2 Years Post Hurricanes Katrina/Rita: Call to Action

Obsession8 · #1 08-23-2006, 12:33 AM

Hearing the survivors talking about not having a home for the holidays also got to me, especially since *my* family used to gather at the grandmother's house for holiday dinners. It's just not the same anywhere else.

On a brighter note...

Ditto on all of Mrs. Montana-LeBlanc's "color commentary", esp. when she gave out her phone number (in response to what Barbara Bush said); she had me rollin'. Also liked when they talked about the culture with N.O. music, second lines, Creoles, etc. And, LOL at the Mardi Gras t-shirts montage! Gotta love that N'awlins spirit!

All in all, even with my initial reservations, I'm glad I watched this tour-de-force documentary. I love (most of) Spike's "joints" (haven't always agreed with his politics, though); this would rank in the top 5 of my favs (Malcolm X, Do the Right Thing, etc.). If he doesn't win an ishtload of Emmys for this next year (yes, I know this isn't about awards, but still...), the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences is going to receive a very nasty letter from me.

(ETA: Kinda surprised Spike didn't interview Mike Tidwell, author of Bayou Farewell, which was my school's summer reading program book last year. He came to speak at our convocation a week before Katrina's devastation. Basically everything he "predicted" in the book came to fruition...irony just isn't the word.)

CrimsonTide4 · #2 08-23-2006, 06:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Obsession8

Hearing the survivors talking about not having a home for the holidays also got to me, especially since *my* family used to gather at the grandmother's house for holiday dinners. It's just not the same anywhere else.

On a brighter note...

Ditto on all of Mrs. Montana-LeBlanc's "color commentary", esp. when she gave out her phone number (in response to what Barbara Bush said); she had me rollin'. Also liked when they talked about the culture with N.O. music, second lines, Creoles, etc. And, LOL at the Mardi Gras t-shirts montage! Gotta love that N'awlins spirit!

All in all, even with my initial reservations, I'm glad I watched this tour-de-force documentary. I love (most of) Spike's "joints" (haven't always agreed with his politics, though); this would rank in the top 5 of my favs (Malcolm X, Do the Right Thing, etc.). If he doesn't win an ishtload of Emmys for this next year (yes, I know this isn't about awards, but still...), the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences is going to receive a very nasty letter from me.

(ETA: Kinda surprised Spike didn't interview Mike Tidwell, author of Bayou Farewell, which was my school's summer reading program book last year. He came to speak at our convocation a week before Katrina's devastation. Basically everything he "predicted" in the book came to fruition...irony just isn't the word.)

I had a dream about Mrs. Phyllis Montana-LeBlanc last night. No really.

I really want to read a few of the books by the authors interviewed in the documentary. I also really enjoyed the history lesson -- Creole, funerals, slavery in Louisiana -- last night. It gave me deeper perspective.

"Rebuild, Revive, Renew" ~ Spike Lee

StarFish106 · #3 08-23-2006, 09:34 AM

My heart broke for the guy that found his mom under the fridge when after the marked the house with a 0. And for the woman who had to bury her child...

people who didn't have to die.

Some of the t-shirts that people had on at the Parade had me rollin...if nothing else we are a resilient people. We will rise...

To Phyliss Montana -LeBlanc: I will personally drive you to Babs Bush's house and so you can whup her properly...

The guy who cussed out Cheyney (Beavis and Butthead) you hit the nail on the head! Thank you for saying (or yelling at) Cheyney what others wanted to say.

Once again...Kanye was right

The only thing I wish Spike did at the end was list charities that can still use money, clothing or whatever. The need is still there even if the media is now focusing on the Jon-Benet investigation a-gain. People still need to give what they can wherever they can IMO.

Thank You Spike....the world needed to see and hear this. Thank You

f8nacn · #4 08-23-2006, 11:13 AM

I need to watch this again...missed the first hour yesterday do to Big Brother...but my heart dropped again with many of the stories told last night.

kiml122 · #5 08-23-2006, 12:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StarFish106

Some of the t-shirts that people had on at the Parade had me rollin...if nothing else we are a resilient people.

I was totaly digging the slogans on the T-shirts. I was looking at mnost of them going ummm where can I get one.

Quote:

To Phyliss Montana -LeBlanc: I will personally drive you to Babs Bush's house and so you can whup her properly...

I tell ya she was my favorite one...she shot straight from the hip and pulled no punches.

Quote:

The guy who cussed out Cheyney (Beavis and Butthead) you hit the nail on the head! Thank you for saying (or yelling at) Cheyney what others wanted to say.

What I really liked about this guy was when he said it again because he was like well maybe he didn't hear me....

Please anyone that is from N.O. explain to me about the lower 9th Ward. Is this a really bad area, a very impoverished area, what exactly is the deal with the 9th Ward , specifically the lower 9th Ward.

