I feel sorry for anyone with the name Katrina. There’s a chance you will lose friends before you even make them.
Ten years later and we’re still putting up a strong fight against the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
As the anniversary passes, some would think it was only yesterday Katrina made its landfall. I’m not talking about the appearance of New Orleans — which rebuilt slowly, but graciously. Of course, flooding and other physical damages were partly why Katrina was so tragic, but many people not from New Orleans fail to realize other aspects. The man who once termed New Orleans the “Chocolate City,” made matters even worse with the help of other city officials.
At one point after the storm, “Ray Nagin for President” T-shirts were sold on Magazine Street. He convinced the people of the city they needed a businessman as mayor, but he didn’t mention they’d be voting for a crook.
While everyone watched the storm unfold, we were clueless to the impending corruption law enforcement and leaders wrought. The city’s officials are a main reason why the recovery process continues to take so long.
In the past two years, the people of New Orleans watched Nagin, the person who was supposed to be their foundation during the storm, convicted on 20 federal corruption charges and sentenced to 10 years in federal prison. The charges ranged from bribery and wire fraud to money laundering.
He had a grand time in Hawaii and Jamaica on contractor money while some parts of the cities looked like they would never rebuild.
If Nagin wasn’t enough, the Henry Glover case turned a gross injustice into a nightmare.
After Katrina, Henry Glover was shot to death by former New Orleans Police Department officer David Warren and was later found in burnt in a destroyed car.
Ten years later and justice for Glover’s death has not been served. Warren was initially found guilty in federal court but was acquitted in a retrial in December 2013.
As many people are aware, this wasn’t “just” a storm — this was “the” storm. This was the storm that took many lives and nearly destroyed a whole city.
The fight with Hurricane Katrina is still far from over. We need to continue fighting to make sure people like Henry Glover receive justice, and we need to give ourselves the power to make sure city officials don’t have the capabilities to take advantage of us again.
The city can “fix” the levees all they want, but if we were to ever endure another hurricane like Katrina, there’s a chance New Orleans wouldn’t survive again with corrupt officials. Even when it seemed like the rest of the country had forgotten or given up on us, the people of New Orleans have come together using love and strength to prosper through. They haven’t been the easiest 10 years, but what counts is we’ve gotten through them.
Clarke Perkins is a 19-year-old political science sophomore from New Orleans, Louisiana. You can reach her on twitter @ClarkePerkins.