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Reckoning with the South

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Natural Disaster

Rescuers use an old row boat to evacuate children from their flooded homes in Gulfport, Mississippi, after Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast on Monday, August 29, 2005. (AP Photo/John Bazemore) Over 18 years after Hurricane Katrina, survivors' ongoing battles with trauma, mental health, and PTSD reveal the long shadow of environmental racism on Black mental health.
Posted inRACE & PLACE

The hidden toll of Hurricane Katrina on the mental health of Black survivors

by Maya Richard-Craven November 22, 2023November 22, 2023

The devastating storm that hit New Orleans in 2005 killed nearly 2,000 people and displaced thousands more. For those who survived Hurricane Katrina, the trauma they still carry reveals the long shadow of environmental racism on Black mental health.

Residents seek higher ground on the roof of a home as floodwaters from Hurricane Katrina cover the streets on Tuesday, August 30, 2005 in New Orleans. (AP Photo/ Vincent Laforet, Pool) What we can learn from Hurricane Katrina preparedness failures and the deep inequities in federal disaster response efforts they exposed.
Posted inRACE & PLACE

How Hurricane Katrina changed disaster preparedness and community response

by Yasmin Garaad November 16, 2023November 16, 2023
The weather bears witness: On calamity, rebirth, and Blackness in the face of climate crisis and the chaos of the natural world. "Perhaps in every wind roaring, in every storm raging, our ancestors are not only watching over us, but watching out for us."
Posted inRACE & PLACE

Emergence

by Cherise Morris September 28, 2023September 28, 2023
Stranded New Orleans residents watch as a helicopter evacuates others near the Superdome sports stadium August 31, 2005. Authorities have begun evacuating thousands from the damaged Superdome where living conditions have worsened since Hurricane Katrina struck on August 29, 2005. REUTERS/Jason Reed JIR/JK - RP6DRMZYNMAC Insufficient government response to the Maui wildfires follows a pattern of state abandonment forged in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Posted inRACE & PLACE

From Katrina to Maui, Disaster Capitalism continues to exploit across many 'Souths'

by Cierra Chenier September 27, 2023September 27, 2023
Men from the Brevard County Jail fill sand bags for local residents to combat flooding caused by high water levels from Hurricane Irma on October 5, 2017 in Sharpes, Florida. Credit: Paul Hennessy/Alamy Live News.
Posted inPOLITICS & THE PEOPLE

Florida's jails put incarcerated people's lives at risk during hurricane season

by Angel D’Angelo September 12, 2023September 27, 2023
The geography of disaster, storms, and prison.
Posted inRACE & PLACE

Perfect Storm: A time to refrain from embracing

by Richard Hunsinger June 23, 2023September 27, 2023
The devastating impact of environmental racism in prisons.
Posted inPOLITICS & THE PEOPLE

Poisoned Inside

by C. Dreams June 23, 2023September 27, 2023
The headquarters of New Orleans Musicians Assistance Foundation, the nonprofit that operates the Musicians' Clinic. Every month, the Foundation pays Bethany Bultman and her husband Johann $4,094 in rent for its use of the building for its offices. Photo by Trenity Thomas for Scalawag.
Posted inPOLITICS & THE PEOPLE

Plantation Politics: The New Orleans Musicians' Clinic's crisis of credibility

by Drew Hawkins June 1, 2023September 27, 2023
Forever New Orleans tourism campaign advertisements. Illustrations by Keysha Rivera.
Posted inRACE & PLACE

Disaster capitalism, climate change, and the campaign to sell Black New Orleans

by Nicole Young May 31, 2023September 27, 2023
Posted inARTS & SOUL

Songs for a South underwater

by Sergio Lopez February 11, 2022September 27, 2023
Posted inRACE & PLACE

You're swamped? Join the club.

by Ko Bragg and Virginia Walcott September 17, 2021September 27, 2023
Posted inRACE & PLACE

Rural Texans faced the same storm—with unique hardships

by Melissa B. Taboada & Sarah M. Vasquez, The Texas Tribune February 22, 2021September 27, 2023
Posted inRACE & PLACE

The South's communication infrastructure can't withstand climate change

by Bailey Basham January 8, 2021September 27, 2023
Posted inRACE & PLACE

After two devastating hurricanes, southwest Louisiana worries the rest of the country has already moved on

by Xander Peters November 9, 2020September 27, 2023
Posted inRACE & PLACE

Too heartbreaking to leave, too expensive to stay. More than 802,000 homes are at risk of climate disaster—mostly in the South.

by Xander Peters August 7, 2020November 21, 2023
Posted inPOLITICS & THE PEOPLE

In the wake of Tennessee's tornadoes, some ways to send and receive aid—and things to avoid

by Lovey Cooper March 6, 2020September 27, 2023
Posted inRACE & PLACE

On Blackness and bad weather

by Ishmael Bishop February 17, 2020September 27, 2023
Posted inPOLITICS & THE PEOPLE

Fossil fuels won't last forever: How will Houston cope?

by Sammy Feldblum January 25, 2018September 27, 2023
Posted inPOLITICS & THE PEOPLE

City in a Swamp: As Houston booms, its flood problems are only getting worse

by Sammy Feldblum January 3, 2018September 27, 2023
Posted inRACE & PLACE

By the numbers: The disparate impacts of hurricane season

by Alexa Wood December 19, 2017September 27, 2023
Posted inRACE & PLACE

A change in hurricane season

by Lizzy Hazeltine November 9, 2017September 27, 2023
Posted inRACE & PLACE

Myself, and other storm stories

by Alice Lesperance October 3, 2017September 27, 2023
Posted inPOLITICS & THE PEOPLE

Princeville is worth fighting for

by Rachel Gorman October 28, 2016September 27, 2023
Posted inPOLITICS & THE PEOPLE

Drowned animals, runaway waste on North Carolina farms in Matthew's wake

by Christina Cooke October 24, 2016September 27, 2023
Posted inRACE & PLACE

A love letter to West Virginia two months after the flood

by R. Garringer September 5, 2016September 27, 2023
Posted inRACE & PLACE

After the floods, here are the voices of survival and solidarity in Louisiana

by Claire Bangser August 25, 2016September 27, 2023
Posted inARTS & SOUL

Photo essay: New Orleans, August 2015

by Nik Nerburn December 19, 2015September 27, 2023
Posted inPOLITICS & THE PEOPLE

"Hope you remember": Resilience and resistance in New Orleans

by Anna Simonton December 1, 2015September 27, 2023
Posted inRACE & PLACE

First days back

by Hank Cherry November 5, 2015September 27, 2023
Posted inRACE & PLACE

The water will never not be here

by Lisa O'Neill September 3, 2015September 27, 2023

WE'RE DREAMING UP ABOLITIONIST FUTURES. Help us share our vision.

Support us

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