MsDelta797 · #6 08-23-2006, 02:45 PM

The lower 9th ward is impoverished when you compare it to the French Quarter and some areas of Uptown where there are mansions. This is a fairly large area and was 99 to 99.5 percent Black. It was very family oriented there, everybody knew everybody in the neighborhood. Alot of people owned houses and lived there for 30 or more years. People there worked very Hard at jobs that either paid minimum wage or a little over, what you call your working poor. Now, of course this doesnt apply to every individual there because there are exceptions. As far as a bad area, to me crime was all over the city, maybe a few neighborhoods in the lower 9(as we call it) were "hot spots" for crime, but again we have them all over. It still looks like Katrina just hit there. It's very overwhelming and heartbreaking to know that many people will not come back because they simply can't afford to do so. Almost the entire area would have to be demolished because there, at least the part I saw, was no water line. This is the area of the city that would need the most help.
New Orleans East, is also a part of the 9th ward, just not a part of the lower 9th ward. Many people that stayed there are your lower middle to upper middle class. Many people lost everything there as well.
Although I personally didn't stay in the lower 9th ward, I had family and in-laws that did. I have lived in the East.
Everyone is still waiting for the money from the government so that they can rebuild and that hasn't happened yet. Then there are the insurance companies that won't pay as seen on the documentary. So many people are stuck in limbo.
If any of my fellow New Orleanians can add anything Please do.
I hope that this shed some light and answered your question, Soror.

kiml122 · #7 08-23-2006, 04:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MsDelta797

The lower 9th ward is impoverished when you compare it to the French Quarter and some areas of Uptown where there are mansions. This is a fairly large area and was 99 to 99.5 percent Black. It was very family oriented there, everybody knew everybody in the neighborhood. Alot of people owned houses and lived there for 30 or more years. People there worked very Hard at jobs that either paid minimum wage or a little over, what you call your working poor. Now, of course this doesnt apply to every individual there because there are exceptions. As far as a bad area, to me crime was all over the city, maybe a few neighborhoods in the lower 9(as we call it) were "hot spots" for crime, but again we have them all over. It still looks like Katrina just hit there. It's very overwhelming and heartbreaking to know that many people will not come back because they simply can't afford to do so. Almost the entire area would have to be demolished because there, at least the part I saw, was no water line. This is the area of the city that would need the most help.
New Orleans East, is also a part of the 9th ward, just not a part of the lower 9th ward. Many people that stayed there are your lower middle to upper middle class. Many people lost everything there as well.
Although I personally didn't stay in the lower 9th ward, I had family and in-laws that did. I have lived in the East.
Everyone is still waiting for the money from the government so that they can rebuild and that hasn't happened yet. Then there are the insurance companies that won't pay as seen on the documentary. So many people are stuck in limbo.
If any of my fellow New Orleanians can add anything Please do.
I hope that this shed some light and answered your question, Soror.

Yes Soror it shed a lot of light, and thanks for the history.

CrimsonTide4 · #8 08-23-2006, 06:44 PM

http://www.usatoday.com/news/graphics/katrina_then_now/flash.htm

New Orleans and Biloxi, then and now

AKA_Monet · #9 08-23-2006, 08:01 PM

I am pissed off...

The Untied States ought not leave this much devastation on its own people.

Spike did a wonderful job relaying the thoughts and ideas of folks. Mostly all those he interviewed were affected in someway by Katrina, with a few exceptions.

The ironic part IMHO, was when one of the survivors saw these guys in uniform and asked them who they were, and they said they were the Royal Canadian Mounted Police from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada...

I wonder when Dubya decided to get involved? When Ray Nagin lost it on the Radio? Or when the White House heard the President Hugo Chavez planned on sending support?

The other part that got me was when the radio DJ (I forget his name) was ranting (please don't read this word negatively) about the bigotry he noticed until he just broke down and cried...

It just goes to show you that outright plain hatred is very much alive and well in this country and it rears its demonic head when folks are in utter pain, dishevelment and devastation.

I'm waiting to hear what Chris Rock has to say about this...

AKA2D '91 · #10 08-29-2006, 08:24 PM

TVOne is airing a couple of programs that those of us in the GNO area have been privy to. If you love music, the show @ 8PM CT, highlights brass bands of NO.

FYI

AKA2D '91 · #11 09-11-2006, 05:32 PM

1. I still have not watched the last 2 acts of the doc.
2. I like the effort that is being made. However, can we get some of that manpower to help rebuild neighborhoods? Not to rebuild, but to CLEAN some of the neighborhoods?

Many people are saying *bump* the government, let me go out and get more into debt by applying for loans to get SOME work started on their personal efforts to rebuild.