Katrina: Eyes Have Not Seen, Ears Have Not Heard: The Story of How an American City Was Taken Under Siege by Powerful Forces in Government
()
About this ebook
On August 29th, 2005, Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast and destroyed the lives of many. It also claimed the lives of hundreds and a thousand more. Howerever, what was the most tragic of all was the next storm that hit the Gulf Coast: The Federal Government.
Many people turned to the government for help, but instead of an immediate response to this tragic event, their cries fell on deaf ears. They were told to help themselves. "If you can't help yourselves, then that's just tough." That was the message that was received by the people from the government.
During those faith testing, physical draining, and mental waining days, however, some people survived. At almost every glance, in some way or another, they stared danger and death in it's face. But, their will to live kept them going. Their testimony is present here in this book.
This book also documents the pains of poverty and the diabolic forms of racism that was used not only in the government's response, but also among some citizens that were sparred the wrath of Katrina. It also documents the struggle for those trying to rebuild their lives and the pain that continues from wreckless negligence. Despite the pain, this book attempts to document the great spirit of New Orleans and it's people that fight for their right of return.
The purpose of this book is to bring out the truth. It's purpose is not just to tell the testimonies of those that stayed, but to also break down what really happened at that time. So I end with this question: Was it the wrath of Katrina that destroyed New Orleans or was it something more sinister?
Gavib Richard
What more can be said about this young man? Gavin Richard is a charming, funny, gifted, handsome young man with something to share for this world. Born in New Orleans, LA., He lived there up until the events described in his new book. This new book is also the first book that he has written. It was the culmination of a two year journey of sadness, pain and faith testing. At the same time, it was also a search for the truth and to raise new questions that hadn't been asked. On his 20th birthday in 2006, he attended a march in Washington D.C. with fellow displaced New Orleanians. Instead of blowing out birthday candles, he marched in the cold weather to fight for his rights as well as those that couldn't defend themselves. This was the beginning of that journey. This allowed Gavin the opportunity to express himself about the incidents that occurred during those fateful days. It allowed him to shed light on the injustices that came forth and racial discrimination that spewed it's head during those times. Currently, Gavin is a graduate of Southern University. He has a BA in Political Science and plans to attend law school this coming yearr. He is also working on a second book, and you can check out his new blog, The Rich Spot. There are no limits for him.
Related to Katrina
Related ebooks
Split-Gut Song: Jean Toomer and the Poetics of Modernity Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsVoices from the Storm: The People of New Orleans on Hurricane Katrina and Its Aftermath Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Overlooked Voices of Hurricane Katrina: The Resilience and Recovery of Mississippi Black Women Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsYou Will Never Have This Day Again: A Collection of Inspiration and Beauty Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHurricane Katrina and I: A Testimony While Stationed in New Orleans Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNosy White Woman Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5All the Peaches and Mangoes I Would Sell For You Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHurricane Katrina Survival Stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMemoirs of a Hospice Nurse Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Hole in My Life. Battling Chronic Dizziness. Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I Lay This Body Down: The Transatlantic Life of Rosey E. Pool Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsExodus from the Door of No Return: Journey of an American Family Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGetting Straight To The Point "Letting My Soul Glow" Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Confessions of a Barefaced Woman Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dancing with the Devil Crack Cocaine: The Prophetess Jacqueline Cade Story Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsI MIGHT HAVE BEEN QUEEN: (And Other Things I Didn't Mention Before) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsJuju Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsN'Digo Legacy Black Luxe 110: African American Icons of Contemporary History Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBoth Sides of the Fence: Surviving the Trap Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Burning (Young Readers Edition): Black Wall Street and the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dare to Trust: Choosing a life of risk Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCry Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSebastian and the Invisible Island: 2nd Edition Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsYou Next: Reflections in Black Barbershops Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAfrican American Bryan, Texas: Celebrating the Past Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDivine Providence (or when all else fails, be lucky) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Beautiful Bitch Called Life Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDjogbachiachuwa: the Liberian Anthology Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGetting to Know You: Improving your Relationship Series, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsYes Girl Yes!: God’s Love Looks so Good on You Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Teaching Methods & Materials For You
Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Financial Feminist: Overcome the Patriarchy's Bullsh*t to Master Your Money and Build a Life You Love Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Principles: Life and Work Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Speed Reading: Learn to Read a 200+ Page Book in 1 Hour: Mind Hack, #1 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dumbing Us Down - 25th Anniversary Edition: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition: An Informal Guide to Writing Nonfiction Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Writing to Learn: How to Write - and Think - Clearly About Any Subject at All Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Chicago Guide to Grammar, Usage, and Punctuation Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The 5 Love Languages of Children: The Secret to Loving Children Effectively Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Weapons of Mass Instruction: A Schoolteacher's Journey Through the Dark World of Compulsory Schooling Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Jack Reacher Reading Order: The Complete Lee Child’s Reading List Of Jack Reacher Series Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Take Smart Notes. One Simple Technique to Boost Writing, Learning and Thinking Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dance of Anger: A Woman's Guide to Changing the Patterns of Intimate Relationships Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Verbal Judo, Second Edition: The Gentle Art of Persuasion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...And Others Don't Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fluent in 3 Months: How Anyone at Any Age Can Learn to Speak Any Language from Anywhere in the World Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Personal Finance for Beginners - A Simple Guide to Take Control of Your Financial Situation Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Closing of the American Mind Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Becoming Cliterate: Why Orgasm Equality Matters--And How to Get It Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Anxious Generation - Workbook Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAnimal, Vegetable, Miracle - 10th anniversary edition: A Year of Food Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Four-Hour School Day: How You and Your Kids Can Thrive in the Homeschool Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Competent to Counsel: Introduction to Nouthetic Counseling Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Inside American Education Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My System Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Katrina
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Katrina - Gavib Richard
AuthorHouse™
1663 Liberty Drive, Suite 200
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.authorhouse.com
Phone: 1-800-839-8640
© 2009 Gavin Richard. All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.
First published by AuthorHouse 4/7/2009
ISBN: 978-1-4389-1644-6 (sc)
Printed in the United States of America
Bloomington, Indiana
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Foreword
Chapter 1: Life before 8-29-2005
Chapter 2: Here comes Tropical Depression # 12
Chapter 3:Testimonies of the Young and Old
Chapter 4: Did they break or were they blown up?
Chapter 5: The Truth about FEMA
Chapter 6: Where did all the money go?
Chapter 7: Gretna, O Lord Gretna
Chapter 8: The right to return and the right to decide who can return
Epilogue/ Poem: Part 2
Special Thanks
About the Author
The Life of the So called Refugee
BY
Gavin M. Richard
On August 29 was the day my life changed.
My whole life scattered and world rearranged.
Things I love will never be the same.
Now I realize the true ways of the game.
Because of Katrina my city has negative fame;
The looters, the crooked cops, the refugees that hop
From city to city, bottom to the top
And then the next day we thought we were okay
And then they blew the damn levee away.
The Blacks and the poor all left alone as the flood waters rushed into their homes.
Now Blanco’s telling the national guards to pull the triggers
Bush not concerned because to him we all niggers.
Nagin cusses out the bastard on the phone line,
Days later we see him hugging Bush’s behind, none of the leaders got no plans in mind.
Does anybody see what is going on?
It’s the lack of care that’s what’s wrong.
I didn’t put down this poem for cross-over appeal,
But just to let you all know how I feel.
So open your eyes and you’ll see the life of the so called refugee. (See part 2)
Introduction
When you say the name, no matter where you are or how old you are, you recognize it. If you were to eat a bowl of gumbo or have one, just one, grilled or fried shrimp po-boy, you recognize the taste and know where it comes from (some pretend to cook claim their food is just as good or better, but the people know that’s not true). It is a city that was built in 1718, surrounded by water, dubbing the nickname, Crescent City
. Although it was surrounded by water, it was also surrounded by passion, love, and soul. It is known mainly for landmarks such as St. Louis Cathedral, the French Quarter, the ever popular Bourbon Street, the Louisiana Superdome, and Jackson Square, but there was a different side to New Orleans that the tourists have yet to comprehend.
