Isn't it True? Hurricane Katrina One Year Later

It’s the paradox of extremes that really trips me up. On the one year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, I'm thinking about extremes. Here’s what I mean:

Hurricane Katrina pummels the Gulf states and leaves a swath of destruction and hundreds of thousands of people in dire need. And immediately, people (many of them survivors of the storm) step up to help. They volunteer countless hours, tirelessly, and give resources and money.

Isn’t it true that tragedy can bring out the best in us?

But then: Hurricane Katrina pummels the Gulf states and leaves a swath of destruction and hundreds of thousands people in dire need. And even one year later, sections of the gulf look like the storm just hit. Those areas are predominantly poor and African American, like New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward, or East Biloxi, Miss. The survivors still have not received an explanation as to why our government has failed to respond.

Isn’t it true that this tragedy has revealed the worst in us? It has laid bare our social fault lines — lines that divide us by race and class.

If you haven’t already, check out Spike Lee’s documentary film “When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts” but remind yourself that Katrina hit people everywhere along the Gulf Coast, in New Orleans as well as the broader Louisiana and Mississippi coastlines. And then remind yourself that the true impact of the storm has depended on who you are . . . what lines “delineate” you.

Understanding that truth and acting on it is important for those who care about social justice. One way you can test your knowledge of how the storm’s aftermath has impacted people differently is by taking UUSC’s Hurricane Katrina Quiz. You can also read UUSC President Charlie Clements’s Katrina anniversary letter that outlines UUSC’s concerns, describes some of our work, and provides additional links.

Finally, please read the New York Times Magazine article “Orphaned”, and also check out their multimedia coverage “Children of the Storm.” Hear children speak of their experiences of displacement and read about the context in which Katrina struck . . .

I’ll be on the Gulf Coast in a few weeks to meet with our partners. I’ll send you line . . .