Nine years ago, people across our country asked whether or not New Orleans should be saved. They asked why we couldn't all just move a little further up river? Why we couldn't all just start over in another town?...
We never evacuated in the 22 years I had been alive. Not once. So when I got a phone call at 5:30 AM while I was unlocking the doors to the Starkville, MS coffee shop where I was a...
Thirteen years ago, I watched in horror and sadness as the waters rose around us and did not stop. It was by far the most devastating and traumatic experience I had ever been through, and I had never felt...
Let’s face it Louisiana, it’s been a tough week.
Scratch that. It’s been a tough month.
From police shootings to protests and now watching the floodwaters rise and fall while waiting to see which neighborhood the river will consume next has...
In August 2005 I was an 18-year-old college sophomore who had just decided to move back to New Orleans. A few days before the storm I evacuated with friends and family, as we had done so many times before....
Dear Joe,
You have done it again! When I first wrote to you, I was in awe of the humbled example of success you portrayed for my son and so many little athletes all over Louisiana. Then, a year later,...
“Oh, I’m sure we will just evacuate for a few days for nothing.”
This was the gist of what family and friends were saying the days leading up to Hurricane Katrina. See, before Katrina, hurricane evacuations were sometimes dubbed...
The first time I came to New Orleans, I was a high school senior considering Tulane University. After spending an afternoon in the French Quarter, before I had even set foot on Tulane’s campus, I knew I was going...
It's been 9 years. The memories are fuzzy, fading slightly. But some things will never be forgotten. How I evacuated with my boyfriend of a few months, wearing only a bathing suit and cover-up. Literally, no underwear. I was...
{see also :: New Orleans is Sending Houston LOVE}
My Katrina Days :: An Anniversary Reflection
We decided to stay. We had just evacuated for the previous storm, spent hours in traffic, and came home to a few leaves on the...
Yesterday, I was sad. Today, I am angry. I am angry at the callousness those untouched by the horrific tragedy spew on social media. Those who refuse to sit in the discomfort of imagining your child's face on the...
Before I begin, let me acknowledge and concede that I don't have the answers. I don't pretend to. I know we are in the age of identity politics but I do not fall into that category. I align with...
June 19th, do you know that this day has meaning? Three years ago, I didn’t. I should have, it’s about our culture, our history, it’s a day about freedom. African American Freedom.
June 19th also known as Juneteenth, the black...
The evening of Friday, August 27 was the first time I put the news on my television in years. I hate televised news. Local, national, all of it. It's not the people (most of the time) but the method....