What makes the city of New Orleans so unique and special is that it is a collection of a blanket of cultures.
There are Native American, Creole, Spanish, French, African and others that give New Orleans the zing
that makes it special. This zing
covers and enfolds both tourists and natives alike. The most special culture in the city that attracts so many tourists is its African heritage. From the Essence Festival to Congo Square or in the gumbo that you eat, there is a deep African/Black American zest
that makeup a large part of flavor, that zing that makes New Orleans special.
Before Katrina, New Orleans had the largest Black Catholic population in the United States. The distinct heritage of the African-American community has faced a crisis in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. A population that was once 75% African American has now been diluted to 55% or less by the white power structure that is hovering over the city. Some censuses of the population vary on the numbers, but two things are for sure: 1) There has been a change in life, and 2) Things may not ever be the same.
I remember the day August 28, 2005. The day before my life changed. There was a certain calmness and peace early that Sunday Morning. There was a light breeze and a certain feeling in that morning air. It was a feeling that maybe something bad was going to happen or that maybe we would dodge the bullet, like we had done in the past with Hurricane Georges of 1998 or Ivan of 2004. As we drove off, I said goodbye to my home and neighborhood just in case it was the last time. Unfortunately, it was.
As the events unfolded, we watched television from the comfort of a hotel in Dallas, TX. On that Monday morning, we were under the impression, as was everyone else, that everything was safe. Unfortunately that Monday night/Tuesday morning, we knew the worst had happened. The levees gave way to rising flood waters that swallowed the city. We knew that it would only be a matter of time before another hurricane would hit New Orleans and it was. Suddenly, something terrible happened. It was far greater than the damage the storm caused. It was the worst man made disaster to happen on USA soil. The damage from this disaster still continues to this day. Katrina is gone, but the government’s injustice still lives on and the victims still suffer.
I began to ask myself why? Why? Why do we suffer in AMERICA? Then as I saw the picture of the white couple finding
and the black teen looting
. It became clear to me why: because we don’t have the complexion for the protection
. It was just a typical view of how the government, its media, and law enforcement feel about African-Americans in this country. This was also reflective with regards to the Crescent City Connection incident where the sick, dying and helpless people were turned around because they were coming from the city of New Orleans and the majority of them were black. Then, I heard another report about what really happened to those levees during the storm. Many people claim that the storm was over, and everything was fine until they heard a large explosion near the levees. So I ask myself these two important questions: 1) What really happened during the storm? and 2) WAS IT KATRINA OR MAN?
The roots of this book began shortly after Aug. 29, 2005 even though it wasn’t planned. I was staying in a gentleman’s home whose late wife was my Aunt Debbie’s best friend. We did not know this gentleman, but we grew to know and love him. Thank God for Mr. Albert Charles Odell because we would have been out on the streets if it weren’t for him. My eighty-eight year old grandfather became a buddy for Mr. Ace during the two months we stayed in his Baton Rouge home. My brother began to work again for Walgreen’s and my mother and father were relocated, but still kept their jobs. I on the other hand, transferred from Tulane University College to Southern University A & M in Baton Rouge, LA.
In a Political Science Seminar class, around early February, the idea to write a book on the aftermath became clear. A young teacher, who believed he knew everything about Katrina, said something very shocking to me in the classroom. He stated that because there were poor people
living in the city of New Orleans, then Katrina wasn’t really a bad thing. Now being in an emotional and defensive state, I argued for the people of New Orleans. He insisted, along with others, that the poor people moved
. I asked him this question: How would you feel if your home was devastated by a hurricane?
He stated that if poor people had to move to another city such as Atlanta, GA. he wouldn’t mind. They would be moving from rags to riches.
After these comments, I became enraged. I became very enraged. I was enraged not just at what the man said, but the way I was treated in the entire city. The fact is that in some places around the Baton Rouge area, Black New Orleans’s citizens were treated in a disregarded, disrespected, and despised manner. What made this so hurtful was that most of the potshots taken towards us came from our own black people. I was in disbelief when I got here when the mayor of Baton Rouge, Kip Holden, declared that he didn’t want any thugs in his city.
