Hurricane Katrina

Sep11

Hurricane Katrina

Have been watching the relief concert today for the victims of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and was both shocked and embarrassed that I didn’t know as much about this tragedy as I should have.

I’m not going to get all political here but I found this blog which details one couples first hand experiences. Below is a very brief excerpt recounting what happened when some of the residents tried to simply walk out of New Orleans, that really moved me.

“As we approached the bridge, armed Gretna sheriffs formed a line across the foot of the bridge. Before we were close enough to speak, they began firing their weapons over our heads. This sent the crowd fleeing in various directions. As the crowd scattered and dissipated, a few of us inched forward and managed to engage some of the sheriffs in conversation. We told them of our conversation with the police commander and of the commander’s assurances. The sheriffs informed us there were no buses waiting. The commander had lied to us to get us to move.

We questioned why we couldn’t cross the bridge anyway, especially as there was little traffic on the 6-lane highway. They responded that the West Bank was not going to become New Orleans and there would be no Superdomes in their City. These were code words for if you are poor and black, you are not crossing the Mississippi River and you were not getting out of New Orleans.”

What I’m listening to right now: Kanye West - “Late Registration”