Vive la revolution - pictures and thoughts after one week in New Orleans

I just finished my first week in New Orleans and wanted to reflect a little and share my initial impressions about this city. I'd never been here before so I've tried to experience as much of it as I can this first week. I'm spending this part of my summer working at the New Orleans Workers' Center for Racial Justice - a really incredible set of grassroots organizations and team of lawyers. Outside of work, I've biked around much of the city, attended organizing meetings, hung out in Mid-town, the French Quarter, and Frenchmen St., and today went on a tour of the city led by STAND (a grassroots organization of low-income residents and workers in New Orleans).  

New Orleans is a beautiful, but also incredibly unjust city. I use the word unjust as opposed to unequal because there are so many barriers stacked against the majority of the residents here that the problems run so much deeper than inequality. Just to throw out a few numbers: 52% of the black male population is unemployed and 43% have criminal records (making new orleans the most incarcerated city in the country), and 50% of residents do not graduate from high school, 

The city is emblematic of struggles I've seen across the country - but in many ways the struggles are amplified and so much more deeply rooted here. Where in New York, problems stemmed from the incredible power of capital and influence of corporate actors in the city, here, the deeply rooted history of slavery and natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina served to uncover the impoverishment and racism for the world to witness. But, like locals here know so well, Hurricane Katrina was not the cause of New Orleans' troubles. In many ways it has instead served to allow government and non-local corporate actors to engage in "revitalizing communities," a term synonymous across the country with the idea of displacing the poor and otherwise unwanted from one's community. 

Today, I toured the four main public housing sites in New Orleans. Residents talked about how the buildings were torn down after Katrina to be replaced by more cheaply built structures - even when their homes had not been structurally damaged by the storm. Even more concerning is that what were once completely subsidized public housing communities now only have 20% public housing. In fact, many former residents have remained in the cities they were bused out to after the hurricane, still waiting for housing in order to return. Others have been given Section 8 vouchers, but are finding housing conditions deteriorating at the hands of private landlords. 

Local leaders also shed light on how although new development has occurred in the city, it has largely failed to benefit local residents. Not only is new development focused on the needs and desires of tourists and higher income individuals the city is attempting to attract, developers also refuse to hire local residents for construction jobs. While some developers refuse to do so due to racist beliefs, others use "lack of experience" to justify the lack of local hires. 

Unfortunately, in a city where half of students do not graduate high school, lack of experience is a structural problem. The school system has been racked by corruption and is now the country's first fully chartered school district. This means that there are no public schools in New Orleans, and students instead attend privately regulated institutions. I'll write more about this throughout the summer as I'm living with two teachers and want to learn more about Charter schools here. But what's certain is that the disastrous state of education and lack of real employment opportunities for local residents is at the root of the poverty and crime in New Orleans. 

The people and culture here though are wonderful. I've never spent time in the south but I now know the meaning of Southern hospitality. People say hi and ask about your day from your porches as you walk past. Everyone is friendly and so open. There's also live music everywhere and the architecture is so beautiful! And the bayou/parks are so nice! 

I think I'll leave my initial reflections at that and instead end my post with lots of pictures. I'm excited to share more thoughts as I keep learning about this city and its incredibly resilient residents.

My street

The bayou - a river that cuts across my neighborhood (and my favorite spot to read and hangout)

A house in mid-city (my neighborhood)

A house in my neighborhood

House in my neighborhood

Cemetery they relocated to develop a neighborhood 

The bayou again from the park

Beautiful city park

Public transit in New Orleans

Incredibly beautiful architecture

There are vacant homes everywhere. All while there's a huge need for housing.

Waterfront

Another example of New Orleans architecture

Again - my favorite reading spot

Live music everywhere

A public housing site the city is tearing down

What is replacing the public housing. The houses are nice but not well made and not affordable

As always, thanks for reading.

Happy Bastille Day from New Orleans,
Sima