When Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in 2005, it left more than flooded streets – it exposed systemic racial fractures in America. Nearly two decades later, Black residents still grapple with uneven recovery efforts, unequal resource access, and enduring trauma that filmmaker Edward Buckles Jr. calls 'the unseen storm.'
Buckles, raised in New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward, documents how reconstruction prioritized tourist areas over predominantly Black neighborhoods. 'They said we rebuilt,' he notes, 'but recovery maps still mirror redlining patterns from the 1930s.' Over 100,000 Black residents never returned, altering the city's cultural fabric.
New data reveals stark contrasts: Predominantly Black zip codes received 30% less federal rebuilding aid per household than majority-white areas through 2023. Climate experts warn this disparity framework now repeats in disaster responses nationwide.
Youth activists are reclaiming the narrative through oral history projects and community land trusts. 'Katrina wasn't just wind and water,' says local organizer Tanya Harris. 'It was generations of policy failures hitting all at once.'
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
