-William Widmer Captures Life in Post-Katrina New Orleans with 'My Mississippi'
-Can New Orleans Heal Now That We Know Cops Shot, Killed, and Burned a Black Man After Katrina?As the tenth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina approaches, news outlets from around the country are descending upon New Orleans to find out how it is faring. The Lower Ninth Ward has become the poster child of the slow recovery—only about 37 percent of pre-Katrina households have returned to the neighborhood, in comparison with more than 90 percent of households throughout the city, according to Postal Service data. Some residents, who have already seen the fifth anniversary come and go, wonder: Will the national attention make a difference, or will their struggles merely make headlines for the day?
Robinson is one of 15 children who grew up in a three-bedroom house in the Lower Ninth Ward. Her brother, sister, and two of her sister's children were living there when Hurricane Katrina hit. Like the rest of the block, it was all but wiped away by more than ten feet of water.Before Katrina, the Lower Ninth Ward had one of the highest rates of black homeownership in Louisiana.
The Lower Ninth Ward, August 25, 2015. Photograph by Caitlin Faw
The Lower Ninth Ward, August 25, 2015. Photograph by Caitlin Faw
"We're doing everything we can within the flexibility we have to provide options to demonstrate how money was spent. But I'm just not sure that we'll be able to substantiate just with what someone told me as adequate proof of how federal funds were spent," McFadden said.Representatives from the Department of Housing and Urban Development said it's a tough situation. They want to be able to provide assistance to victims of fraud, but they need to be able to account for the funds they give out, particularly because all the money spent on Katrina is potentially less money that can be spent on future disasters in other parts of the country.When asked how it's going one of the brothers, Irvin Brown, answered: "Slow, very slow, much too slow." Why? "Money. Money. Money. Money."
The Lower Ninth Ward, August 25, 2015. Photograph by Caitlin Faw
A woman walks along the rebuilt Industrial Canal levee wall in the Lower Ninth Ward on May 18, 2015, in New Orleans. Photograph by Mario Tama/Getty Images
