The tragic story of Michelle McCullum, a young mother who killed herself and her two children a decade after Hurricane Katrina, illustrates the deep and lasting toll the storm took on New Orleans’ Black communities. McCullum, who grew up in the Treme neighborhood, faced cascading challenges in a city reshaped by demographic shifts, job losses, and a weakened social safety net. She became emblematic of how systemic disinvestment, displacement, and inadequate mental health care compounded the trauma left in Katrina’s wake. Her death underscored the urgent need for mental health resources and broader support in one of America’s poorest and Blackest cities. In this episode, we speak with Adam Mahoney, climate and environment reporter at Capital B.about our lessons from Hurricane Katrina 20 years later. You can read his article that was published in Mother Jones – Is the Legacy of Hurricane Katrina More Lethal Than the Storm? Black New Orleanians navigate hopelessness, addiction, and the struggle to survive.
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