On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina ripped through the Southern Gulf Coast. Ten years later, it s estimated there are nearly 100,000 fewer African Americans living in the city of New Orleans. Drawn by reconstruction work, the number of Latino immigrants has nearly doubled. Reconstruction after Hurricane Katrina drew thousands of people from India, Brazil, Mexico, Honduras, and other Latin American countries. Workers were charged with pulling dead bodies from abandoned homes and rebuilding New Orleans. But the influx of migrant workers also increased immigration crackdowns.
On this edition of Making Contact, we talk to residents about how the city has transformed since Hurricane Katrina and the resulting friction.
Featuring:
Luis Medina, immigrant reconstruction worker; Jose Monterrubio, immigrant reconstruction worker; Jose Torres-Tama, artist; Robert Green, Lower 9th Ward resident; Beck Cooper, Director of the Lower 9th Ward Living Museum.
More information:
After Hurricane Katrina, a look at New Orleans’ uneven recovery among its neighborhoods
The Voices of Hurricane Katrina