I will talk about that later on in a future discussion. This anger and frustration allowed me to write this documentary of the many things we all experienced.
I wrote this book for all those to read and understand the horror our people experienced on August 29, 2005 and beyond. So, I hope that this book not only entertains you, but also enlighten you. I hope that this book will enlighten your mind and for you to get up and stand up. I hope that this will get you involved, and to never forget what occurred on that dreadful day. It’s well known that some people do not want this story to be told because they say it is propaganda, it’s in the past, or that it is not from a governmental expert. Ask them like such, How do you know that?
and How can you tell me about my struggle or what I’ve been through?
Tell them; This is Our Story!!!
Get angry, but don’t let that anger control you. It’s okay to be sad, but know that there is hope. So, I dedicate this book to all those who lost their lives as a result of Hurricane Katrina, as well as those from the governments’ lack of response, and those who now three years later continue to suffer. You will have to decide, with the information contained here, whether or not it was KATRINA or MAN?
Foreword
You ask me to speak but I have no tongue. My words are muffled. Frustrating sounds of indiscernible words. Words that are silenced only by tears which you do not see. Tears that roll down constantly from cloudy eyes.
Hurricane Katrina only slightly brushed the Louisiana coastline. Yet, her skirt tails whipped the veil off of the true face of the racism that exist in the minds and hearts of thousands of high ranking public officials. A thin permeated veil allowing only a miniscule amount of sympathy to selfishly leak out only when convenient to bring about a selfish one way idea
. An idea only satisfying the whims of a prejudicial agenda. An agenda controlled by the powerful in the city that care forgot. Thus living up to the underlying true nature of those who would have the city all to its own.
Exposed and revealed, this wrinkled scarred maniacal face of New Orleans began to prejudicially respond only when confronted by pressures from around the world. A world shocked beyond disbelief that the American government did not respond immediately, but waddled its way through a maze of confusion and utter deliberate incompetence. This governments response in assisting its own people only out of cries from those who shouted loud enough to be heard, was at best inept.
Amidst the charade of back-patting
and giving false praises to those who refused to comprehend the extent of the psychological damages placed on the oppressed, there were those who stood shocked and stunned. Shocked at the extent of the incompetence exhibited by the government’s bumbling response and stunned at the lack of planning and assistance that followed. Now, these moral and ethical people have been left with no choice but to question the power welding forces that orchestrated the abandonment of its people.
Why are we still struggling three years after Hurricane Katrina to come back to New Orleans? Why hasn’t there been a massive movement to establish medical services in neighborhoods that once were abundant with doctors? Why hasn’t there been a resurgence of schools in the neighborhoods where children once walked and played?
I know that Hurricane Katrina was a natural event. We had no control over where it came from or where it ended. Such disasters could have happened anywhere. New York, San Diego, or Denver. However if the majority of the inhabitants of those cities were African American, the response by our government would have been the same. Racism would have raised its ugly head and would have taken the opportunity to selfishly attain "MATERIALISTIC GOLD" at the expense of the oppressed masses.
By Leon D. Richard
Chapter 1: Life before 8-29-2005
Before I speak about the atrocities that happened in the Big Easy
during and after the levee breakage, I must talk about life before Katrina. I must give you the history that our people played in the building of New Orleans past and the present. As comedian Bill Cosby stated in his speech at the April 1, 2006 rally, What was the village before Katrina?
1 I was born in New Orleans, LA. in 1986. My mother and father were hard working parents. My father is a pharmacist and my mother was a medical technologist at the VA hospital in New Orleans. We lived in the New Orleans East area since 1978. I grew up in that area for nineteen years and I saw the ups and the downs of the community.
By the late 19th century, there were plantations and small villages along the small narrow strip on what is presently known, as Old Gentilly Road. New Orleans East is the largest section of the Ninth Ward, which is the largest district in New Orleans.2 There was little residential development, and there were homes set up along Lake Pontchartrain. These homes were built on wooden pilings on the edge of Lake Ponctchartrain. The oldest area of New Orleans East is Little Woods.3 The Industrial Canal, which would become infamous for the water breaching into the Lower 9th Ward, would be the visible barrier separating the East from the rest of the city in the 1920s. Residential development did not take off until the late 1940s, after World War II.
