A Country Divided

I just finished watching a documentary in my Race and Gender Justice class on Hurrican Katrina and its effects on the black community in New Orleans. I remember when Katrina happened and everyone was talking about it through the hallways of my high school, but it felt so far away that I didn't really take into consideration what was going on and the devastation that was occurring in these peoples lives.
In this documentary a 24 year old named Kim and her husband film what it was like to go through the hurricane and live to tell about it, while also showing the poverty and racial struggles that the African American community faces, especially in the 9th ward. From the media coverage the refugees were portrayed as bandits and thieves who were "looting" and stealing anything that they could find in shops and stores. In reality, this was not the case, sure things were stolen, but it was out of survival. Most of the relief efforts went to upper middle class neighborhoods, and rebuilding of downtown and the French Quarter. So many people in the 9th ward were left with nothing, no belonging, food, shelter, and many of their neighbors and friends had passed away in the turmoil.
I traveled to New Orleans last summer and could still see signs of the damage and destruction of Katrina and that was about four years later. I could see how hard the city spent on rebuilding, but only in the areas where the tourists go and places that would generate money.  I didn't venture into the 9th ward, but from what I saw in the film I am sure not much has changed. It just seems like the city doesn't care about the less fortunate and want to just cast them aside like an old pair of shoes. It just makes me so angry to know that these unjust things are still occurring in this day and age. That the people in our country who really need are help are being treated like they are un-American or that they don't deserve our help. It just goes to show that the "Rich get Richer while the Poor get Poorer". It is just a vicious cycle, will it ever end?

Check out the Film trailer here!

Kimberly Roberts also has recorded a CD where she has released her feelings about New Orleans and her life experiences through hip-hop, check it out.....Black Kold Medina