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00:00:58,858 --> 00:01:01,428
Father, in the name of Jesus,
we come at Your hour, Lord,
2
00:01:01,494 --> 00:01:03,229
saying thank You.
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00:01:03,296 --> 00:01:06,232
Thank You for being so kind
with Your mercy,
4
00:01:06,299 --> 00:01:07,967
Your love,
and Your grace.
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00:01:08,034 --> 00:01:10,236
Father, as we wade
through the water,
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00:01:10,303 --> 00:01:12,572
my mind thought
about the song
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that my old ancestors
used to sing,
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what I was raised up on.
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Father, as I walked
through that water,
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all I could say was,
"Lord, wading in the water.
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"Wading in the water.
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God's going
to trouble the water."
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Father, you troubled
that water for our protection,
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and I want
to thank You, Lord.
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I want to thank You
for bringing us through
that water.
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And as we wade, God,
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You was there bringing us
over to destiny.
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And, God, You're so loving,
kind, and merciful.
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We thank You
for it, Master.
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In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen, amen, and amen.
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00:05:25,058 --> 00:05:26,025
The Hot 8
Brass Band's
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00:05:26,092 --> 00:05:27,694
a people's band
of New Orleans
right now.
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00:05:32,398 --> 00:05:34,934
Yo. Yo!
Yo, yo, yo!
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00:05:36,869 --> 00:05:39,038
Probably a week
after the hurricane,
I called Bennie Pete
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on the phone
just to check on him
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and, you know, he said,
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"Lee, you know,
guys are everywhere.
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"We lost our instruments.
We're not gigging.
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00:05:49,849 --> 00:05:51,884
We're trying
to get jobs right now."
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This is not what these guys
should be doing.
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These guys should
be playing music,
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00:05:59,158 --> 00:06:01,794
not working in a bakery
or a store.
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00:06:01,861 --> 00:06:03,196
They should be
playing music, you know?
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00:06:03,262 --> 00:06:04,764
♪ Oh, when the sun ♪
35
00:06:04,831 --> 00:06:06,766
♪ Refuse to shine ♪
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00:06:06,833 --> 00:06:11,938
♪ Oh, when the sun
refuse to shine ♪
♪ To shine ♪
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♪ Lord, how I want to be
in that number... ♪
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I talked to Bennie,
and we decided to--
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you know, we said we got to get
the guys back together.
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You're listening to the sounds
of the Hot 8 Brass Band.
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We come all the way
from New Orleans
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00:06:50,109 --> 00:06:53,546
by way of Katrina.
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There's a tradition
in New Orleans-- we do
have a tip thing over here.
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I don't want everybody
to get all excited
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and rush all at one time
and put something
in this case.
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00:07:01,921 --> 00:07:03,956
Please take your time
and hurry up.
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00:07:04,023 --> 00:07:06,192
We're back tonight, and we're
in the capital city
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00:07:06,259 --> 00:07:07,960
of the state of Louisiana,
Baton Rouge.
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00:07:08,027 --> 00:07:09,061
It's become the temporary home
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00:07:09,128 --> 00:07:10,196
for thousands of refugees
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00:07:10,263 --> 00:07:11,864
from the Gulf Coast.
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00:07:11,931 --> 00:07:15,134
We're told 12,000
people are going
to Tennessee,
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00:07:15,201 --> 00:07:18,504
an estimated 20,000
are finding shelter
in Arkansas,
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00:07:18,571 --> 00:07:21,440
and more than
150,000 are now
making their home
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00:07:21,507 --> 00:07:23,309
in the state
of Texas.
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00:07:23,376 --> 00:07:24,744
And most of those
brand-new Texans,
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00:07:24,811 --> 00:07:26,012
as you know,
are in Houston.
