HOME | Editorial Photo Essay
In 2005 and 2006 I traveled Mississippi and Louisiana with ColorsNW editor Naomi Ishisaka to cover the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. It was the first time the magazine ran a feature on communities outside of Washington State. The resulting stories filled an entire issue and took a uniquely personal look at how people were attempting to put their lives back together. Katrina illustrated how embedded systems of class and race inequities create built vulnerabilities for the poor in America. It was a truth that resonated in communities of color across the nation, even here in Seattle, WA. ColorsNW wanted to put a human face on the national conversation about the role of race and poverty. The resulting stories were intimate and revealing of the breadth, depth and enduring impact of the loss.
Eighteen years later, as I revise the introduction to this body of photos, I can’t help but think about how Katrina accelerated the pace of social and cultural dislocation in New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward. I can’t help but think about my own loss of community here in Seattle’s Central District. The pace and nature of the change
in these two neighborhoods are radically different. Still, as Black communities separated by thousands of miles, they are bound by shared histories of redlining, economic marginalization, and a host of other historic forces. Forces that embedded vulnerabilities in their ability to mount a collective response to rapid change.
I am repurposing design features from the first iteration of this gallery that I published on a 2014 version of my website. I like the way they look and they help illustrate that I have been continuously attempting to plumb the meaning of this body of photographs. I am also including cutlines for many of the photos. A feature unique to some of the editorial galleries on this site. The editorial elements help shape the subtext of the photos which were created use in feature articles. On top of this the cutlines work to highlight the importance of home, memory, connection and continuity as central concerns in everyone’s attempt to rebuild in the wake of the storm. Some images are dense with the chaos of the storm’s immediate aftermath. An illustration of intense and calamitous loss. Other images have a quiet emptiness. They evoke a sense of loss that is more rooted, growing like weeds in concrete. These are themes and moods that also informed the editorial and creative work I would produce about the Central District over the following two decades. I invite you to meditate on the work in the Exhibitions and Wa Na Wari sections on this website with these ideas in mind.
Eden Family Home – Slidell, LA 2005
Rev. Eden lives in the Slidell, LA home where he grew up with his grandmother, Phyllis Eden. He arrives to find it in complete disarray and mold ridden.
Lance Eden – Slidell, LA | 2005
The crypt of Zeta Porter, one of Eden’s ancestors, has been opened by the flood waters and the casket is missing.
Lance Eden – Slidell, LA | 2005
Although not complete unscathed, the portraits survived the flood and can likely be restored.
Lance Eden – Slidell, LA | 2005
A portrait of one of Eden’s ancestors; it survived the storm relatively unblemished.
Lance Eden – Slidell, LA | 2005
The first tentative steps in what will be long and arduous journey to recovery. Eden was faced with the task of cleaning out his grandmother’s home, sorting through what can be saved and preparing the house to be gutted and restored.
Rev. Lance Eden – Slidell, LA | 2005
Rev. Lance Eden Stands in the living room of his grandmother’s home. After a year he managed to save a few belongings and get the home gutted and disinfected, but didn’t know when he would be able to finish restoring it.
Rev. Lance Eden – New Orleans, LA | 2005
During the storm First Street United Methodist Church was a refuge for neighbors fleeing flooded homes. A year later Rev. Eden invited Hands On New Orleans to make the church a staging center for the recovery effort.
Rev. Lance Eden – New Orleans, LA | 2005
Hands On New Orleans turned the fellowship hall of First Street United Methodist Church into housing for volunteers working to gut and rehabilitate flooded homes.
First Street United Methodist Church, New Orleans, LA | 2005
Hands On New Orleans staging area at First Street United Methodist Church.
Faubourg Livaudais, New Orleans, LA | 2005
Hands On New Orleans volunteer recovery workers.
Rev. Lance Eden – New Orleans, LA | 2005
Rev. Lance Eden working alongside Hands On New Orleans volunteer recovery workers.
First Street United Methodist Church, New Orleans, LA | 2005
In the sanctuary of First Street United Methodist Church the congregation added implements common to recovery work to their traditional religious altar.
Raceland, United Houma Nation, LA | 2005
Curtis Herndon; a United Houma Nation member and relief center volunteer.
Dulac, LA | 2005
Paul Pierre stands on what was once solid ground. Behind him is his father’s shrimp boat half submerged in waters that have not yet fully subsided.
Dulac, LA | 2005
Dulac, LA is a small hamlet of shrimpers and fishermen surrounded by canals that lead deeper into the bayou. It is not uncommon to see homes in this area built on scaffolding to avoid storm surges.
Raceland, United Houma Nation, LA | 2005
The United Houma Nation’s relief center in Raceland, LA. The center was established to meet the needs of Houma members who weren’t getting assistance from the federal, state or local governments.
Raceland, United Houma Nation, LA | 2005
Supplies at the relief center met every conceivable need of Houma Nation members. Food, toiletries, cleaning supplies, clothing and even toys and videos for children were available.
Raceland, United Houma Nation, LA | 2005
A Houma Nation member gathers supplies needed to sustain his family as the recovery effort begins.
