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One for the Road: Down in New Orleans
Last year during the holidays, I was down in New Orleans with some members of my family, participating in a week-long service trip. We gutted homes, discussed human rights issues, and listened to residents who were willing to share their stories -- of hope, anger and frustration. We ended our week by spending New Years Eve downtown, celebrating what is good about the city, and what is surviving, despite all the problems.A variety of books on post-Katrina New Orleans continue to surface, and I chose this one to mention today, since NOLA has been on my mind. Down in New Orleans: Reflections from a Drowned City is Bill Southern's story of his own evacuation to Mississippi, and subsequent return to his damaged home. Southern is a lawyer-activist who moved to New Orleans four years before the storm. He "offers a powerful vision of what Katrina has meant to New Orleans and what it still means to the nation at large."
One thing I learned during my week in "The City that Care Forgot" is that the significance of Katrina should matter to all of us. I find it too hard to summarize my own thoughts on this topic in a short post. So I'll leave it at this: Just remember. Remember what happened. And keep remembering. Read a book about someone's perspective on post-Katrina New Orleans. Or go visit for yourself. It's a city with problems, that's for sure. But it is still a city, with plenty to do and see, and lots of opportunities for those who want to help.
Filed under: History, One for the Road
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