The Physical and Emotional Destruction Caused by the Hurricane Katrina in the City of New Orleans

Hurricane Katrina's Psychical and Emotional Destruction

A little over a decade ago New Orleans was struck by the infamously known Hurricane Katrina, which destroyed the physical and emotional integrity of the city. Flooded out, evacuated, or simply scarred by the damage to their families and homes, the people of New Orleans were exhausted. It had to take courage, love, and a whole lot of hope for some of the residents to stay. Unfortunately, while the buildings and streets were repaired, the soul of the city wasn't. The residents that stayed in the Crescent City during the storm now feel misplaced in their own homes. Although the city of New Orleans has structurally rebuilt most of itself in the past decade, the people who have stuck around through it all will tell a story of loss and desperation.

Chris Rose, the old face of the The Times - Picayune, who previously was writing about the despair of city dwellers in Louisiana, can now be found in his own desperate living situation caused by the lack of employment and family support. Rose previously lived a great life, holding the city of New Orleans together with his writings in the popular newspaper. Even post-Katrina, he won a Pulitzer prize by writing about his own intense personal struggles after the storm ("The Irredeemable Chris Rose"). However, the New Orleans news community has casted Chris Rose aside since then. No journalism entity in town will hire him, not even for freelance. Rose's life became a downwards spiral of events, from losing his job to losing his own wife; from their he began a drug addiction. He admitted himself into rehab three times, hoping that the third time would stick (Thompson). "First time I went to rehab was to save my marriage- didn't work, lost my marriage and my sister. Second time I went to save my job- I left my job. Third time, I went to save my life" ("The Irredeemable Chris Rose"). Chris Rose didn't want this kind of life for himself, even for awhile after the hurricane, he was doing well. Rose found himself working for Fox 8 Television, even the midst of battling his addiction. Fox 8 held his job while he went to rehab for the third time, but this didn't last. Fox released Rose for claimed budget reasons. Although, Chris Rose was their lowest-paid member and most popular one on the staff. It was also noted that no other employees were released for the budget cuts, only Rose ("The Irredeemable Chris Rose"). Chris Rose was described as a man who, "looks like what he is: a man who has fallen, and gotten up, and fallen again" ("The Irredeemable Chris Rose"). The community of New Orleans used to love Chris Rose and his interesting articles. For some reason they have casted him away. He's still popularly known, in fact, many people in the city love him. However, the businesses and even freelancers want nothing to do with him. Chris Rose once had a great life including a job, a wife, and a drug free environment. Unfortunately, all of these have seemed to reverse only a short time after Hurricane Katrina.

Shack Brown lived through his young life with fear and remorse, which is why he tries to help the kids who are living in the same environment that he once did. However, Brown had his heart broken when he discovered that the city of New Orleans cares more about it's appearance than the safety of its future generation. As influential as Shack Brown may seem today, he didn't start that way. Brown lived his younger years dealing drugs. As he reflects on that time in his life, he finds that the only men who'd done something positive for him that he can remember were coaches. In 2009, four years after Hurricane Katrina, Shack Brown opened a football program in Lemann Playground, the only public green space between Iberville and the Lafitte projects. Brown had 125 boys playing football, all across four age groups. He didn't want them to grow up in an unsafe environment like he did. He noted that the biggest threat to the children's future was the two hours they had after school and before practice. Brown built concession stands and restrooms, even getting an architect involved while finding bleachers to set up by the field. However, the parks department tore down the makeshift concession stand. Without a way to support the field, the football program died. The Lafitte projects were torn down and replaced by mixed-income housing and the Iberville is practically gone (Thompson). "He didn't suspect that his football league would be killed by the very spirit of rebirth that rose from Katrina's receding waters" (Thompson, Wright. "Beyond the Breach"). The city of New Orleans is still being rebuilt, even a decade after the storm. However, it seems that they care more about physical appearance then the overall safety of the city-dwellers. With the football program gone, Brown worries about the children of New Orleans going down bad paths. Leander Brown Jr., his oldest son is now repeating the life of his father, Shack Brown, facing two aggravated assault charges in Georgia to go with a long and violent rap sheet (Thompson). If the city didn't tear down programs like the one Brown built, the children of New Orleans might not be growing up like Leander Brown Jr.. Shack Brown took these kids away from the unsafe environments on the streets of the city, and now it seems that they're right back where they started, this time it being the city's fault rather than the storm.

