New Orleans marks 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina with memorials and brass band parade

By JACK BROOK Associated Press Document for America NEW ORLEANS AP Twenty years after Hurricane Katrina crashed into the Gulf Coast New Orleans is set to commemorate the anniversary Friday with memorials performances and a parade to honor those who were affected Katrina which was a Category hurricane when it made landfall in southeast Louisiana on Aug remains the costliest U S storm on record with damage estimated at upward of billion when adjusted for inflation according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration About people died in five states The failure of the federal levee system inundated about of the city in floodwaters that took weeks to drain Thousands of people clung to rooftops to survive or waited for evacuation in the sweltering under-provisioned Superdome stadium Survivors and city leaders are set to gather in the Lower Ninth Ward a predominantly Black area where a levee breach led to devastating flooding that was exacerbated by a delayed leadership response The event sponsored by Katrina Commemoration Inc and Hip Hop Caucus will feature prayers and prominent local artists like Dawn Richard and Mia X Organizers say it is also intended to draw attention to the sinking city s poor infrastructure gentrification and vulnerability to atmosphere change Thousands of attendees are expected to join a brass band parade known as a second line The beloved New Orleans tradition has its roots in African American jazz funerals in which grieving family members march with the deceased alongside a band and trailed by a second line of dancing friends and bystanders A parade has been staged on every Katrina anniversary since local artists organized it in to help neighbors heal and unite the population Second line allows everybody to come together declared the Rev Lennox Yearwood president of Hip Hop Caucus We re still here and despite the storm people have been strong and very powerful and have come together each and every year to continue to be there for one another Other commemorations include a wreath-laying ceremony at a memorial for dozens of unidentified storm casualties and a minute of silence to be observed at a m There are also museum exhibitions documentary screenings and city-organized discussions Saturday on the future of New Orleans custom infrastructure and ongoing recovery City leaders are pushing for the anniversary to become a state holiday FILE Evelyn Turner cries alongside the body of her common-law husband Xavier Bowie after he died in New Orleans Aug AP Photo Eric Gay FILE Rhonda Braden walks through the destruction in her childhood neighborhood in Long Beach Miss Aug after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the area AP Photo Rob Carr File FILE A military helicopter drops a sandbag as work continues to repair the th Street canal levee in New Orleans Sept AP Photo David J Phillip Pool File FILE A second-line parade makes its way past homes built by Brad Pitt s Make It Right Foundation to commemorate the th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina in the Lower th Ward in New Orleans Aug AP Photo Gerald Herbert File Show Caption of FILE Evelyn Turner cries alongside the body of her common-law husband Xavier Bowie after he died in New Orleans Aug AP Photo Eric Gay Expand Katrina s impact still felt The city s population nearly half a million before Katrina is now after displaced New Orleanians scattered across the nation Multiple ended up in Atlanta Dallas and Houston In the aftermath the levee system was rebuilt population schools were privatized the majority community housing projects were demolished and a hospital was shuttered About housing units were damaged by Katrina according to The Facts Center a nonprofit research agency The storm had a disproportionate impact on the city s Black residents While New Orleans remains a majority Black city tens of thousands of Black residents were unable to return after Katrina A botched and racially biased federal loan scheme for home rebuilding coupled with a shortage of affordable housing have made it harder for former residents to come back Katrina wasn t just a New Orleans moment Yearwood stated It was a national moment and it s a time for reflection and commitment to a better way of how we re handling these issues moving forward Brook is a corps member for The Associated Press Statement for America Statehouse News Initiative Overview for America is a nonprofit national operation undertaking that places journalists in local newsrooms to review on undercovered issues