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The Mayor of Houston is now
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00:07:27,146 --> 00:07:28,181
saying that the number
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00:07:28,247 --> 00:07:29,215
of New Orleans people
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00:07:29,282 --> 00:07:30,249
arriving here
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00:07:30,316 --> 00:07:31,884
could actually reach 200,000
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00:07:31,951 --> 00:07:33,186
by the time this is over.
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00:07:33,252 --> 00:07:35,955
When you think
about the dispersal
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00:07:36,022 --> 00:07:38,991
of black Americans across,
what now, 49 states--
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00:07:39,058 --> 00:07:40,526
nearly every state
in the Union--
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00:07:40,593 --> 00:07:42,161
even when they were
received with open arms--
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00:07:42,228 --> 00:07:45,198
think about Houston--
initially, it got kind of
thick up in there.
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00:07:45,264 --> 00:07:47,333
In Houston's
toughest neighborhood,
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00:07:47,400 --> 00:07:49,202
police on patrol,
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00:07:49,268 --> 00:07:51,204
trying to stem
a rising tide of violence
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00:07:51,270 --> 00:07:55,107
since 150,000 evacuees
arrived from New Orleans.
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00:07:55,174 --> 00:07:57,109
Police here say
the vast majority
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00:07:57,176 --> 00:07:59,846
of hurricane evacuees
are honest citizens,
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00:07:59,912 --> 00:08:02,915
but a small group of violent
New Orleans criminals
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00:08:02,982 --> 00:08:05,718
is now fighting for a share
of Houston's streets.
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00:08:05,785 --> 00:08:08,754
Evacuees are suspects
in at least 15 murders here
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00:08:08,821 --> 00:08:10,323
since September 1st.
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00:08:10,389 --> 00:08:12,558
18 murder victims
had also
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00:08:12,625 --> 00:08:14,293
relocated from Louisiana.
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00:08:14,360 --> 00:08:17,530
What amazes me is that
people said-- and even
among black people--
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00:08:17,597 --> 00:08:19,866
"Well, these New Orleans folk
coming down here..."
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00:08:19,932 --> 00:08:23,936
Oh, yeah, Houston was a hotbed
of civic politeness
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00:08:24,003 --> 00:08:25,605
before they arrived here.
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00:08:25,671 --> 00:08:27,273
There was no crime problem.
86
00:08:27,340 --> 00:08:29,242
I guess Scarface
and the Geto Boys
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00:08:29,308 --> 00:08:31,410
were just making
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00:08:31,477 --> 00:08:34,413
"Never seen a man cry
till I seen a man die."
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00:08:34,480 --> 00:08:36,582
Yeah, I guess that was
a cartoon character.
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00:08:36,649 --> 00:08:38,251
The point is that
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00:08:38,317 --> 00:08:42,555
there was huge racial tension
introduced as a result
92
00:08:42,622 --> 00:08:44,590
of this dispersal
that very few people
speak about.
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00:08:44,657 --> 00:08:46,492
I don't think it would be
much different if it was,
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00:08:46,559 --> 00:08:48,995
you know, people from Chicago
come down to New Orleans,
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00:08:49,061 --> 00:08:52,265
or New Orleans evacuees
in any other major city.
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00:08:52,331 --> 00:08:54,267
There's gonna be
a conflict.
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00:08:54,333 --> 00:08:55,935
People are used to things
a certain way.
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00:08:56,002 --> 00:08:58,704
So now they're out there,
struggling to survive.
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00:08:58,771 --> 00:09:00,773
I think it would be
tough for anybody.
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00:09:00,840 --> 00:09:02,108
For me
to look
at citizens
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00:09:02,174 --> 00:09:03,476
in this
country
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00:09:03,542 --> 00:09:04,510
who are
devastated
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00:09:04,577 --> 00:09:05,878
by whathappened in Katrina,
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00:09:05,945 --> 00:09:08,080
thrown to the four corners
of this nation,
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00:09:08,147 --> 00:09:10,383
with no relationships,
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00:09:10,449 --> 00:09:12,118
with no family,
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00:09:12,184 --> 00:09:14,820
with no place to go,
just be dropped off
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00:09:14,887 --> 00:09:17,890
and then told to forage
for yourself
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00:09:17,957 --> 00:09:19,725
is an overwhelming
experience.
