The Gulf Coast region and the entire nation marked the one-year a
nniversary of Hurricane Katrina with solemn reflection on losses of lives and homes, and reports from academics, nonprofit organizations, and media on the past months' recovery progress. Yet those who bore the brunt of the storm know that what may be referred to in shorthand as "Katrina" in fact goes far beyond one day, one week, or one storm. The devastation in New Orleans in particular was the result not just of Hurricane Katrina, but of breached levees and layers of policy failure: substandard infrastructure, inadequate public transportation to move residents out of harm's way, and a history of policies that had for generations left residents with the fewest resources isolated and vulnerable.
A lively and diverse group of over 40 academics, policymakers, business leaders, funders, and advocates gathered in New York City on October 12 for "Policy Matters: Natural and Unnatural Disasters," a discussion with PolicyLink founder and CEO Angela Glover Blackwell; Jed Horne, Times Picayune editor and author of Breach of Faith: Hurricane Katrina and the Near Death of a Great American City (Random House, 2006); and David Troutt, professor at Rutgers University School of Law and editor of After the Storm: Black Intellectuals Explore the Meaning of Hurricane Katrina (The New Press, 2006). Held at the Martin Luther King Jr. Labor Center, the event featured welcome remarks from Esther Cohen of Bread and Roses, the arts and cultural arm of 1199SEIU/United Healthcare Workers East and an introduction by Reese Fayde, CEO of Living Cities. Horne offered a first-hand perspective on Hurricane Katrina's wrath and a wealth of personal and political stories from his moving account of the disaster's aftermath. Drawing on his distinguished career as a lawyer, writer, thinker, and civil rights advocate, Troutt provided critical analysis on the race, class, and equity implications of the storm and levee breaches. Blackwell moderated the discussion and highlighted the policy context of Katrina and the need for a fair, inclusive rebuilding plan that creates communities of opportunity for low-income residents and people of color. For the past year, PolicyLink has been working at the state, parish, and community levels to advance affordable housing and equitable infrastructure policies, build the advocacy capacity of local nonprofit organizations, and lobby for keeping the needs of those most affected by Katrina central to the recovery decision-making process.
After the authors' remarks, and during a light reception before and after the panel, guests engaged in thoughtful, substantive discussion of what went wrong in Katrina's aftermath, where the rebuilding stands now, and how policies at the local, state, and national levels can help eradicate concentrated poverty, break down barriers to opportunity, and ensure the safety, health, and well-being of all communities.
For more information on PolicyLink work in Louisiana visit http://www.policylink.org/Communities/Louisiana/default.html.
To listen to audio from the October 12 event, visit: http://www.policylink.org/Audio/PolicyMatters10-12-06Audio.html
(69 minutes)