The Tour of the City

Charles Young Writes:

Monday afternoon, the group of us, along with a group from PDA, were given a great tour of New Orleans by two very knowledgeable and skilled locals from St. Charles Ave. Presbyterian Church. It was a long, but very exciting and educational van ride. We were able to tour the different parts of the city that were damaged by Katrina, learn some history of the city of New Orleans and learn our way around a bit too. All but three of us piled in the first van, and the others went with the PDA group. We were able to see the lower ninth ward, upper ninth ward, the seventeenth street canal, the city park (designed by the same person as Central Park and twice the size), the sliver by the river, Tulane University, Loyola University, and many other sites, as well as
Many of us were amazed by the overwhelming evidence of destruction and stories of clean-up after the storm. It was stressed by the guide that Katrina was an “equal opportunity storm,” bringing flooding and destruction to all people, no matter of race, income, etc. This part was true, but our group also noticed the disparity and the recovery time for the “haves” and “have nots” did not seem equal. It seems like people who had the resources to return and rebuild have been able to return more quickly, and people who did not have the resources to return have been less able to come back to their homes. As we drove through neighborhoods with torn down and abandoned houses, it seemed like evidence of a former time, before the world changed, and we could not help but wonder where these people are, what they are doing, and how many people want to or are planning to return when they are able.