Summary Henry, 59 and his mother Dorothy, 82, are both native to New Orleans, Louisiana. Henry insisted that his mother be a part of the interview because she was such a big part of what he went through, so while Henry is the main storyteller Dorothy shares her experiences in the beginning and end of the interview. Although Henry was scheduled to work the day before the storm his concern for the safety of his mother and his family members moves him to not go to work but rather make sure his mother...

Summary Joan, now 53 years old, spent her whole life in New Orleans and did not evacuate the city before the hurricane hit. Joan was a school bus driver for the Orleans Parish school district and also drove an airport shuttle. The Sunday that the storm began to approach Joan was staying in a third floor apartment with her daughter’s family that included: her daughter (Leslie), a son-in law (her daughter’s husband), two young children (a boy and a girl) and the son-in-law’s mother. Men on boats came...

Summary Glen was born in New Orleans during a hurricane, and he lived most of his life in New Orleans prior to hurricane Katrina. Glen also obtained a Masters Degree in Sociology from Tulane University. Glen worked in real estate prior to opening his antique and imported furniture shop in New Orleans, which he owned and operated for more than 35 years.. At the time of hurricane Katrina, Glen had a house in Waveland, Mississippi and was renting an apartment in New Orleans on Magazine Street, near his...

Summary Michael, a native of New Orleans, returned to Houston as an evacuee from New Orleans. Some years prior he received his Masters in Fine Arts (MFA) in painting from the University of Houston. He lost his job, his studio and all of his belonging that were in it as a result of the events that followed hurricane Katrina. Michael was about to rely heavily on his social network of artists and art professionals to help him cope with the first few weeks of being in Houston and to get a great job at...

Summary Born in Donaldsonville, a small town upriver from New Orleans, Gloria is now an evacuee of New Orleans living in Alvin, Texas. In this interview she discusses her life as a cook in the Ninth Ward, a place that she describes as being a great place to grow-up and live. Gloria and 12 other family members, most of whom were not adults, went to the Superdome to wait until the storm passed. She vividly describes what happened in the Dome before, during and after the hurricane with days of the week...

Summary In August of 2006 Yarmon Kennedy was in New Orleans as a graduate student at Tulane’s business school for finance. It should also be noted that the interviewer is good friends with Yarmon’s girlfriend. Once Yarmon took the approaching hurricane as a serious threat, he evacuated to Houston, which is where he grew up and where his family still lived. Rather than needing help Yarmon spent a lot of time and energy helping other evacuees that were not as fortunate. He enrolled at the University...

Summary Ann is from “Cajun country” Louisiana but had made Lakeview New Orleans her home when Katrina hit. She went to college at Louisiana State University (LSU) and was working as a pharmaceutical sales representative. After serious reservations Ann evacuated with a friend and his children to her hometown Ville Plate, Louisiana. There it was like a family reunion before the flooding happened and people realized what happened to their homes. The Lakeview are was underwater due to the flooding that...

Summary Governor Reiss, age 26, is a Katrina evacuee from the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans, Louisiana. His interview begins with some details of his early life and goes on to describe his adolescence and his job as a longshoreman before becoming a Christian hip-hop artist. Governor gives a long description of how he heard about the hurricane and why he was hesitant to evacuate for the storm. The drive to Houston was filled with ominous messages but once he gets to Houston a house overflowing with...

Summary Jared was born in New Orleans and has lived there his entire life. He worked as a tutor in the New Orleans school district the summer before hurricane Katrina and was living in New Orleans East at his parent’s house with five other family members. He evacuated to Atlanta the Saturday before the hurricane and stayed there for a month before moving to Houston. He came to Houston because a friend was starting a school for the displaced New Orleans students and had a job specifically for Jared. ...

Summary

This is a continuation of an earlier interview in which Vincent described what happened when he stayed through the hurricane because he worked in a jail. This story picks up when Vincent decides to leave the prisoners and his co-worker on a bridge to begin walking home. In this interview Vincent begins by talking about his walk to his home in Algeirs. He also shares the events and decisions that brought him to Houston and describes the community he found there.

Summary Sharon Washington, age 42, is a Katrina survivor from the Seventh Ward of was New Orleans; she was born in New Orleans and grew up in the Seventh Ward. She stayed behind with her grandchildren and recounts some of her most vivid memories of being in New Orleans during the flood. After being brought to the Superdome, they were evacuated to the Astrodome and eventually aided by members of a church called The ROCK (Reflections Of Christ’s Kingdom), located south of Houston in Alvin, Texas. She...