Blair Boutte had everything going for him, already receiving his graduate and going for his master's, but after moving back to the less wealthy and so much more unsafe part of the city after Katrina Blair Boutte, a bail bondsman, political consultant, and real estate developer, has enough job titles to make it seem like he lived a fairly good life. However, what he rarely ever discusses is his time in prison. Blair Boutte lived a fairly normal life for a boy growing up in New Orleans. Having three other siblings and only one parent, he grew up in the housing projects. He always notes that his mother never gave up on them; she was always working to support her children.

After graduating from Grambling State University, he received a full ride to Tulane Law School. Moving back to his home in New Orleans, he bought himself a gun. While walking through the Lafitte projects, a drug dealer drew his pistols at Boutte, and Boutte seemed to have no other choice but to fire back. Blair pleaded guilty for manslaughter, accidently killing a fourteen year old bystander (Thompson). "Tulane took away Boutte's scholarship, and he did three years, nine months in jail" (Thompson, Wright. "Beyond the Breach"). Blair Boutte had so much going for him, a full ride to Tulane and possibly the job of a lifetime. But that was all taken away quickly by a fatal quick instinct. Boutte was fully aware of the dangerous areas in New Orleans, before and after the storm. In ESPN's article titled, "Beyond the Breach" it was reported that after Hurricane Katrina the murder rate grew by 329 percent (Thompson, Wright. "Beyond the Breach." ESPN). Even after Hurricane Katrina, these areas weren't fixed. The city hasn't gotten any better, possibly even worse.

The 'New' New Orleans has structurally rebuilt itself to look better on the outside, yet what is still hurting is the minds of the people who have lived in the city for over a decade, right through Hurricane Katrina. Tourists who visit New Orleans will probably come home to tell stories of how great the city looks after going through such a horrific storm. These people most likely stayed in the safe, four star hotel, tourist attraction areas of the city. They never experienced the chain-link fence separating a country club from a poor section. They probably never got to speak to people like Chris Rose or Shack Brown, who would tell you that all is not well in their city. Of course, the physical aspects of New Orleans have been fixed in certain areas. But have the lives of the New Orleans natives gotten better or worse? As it seems, New Orleans may have been fixed from the storm, but that doesn't make the city better.

Works Cited

• "Blacks 'Left Behind' in New Orleans' Post-Katrina Recovery." The Charlotte Post. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2015. <http://www.thecharlottepost.com/news/2015/09/03/state-national/blacks-left-behind-in-new-orleans-post-katrina-recovery/>.
• Eaton, Leslie, and Cameron McWhirter. "An Unfinished Riff." Wall Street Journal. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Sept. 2015. <http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-new-orleans-economy-ten- years-after-atrina-1440628953>.
• "The Irredeemable Chris Rose." Columbia Journalism Review. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2015. <http://www.cjr.org/the_profile/the_irredeemable_chris_rose.php>.
• "New Orleans' Beautiful Complexity Was the One Thing Katrina Didn't Wash Away." The Guardian. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2015.
• <http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/aug/23/new-orleans-hurricane-katrina-funeral-best-party>.
• "10 Years after Katrina, New Orleans Renaissance Leaves Lower 9th Ward in the Wilderness." Fox News. N.p., 21 Aug. 2015. Web. 20 Sept. 2015.
• <http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/08/21/10-years-after-katrina-new-orleans-renaissance-leaves-lower-th-ward-in/>.
• Thompson, Wright. "Beyond the Breach." ESPN 24 Aug. 2015; n. pag. Print.

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