Dorothy Stukes [DS] was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. She grew up in the Mid-City area of the town. It was a mixed neighborhood. DS did not experience racism in her early years, everyone lived peacefully together. Mrs. Mary a white lady owned the corner grocery store. She was a very nice lady, who also lived in the neighborhood too. DS worked in Mrs. Mary’s grocery store after school. Dorothy has fond memories of Mrs. Mary’s son, Steve. She was in love with Steve, as a child. Mrs. Mary would say; “Dorothy, if you’re going to marry Steve, I’ll have to teach you how to cook, because Steve loves to eat". There was no racism in their neighborhood, they didn’t see color. They were just people, people who cared and looked out for one another. Dorothy had never experience racism, until she was fourteen years old. She had to integrate with Warren Easton High School, a white school in town. Dorothy said; “Some of the children were very mean and ugly to me and I didn’t understand why.” This was her first experience with racism. When DS thought about her neighborhood, there were Blacks, Whites, Spanish and Italians, all living together, peacefully and lovingly. The experience at school simply shocked her. “Why does a person judge you by the color of your skin?” She said; “Adults teach children racism”. “If you ever see two little kids in the Supermarket or on the playground and they see each other, the kids automatically run over to each other and start playing together.” It’s the parents’ negative responses that affect the children’s relationship. Adults are the ones who impart those negative attitudes to their children. They teach them how to respond in a racist manner. Children don’t see people by the color of their skin. They just see little people like themselves.” DS didn’t evacuate New Orleans, because her older sister was very ill in Charity Hospital. She would not leave her bedside. This was her oldest sister, whom she loved and owed her life too. This sister, as she put it, saved my life as a child. She would not leave her side, during the storm. While she was visiting her sister, the staff of the hospital made an announcement to all visitors. They were told that they would have to leave the facility because of the storm. They were not allowed to stay in the hospital, even if they had loved ones there. This was due to the fact that Charity Hospital was not considered a Hurricane Shelter. DS and her niece had to leave her sister alone in the hospital. She had to decide where she was going to ride out the storm. She only had twenty dollars in her pocketbook and used it to put gas in her car. This is another reason why, she really didn’t evacuate. She didn’t have any money to get out of town. DS made the decision to stay at her friend’s house, to ride out the storm. She never imagined, such a major devastation would take place. The sounds of the wind were amazing, it sounded like the wind was howling. She heard sounds like a locomotive train, colliding with something. The waters began to rise quickly and all communication was lost, while on the phone with her children. This disturbed her a great deal, losing contact with her children. After looking out the window and seeing the water rising, she had to get out of that house. There was a neighbor standing in his doorway, he didn’t evacuate either. They all decided to leave their homes together, to find a safe place to stay. DS, Adam and their neighbor, walked in water up to their ankles. They were determined to continue walking, until they found a safe place. Not knowing where to go, the neighbor wanted to check on his mother’s house. His mother lived off of Franklin Avenue. As they headed toward that part of town, people were asking them, where were they were trying to go? Dorothy said; “We’re on our way to our friend’s mother’s house, near Franklin Avenue”. The people were yelling, “Please don’t go that way, Franklin Avenue is flooded, it’s worst that way”. They continued to walk in that direction and when they arrived at his mother’s house, it was in ruins. Eventually a police officer came by and offered them a ride to the Superdome. Believe it or not, it was a beautiful day, after the storm, said Dorothy. The first few days at the Superdome was fine, but the longer they were in the Dome, the worst it got. The people were getting frustrated and feeling hopeless as the days went by, cooped inside that building. The authorities were not telling them, what was going on in the city. Some of the people began to get irate and out of control. Some of the criminal minded people began to take over the Superdome too. Tempers and tension started rising between some of the young people. Dorothy described all kinds of horrible events that happened, as the days went by in the Dome. One of the most pleasant things that happened to her, she met a nice older Christian lady, Miss Rose. They instantly became friends and decided to stick very close to one another. They had to watch each others back. There would be no traveling alone to the rest room and they took turns sleeping, says DS. They had to look out for each other, watching out for predators. Dorothy could not believe, the United States of America, would allow their citizens, to be treated in such an inhumane manner. The government just failed the people. She truly believed, they didn’t respond quickly, because of the color of their skin. How did the Government respond to Iraq in sixteen hours, after an earthquake? But, they failed to rescue the citizens of the United States. What happened to the people of New Orleans? She heard that this was their way, to genocide a people, all because of the color of their skin.