t already done to my people ? Katrina was just an example of what America has historically always been doing to us. A recession? A recession for who? It’s always been a recession in Mississippi, ain’t nothing new to us. That’s why I feel like Mississippians should be billionaires at this point because we know how to navigate through a recession.
“There will never be a repeat in our time, of Katrina. Even if there was a hurricane that was more powerful, Katrina caught people off guard, I don’t think we’ll ever be caught off guard again. People who would have normally not left, they’ll definitely be leaving [for Hurricane Isaac]. It’s that serious. The emotional component of Katrina is what people don’t understand and what the cameras didn’t get in Mississippi, because we didn’t have the Angelina Jolies staying in our city, we didn’t have the political aspect.”
Banner has been tireless in his efforts to help out his state, but shies away from boasting. “I never did what I did because it was the hot thing to do,” he adds. “I didn’t know what else to do but to help, or to try to help. It’s always been me. I want to help people.”
In light of Hurricane Isaac, the St. Bernard Project will delve full-throttle into necessary recovery efforts, has secured all of the houses that it’s rebuilt, and made sure that their clients had outlined safety plans. But the work is not over. Those looking to donate can visit www.stbernardproject.org, or can do their part by throwing fundraising events to bring in money to help those in need. Rosenberg has also put together a letter on Hurricane Isaac relief efforts which can be viewed below, alongside memorable pictures from Hurricane Katrina.
Never forget.
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