Dulac, LA | 2005
Dr. Robin Rose administers tetanus and flu vaccinations to Paul Pierre and other Houma nation members. Medical assistance was available at the relief center and in the field.
Raceland, United Houma Nation, LA | 2005
A young Houma boy waits for his father while he collect supplies from the relief center.
New Orleans, LA | 2005
Photos in the Vail family home survived the flood relatively intact. Trapped by the flood following the hurricane, the Vails relocated to Lacy, WA, where they met Antoinette McClain through Operation Evergreen, a Washington State program established to provide relocation resources for victims of Hurricane Katrina.
New Orleans, LA | 2005
At the home of the Vail family in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans, LA, Antoinette McClain searched the entire house for family photos and other items requested by the Vail family.
New Orleans, LA | 2005
At the home of the Vail family in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans, LA, Antoinette McClain searched the entire house for family photos and other items requested by the Vail family.
New Orleans, LA | 2005
Carrying the photos she found, Antoinette McClain immediately called the Vails in Lacey, WA to inform them that their photos were found in good condition.
Lacey, WA | 2005
Back in Lacey, WA Antoinette Mclain arrived with a box of family heirlooms at home where the Vail family is staying. The entire family gathered to share in the return of their most precious possessions. The mood was like Christmas as the box was opened and photos were passed around.
Lacey, WA | 2005
The excitement in the room was evidence that the day their family photos were returned safely to them was one of the happiest times for the Vails since the storm.
Lacey, WA | 2005
A book rich with Vail family history.
Lower Ninth Ward, New Orleans, LA | 2005
One year after Hurricane Katrina, Sandra Burton returns to her former home in New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward whereshe and her family barely escaped with their lives.
Lower Ninth Ward, New Orleans, LA | 2005
Sandra points out the hole that marks the spot where her son Peter, spurred on by the rising flood waters, the threat of drowning in the attic and, quite likely, adrenaline, punched through the roof and created an escape route for the family.
Lower Ninth Ward, New Orleans, LA | 2005
Sandra stands underneath what used to be a ceiling door and explains how her family took refuge in the attic while the floodwaters rose beneath them.
Lower Ninth Ward, New Orleans, LA | 2005
Sandra’s home and possessions went unattended for several months following the flood. By the time her landlord made it back to clean and gut the house only a few items of sentimental value could be saved.
Lower Ninth Ward, New Orleans, LA | 2005
A school I.D. for her son Larry, a student I.D. from her time as a nursing student, an employee I.D. card from an old job and a handmade keepsake from one her children are among the few remaining items from Sandra’s former life.
Lower Ninth Ward, New Orleans, LA | 2005
Sandra points to the dark segment in the levee protecting the lower Ninth Ward from the canals leading to Lake Ponchartrain. This is the segment that failed, leading to the flooding of the Ninth Ward.
Lower Ninth Ward, New Orleans, LA | 2005
Sandra looks over the vast empty fields that used to be the Lower Ninth Ward and talks about memories of her community.
Lower Ninth Ward, New Orleans, LA | 2005
A doorstep is the only reminder that there was once a home on this lot in the Lower Ninth Ward. In many ways it is a metaphor for the lives that were irrevocably changed by the flooding of New Orleans.
Slidell, LA | 2006
It is a long road ahead that Alex Thibodeaux is facing to remake his home and a safe and comfortable place for his family.
Slidell, LA | 2006
All of the damage in the Thibodeaux home was on the first floor. Mr. Thibodeaux leaves the windows and doors open for ventilation and to help dry out the home as he removes refuse and prepares to gut the walls.
Slidell, LA | 2006
Cleaning in progress in the kitchen.
Slidell, LA | 2006
On the fireplace mantle were items symbolizing family, faith and hope. Even in their disfigured condition family photos were the most cherished items, providing an inexhaustible well of strength for Alex.
Slidell, LA | 2006
On the fireplace mantle were items symbolizing family, faith and hope. Even in their disfigured condition family photos were the most cherished items, providing an inexhaustible well of strength for Alex.
Slidell, LA | 2006
Alex Thibodeaux take a moment to meditate on his home and life in Slidell. His commitment to family and community kept his disposition warm and upbeat even while he faced uncertainties about rebuilding his home and life. With his family evacuated to safer locations, Alex was left to take on the monumental task of cleaning and salvaging the home while tackling a dizzying maze of insurance and governmental bureaucracy alone.
Slidell, LA | 2006
In the first floor bedroom the only remaining item was a framed plaque with loving vows made between Mr. Thibodeaux and his wife. As it straddled the mold marking the height of the flood waters, it was a metaphor for what cannot be destroyed.
Slidell, LA | 2006
In the pantry hung a plaque emblazoned with scripture and religious imagery. Like other items remaining in the home, it was the first thing you saw upon entering the room.
Slidell, LA | 2006
The Thibodeaux home is in a subdivision near the shores of Lake Ponchartrain. Here he explains how the storm surge demolished his fence and left the pieces strewn throughout his back yard.