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00:09:19,792 --> 00:09:22,395
And they got us displaced,
dysfunctional.
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00:09:22,461 --> 00:09:24,030
Families all over.
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00:09:24,096 --> 00:09:25,398
Can't get in touch
with them.
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00:09:25,464 --> 00:09:27,133
My grandmother
and my uncle
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00:09:27,199 --> 00:09:28,935
are still
missing.
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00:09:29,001 --> 00:09:30,202
We're still trying
to find them.
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00:09:30,269 --> 00:09:31,237
They're from
New Orleans East.
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00:09:31,304 --> 00:09:33,606
These are my stepkids.
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00:09:33,673 --> 00:09:37,710
I've been raising them
since they was in Pampers.
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00:09:37,777 --> 00:09:39,779
I'm looking
for my son Earnel.
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00:09:39,845 --> 00:09:41,647
I don't know
where he at.
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00:09:41,714 --> 00:09:43,950
Mothers separated
from their children...
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00:09:44,016 --> 00:09:45,918
Mommy!
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00:09:45,985 --> 00:09:48,321
"Where's my mother?
Where's my grandmother?"
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00:09:48,387 --> 00:09:51,891
There's no way
that anybody can get
records on all that.
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00:09:51,958 --> 00:09:53,359
I don't know
if you know
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00:09:53,426 --> 00:09:55,394
what that's
like, to go
somewhere
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00:09:55,461 --> 00:09:57,563
and you don't
know where your
friends are,
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00:09:57,630 --> 00:09:59,565
you don't know
where your
family is.
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00:09:59,632 --> 00:10:01,867
You've lost
telephone communication
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00:10:01,934 --> 00:10:05,137
because the cells are down,
the towers are down.
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00:10:05,204 --> 00:10:07,373
You can't call 'cause
the numbers don't work.
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00:10:07,440 --> 00:10:09,308
And it was like that
for months.
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00:10:09,375 --> 00:10:13,045
How do I feel about
a million-plus people
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00:10:13,112 --> 00:10:15,948
being just thrown out
of the place
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00:10:16,015 --> 00:10:18,117
they've lived
their whole lives?
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00:10:18,184 --> 00:10:19,952
It's indescribable.
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00:10:20,019 --> 00:10:21,220
I ain't got words for that.
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00:10:24,857 --> 00:10:27,059
I-- I never thought
I'd live in a place
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00:10:27,126 --> 00:10:28,294
where that could happen.
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00:10:29,295 --> 00:10:31,097
And it--
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00:10:31,163 --> 00:10:33,566
it stuns me
to this day.
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00:10:33,632 --> 00:10:36,469
We're just-- "Ship over here,
go over there."
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00:10:36,535 --> 00:10:39,271
And we trying to keep
some families strong here.
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00:10:39,338 --> 00:10:42,575
We're depressed
because we didn't start
this situation.
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00:10:42,641 --> 00:10:43,843
That's right.
We're stressed
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00:10:43,909 --> 00:10:45,644
'cause we don't live
in these kind of conditions.
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00:10:45,711 --> 00:10:47,947
You walk around the Baton Rouge
Convention Center
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00:10:48,014 --> 00:10:49,315
or the Houston Astrodome,
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00:10:49,382 --> 00:10:52,651
and you hear an almost
uniform outcry
150
00:10:52,718 --> 00:10:55,154
of "Where's the government?
How could they do this to us?"
151
00:10:55,221 --> 00:10:57,490
George Bush doesn't care
about black people.
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00:10:59,658 --> 00:11:03,129
I thought Kanye West
was blisteringly brilliant,
153
00:11:03,195 --> 00:11:07,099
even as he stumbled
toward... his self-expression.