In the early 1970’s until the early 1990’s, New Orleans East was the place to be. Residents from all over the city moved to New Orleans East. There were jobs, money, a beautiful mall, movie theaters, stores, restaurants and more. The Plaza Mall was one of the best attractions of New Orleans, let alone New Orleans East. It was the only part of the city that was in development because it injected new blood into the city. When businesses started to pick up under Mayor Moon Landrieu (1969-1978), the area was predominately white. For the whites, it was a safe haven from the inner city. Since the inner city was becoming poorer and industries were leaving, more blacks moved to the East for better opportunities, both socially and economically.4
For blacks, it offered a new opportunity. Rev. Tom Watson gave his reason why he came to New Orleans East in 1980. Rev Watson and his family lived there for twelve years. In this interview, he explains why he and others came out to New Orleans East:
The availability of property that was not expensive, but quality… A refreshing atmosphere, a refreshing environment to live in at that time…I was eager. To be honest, there was no place in the inner city that I wanted to live in at that point... I wanted to live in the new suburbia.
5
In the late 1970s, an oil boom occurred along the Gulf Coast. The oil boom was an opportunity for more businesses to come to the area. The development of this area became known as New Orleans East
, since the area originally was called Eastern New Orleans. Unfortunately, the oil boom lasted for just a short time and the oil boom
became an oil bust.
6 Afterwards, businesses still were going strong, but one by one, in the early 1990s, they began to disappear. First Sears, then Dillards before it relocated into the Maison Blanche building, Mervyn’s and finally Maison Blanche. Then, some of the same elements in the inner city, such as crime, poverty, and increased unemployment, started to make its way into the area.
Despite these problems, New Orleans East was a powerhouse for New Orleans blacks. It was also the largest tax base in the city of New Orleans representing over forty percent 7 of the total tax base of the city. It remained the largest area among voting turnouts for African-Americans, and predominately Democrats. The East was over 85 % black and middle class, living in areas such as Eastover, Lake Kenilworth, and Lake Forest Estates and to the west, Spring Lake.8 It also included a vibrant Vietnamese community in the historic Village de L’Est, and a vibrant Caucasian community in the Venetian Isles Area. Historic landmarks also included, Fort Pike on the Rigolets, NASA’s Michoud Assembly facility, and the Lakefront airport. We’ll go forward with this name, Joe W. Brown, later on as we discuss the fight for the right to return. Joe W. Brown park was also a major part of the New Orleans East landscape. It had tennis courts, swimming pools and also an exhibit for insects.
Algiers owns the title of being the oldest neighborhood in the entire city.9 Like New Orleans East, Algiers was founded as a plantation in 1719, the year New Orleans was actually founded. This is where the first slaves arrived and then shipped to Congo Square. The oldest neighborhood in the area is Algiers Turn, better known as Algiers Point. The name was given since the Mississippi River turns around the area and then flows to the Gulf of Mexico from the mouth of Mississippi River. Other neighborhoods include Whitney, Fisher Development, McDonough, U.S. Naval Support Area, which is the largest military base in New Orleans, Behrman Highway, Old Aurora and Tall Timbers/Brechtel.
Algiers is predominately African-American. The Berhman neighborhood is comprised of 77% African-American and is the largest community in Algiers.
It also includes a large Hispanic population of 6.6 percent in that area. Despite the beliefs by outsiders
who insist that the poor people moved
, the majority of these people owned their own homes. It is basically a mixed income area with some low and some middle class citizens. The area is historic, especially after Algiers Point was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 and a historic district in 1994.10
Now, the next neighborhood I will cover is one that we’re all too familiar with. To New Orleans residents, it was known for its blue collar, family orientated environment. For those that were watching television around the world from August 30, 2005 to present, Katrina was the worst natural and man made disaster in U.S. history. To me, it was a place where my brother and I spent our summers and days off