Overcoming Katrina: African American Voices from the Crescent City and Beyond (Palgrave Studies in Oral History)

This books brings together the narrated autobiographies of black New Orleanians, united by their residence in New Orleans, Louisiana during Hurricane Katrina in 2005 Overcoming Katrina tells the stories of 27 New Orleanians as they fought to survive Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. Their oral histories offer first-hand experiences: three days on a roof with Navy veteran Leonard Smith; at the convention center with waitress Eleanor Thornton; and with Willie Pitford, an elevator man, as he rescued 150 people in New Orleans East. Overcoming approaches the question of why New Orleans matters, from perspectives of the individuals who lived, loved, worked, and celebrated life and death there prior to being scattered across the country by Hurricane Katrina. This book's twenty-seven narrators range from Mack Slan, a conservative businessman who disparages the younger generation for not sharing his ability to make "good, rational decisions," to Kalamu ya Salaam, who was followed by the New Orleans Police Department for several years as a militant defender of Black Power in the late 1960s and '70s. These narratives are memorials to the corner stores, the Baptist churches, the community health clinics, and those streets where the aunties stood on the corner, and whose physical traces have now all been washed away. They conclude with visions of a safer, equitably rebuilt New Orleans. *Scroll down for more audio excerpts from Overcoming Katrina * "Overcoming Katrina tells the stories of 27 New Orleanians as they fought to survive Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. Their oral histories offer first-hand experiences: three days on a roof with Navy veteran Leonard Smith; at the convention center with waitress Eleanor Thornton; and with Willie Pitford, an elevator man, as he rescued 150 people in New Orleans East. Overcoming approaches the question of why New Orleans matters, from perspectives of the individuals who lived, loved, worked, and celebrated life and death there prior to being scattered across the country by Hurricane Katrina. This book's twenty-seven narrators range from Mack Slan, a conservative businessman who disparages the younger generation for not sharing his ability to make "good, rational decisions," to Kalamu ya Salaam, who was followed by the New Orleans Police Department for several years as a militant defender of Black Power in the late 1960s and '70s. These narratives are memorials to the corner stores, the Baptist churches, the community health clinics, and those streets where the aunties stood on the corner, and whose physical traces have now all been washed away. They conclude with visions of a safer, equitably rebuilt New Orleans."--Jacket Front Matter....Pages i-xxix Aline St. Julien....Pages 1-9 Narvalee Audrey Copelin....Pages 10-15 Leatrice Joy Reed Roberts....Pages 16-22 Irvin Porter....Pages 23-28 Leonard Smith....Pages 29-34 Pete Stevenson....Pages 35-39 Parnell Herbert....Pages 40-48 Harold Toussaint....Pages 49-59 Cynthia Delores Banks....Pages 60-69 Denise Roubion-Johnson....Pages 70-79 Kalamu ya Salaam....Pages 80-88 Keith C. Ferdinand....Pages 89-100 Charles W. Duplessis....Pages 101-107 Willie Pitford....Pages 108-114 Mack Slan Jr.....Pages 115-120 Rochelle Smith....Pages 121-129 Eleanor Thornton....Pages 130-141 Kevin Owens....Pages 142-151 Jermol Stinson....Pages 152-158 Demetrius White....Pages 159-167 Senta Eastern....Pages 168-174 Yolanda Seals....Pages 175-180 Aldon E. Cotton....Pages 181-190 Leslie Lawrence....Pages 191-199 Le Ella Lee....Pages 200-203 Robert Willis Jr.....Pages 204-210 Toussaint Webster....Pages 211-219 Conclusion....Pages 220-227 Epilogue: The Future of New Orleans....Pages 228-230 Back Matter....Pages 231-248 Eleven Kalamu ya Salaam -- Twelve Keith C. Ferdinand -- Thirteen Charles W. Duplessis -- Fourteen Willie Pitford -- Fifteen Mack Slan Jr. -- Section three thirty something -- Sixteen Rochelle Smith -- Seventeen Eleanor Thornton -- Eighteen Kevin Owens -- Nineteen Jermol Stinson -- Twenty Demetrius White -- Twenty-One Senta Eastern -- Twenty-Two Yolanda Seals -- Twenty-Three Aldon E. Cotton -- Section Four coming of age -- Twenty-Four Leslie Lawrence -- Twenty-Five Le Ella Lee -- Twenty-Six Robert Willis Jr. -- Twenty-Seven Toussaint Webster -- Conclusion -- Epilogue: The Future of New Orleans Cover -- Series -- Title -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Contents -- Foreword -- Series Editors' Foreword -- Preface -- Introduction -- Map I.1 New Orleans, Louisiana -- Map I.2 New Orleans Wards 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, and 9 -- List of Abbreviations -- Section One Retirees -- One Aline St. Julien -- Two Narvalee Audrey Copelin -- Three Leatrice Joy Reed Roberts -- Four Irvin Porter -- Five Leonard Smith -- Six Pete Stevenson -- Seven Parnell Herbert -- Section two at the Height of their Careers -- Eight Harold Toussaint -- Nine Cynthia Delores Banks -- Ten Denise Roubion-Johnson Bringing together the narrated autobiographies of black New Orleanians, united by their residence in New Orleans, Louisiana during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, this book describes abandonment and evacuation, heroism and terror, prejudice and generosity, and displacement and rebuilding in the wake of the hurricane [edited By] D'ann R. Penner And Keith C. Ferdinand ; Foreword By Jimmy Carter. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [231]-239) And Index.