A disaster worse than Hurricane Katrina (The New Orleanians fight for thier liberty)

It hurts my heart to watch the pain of a people ("my" people) fight for the right to exist…again. I started college (Grambling State University) in Louisiana in 1987, I lived in New Orleans in 1989-90. My son was born in New Orleans; I became a better man because of my experiences there. It is a city of vibrant living, social injustice, epicurean delight (I learned how to eat in Louisiana) and endless entertainment. Now I watch as a spectator from my comfortable arm chair with all my creature comforts as "my" people fight for the right to exist in thier community, the only one they know. The culture there is like no other in the U.S. (the world for that matter), the energetic Second-line funeral procession, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, the Reggae Sun Splash, the Mardi Gras, the blending of French and African culture, Cajun and Creole. "The Big Easy” it’s called for good reason; Jazz was born there, the sports traditions of the Bayou Classic and the Super Bowl are played there, the great college institutions; black (Dillard University and Xavier University) and traditional universities (Loyola University and Tulane University) are part of the culture.

The celebrated Chefs of our time, Paul Prudhomme who introduced us (the broader U.S.) to Gumbo and Blackened Redfish, Emeril Lagasse whose '“BAM!” has been heard ‘round the world, and the many mothers and grandmothers that have been feeding the generations with the "love" that makes New Orleans cuisine so great. New Orleanians live to express their unique culture with love for their heritage that's deep and genuine. Every "Black American" born in New Orleans can trace someone in their family to one of the Low Income Housing Projects in and around the Crescent City, not that it's a bragging right ; but a rite of passage from who they were to what they've become. There is a systematic plan to rid New Orleans of this rich history and these particular inhabitants. First the natural disaster (hurricane Katrina) played a key part in putting the city in distress. We (Black Americans) cried out “Injustice!!” at how we were unfairly treated when the FEMA and other disaster relief agencies came to the “supposed” rescue of New Orleanians (a selective rescue at best). Then redevelopment by way of failing to rebuild in certain “black areas” that were deemed a flood risk in the event of a second “Katrina like storm.” Now they propose demolition of the last vestige of “real” Black History; “living” Black History is being erased. There is a better way than this. 

I predict that New Orleans, for my youngest child’s (4 yrs old) generation and my grand-kids (none yet…I hope) will be homogenized like much of the U.S. The language, traditions, the food and culture washed away and the “real” history demolished and replaced with the “new American standard”. It is a sad day when this systematic removal of the “color” of New Orleans is razed to the ground.

 

Feeling the pain with New Orleanians,

 

Bycha Buxton

buxtonbycha@aol.com