The Lower Ninth Ward celebrates revival
Paraders march across the St. Claude bridge into the Ninth Ward. The second line went through the Ninth Ward, ending at one of the many breaches on the industrial canal. Photo credit: Andrew Callaghan
September 4, 2015
No hurricane in American history has ever caused such devastation as Hurricane Katrina did. While the whole southern coastline was ravaged by floodwaters, levee breaches and storm surges, one small neighborhood fell as the primary victim to Katrina’s wrath: New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward.
On Aug. 29, hundreds of Lower Ninth Ward residents gathered in commemoration of the 10th Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.
A second-line parade with jazz bands, food trucks, and cheerleaders started on the corner of Jourdan Avenue and Galvez Street, the site of the levee breaching point. A black-and-white banner listing the 1,051 names of Katrina’s victims was erected at the base of the stone levees.
The parade was trending on Twitter as ‘#BiggestSecondLineEver’, drawing massive crowds and locally famed keynote speakers, including famed No Limit Records rapper Mia X, who said she had concerns about the mental health of Katrina-era children.
“They were in the water with the dead bodies, dead animals. Watching people getting killed,” Mia X said. “Nobody did anything for their mental health. Now they’re 17 to 21, and people wonder why they are so violent. They’ve been desensitized. Nobody offers them help.”
According to the U.S. Census, population in the Lower Ninth Ward decreased from 14,000 in 2000 to below 3,000 in 2010.
Rev. Lennox Yearwood led the first march in New Orleans after Katrina in 2005 and was this year’s premier speaker for the second-line parade. Yearwood is also president and CEO of Hip Hop Caucus, which is a grassroots community empowerment organization that uses Hip-Hop to promote social and political change.
“We march for who cannot march today. We will march for the next generation, and make sure our people know they are not forgotten,” Yearwood said.
Despite FEMA and volunteer work, 10 years later, rapper Yung Sino said he still feels isolated and victimized by United States Leadership.
“They say there was 1,600 who died, but it’s got to be more than that,” Sino said.
Despite concerns from Lower Ninth Ward community members, Mia X said the march celebrates a history and culture of unity in the face of tragedy.
“We are New Orleans. We are one family,” Mia X said.