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00:11:07,166 --> 00:11:09,702
He was nervous, after all.
He's going off-script.
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00:11:09,769 --> 00:11:12,371
George Bush doesn't care
about black people.
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00:11:12,438 --> 00:11:14,774
Kanye West's comment
was wonderful.
157
00:11:14,840 --> 00:11:17,510
I was just
like...
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00:11:17,576 --> 00:11:19,111
you could see,
if you really
look at it,
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00:11:19,178 --> 00:11:22,114
he's like, "I'm going
to say something.
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00:11:22,181 --> 00:11:23,549
I'm going
to say something."
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00:11:23,616 --> 00:11:25,384
And I'm sure
he was trying
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00:11:25,451 --> 00:11:28,120
to think of something
eloquent and wonderful
163
00:11:28,187 --> 00:11:30,122
and politically astute.
164
00:11:30,189 --> 00:11:32,691
George Bush doesn't care
about black people.
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00:11:32,758 --> 00:11:33,826
When I went up
to NBC,
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00:11:33,893 --> 00:11:35,094
I hadn't planned to
make a statement.
167
00:11:35,161 --> 00:11:36,328
I didn't know what
I was gonna do.
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00:11:36,395 --> 00:11:37,797
I read what they
wanted me to read,
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00:11:37,863 --> 00:11:38,864
and I felt like--
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00:11:38,931 --> 00:11:41,200
you know, at practice,
I read the teleprompter,
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00:11:41,267 --> 00:11:43,069
and I felt like it wasn't
heartfelt enough.
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00:11:43,135 --> 00:11:45,137
So I knew I was
gonna speak from my heart.
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00:11:45,204 --> 00:11:46,806
Don't put me in front
of the camera
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00:11:46,872 --> 00:11:49,442
if you don't want me
to say how I feel.
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00:11:49,508 --> 00:11:53,079
And he said,
"George Bush doesn't care
about black people."
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00:11:53,145 --> 00:11:55,548
Now, the amazing thing
was to turn to Mike Myers,
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00:11:55,614 --> 00:11:58,317
who was sitting there
like a deer caught
in the headlights.
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00:11:58,384 --> 00:12:01,620
Mr. Mike Myers,
"Dr. Evil,"
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00:12:01,687 --> 00:12:03,322
couldn't even
utter a word--
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00:12:03,389 --> 00:12:07,293
inarticulate,
rendered mum and numb.
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00:12:07,359 --> 00:12:08,861
After I said it,
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00:12:08,928 --> 00:12:11,330
just everyone in the room
was polarized.
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00:12:12,531 --> 00:12:15,067
And it's kind of like
I had to show myself
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00:12:15,134 --> 00:12:16,735
to the elevator,
185
00:12:16,802 --> 00:12:18,437
and Mike Myers just
looked at me and said,
186
00:12:18,504 --> 00:12:20,005
"It is what it is."
187
00:12:20,072 --> 00:12:21,507
And there was a bar...
188
00:12:22,908 --> 00:12:24,677
right across
the street from here
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00:12:24,743 --> 00:12:26,879
where we went to go have
drinks right afterwards,
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00:12:26,946 --> 00:12:28,581
'cause it was one
of those ones, you know,
191
00:12:28,647 --> 00:12:30,449
where you do something,
you're like, "Oh, shit.
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00:12:30,516 --> 00:12:32,651
This might be
the last drink
we ever have."
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00:12:32,718 --> 00:12:35,921
My reaction was,
A, he's talking
for a lot of us.
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00:12:35,988 --> 00:12:38,557
A lot of us felt that Bush
didn't like black people.
195
00:12:38,624 --> 00:12:41,594
And I was happy because
I'd been very critical
196
00:12:41,660 --> 00:12:43,362
of a lot
of the hip-hop artists
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00:12:43,429 --> 00:12:45,097
who have said
nothing relevant--
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00:12:45,164 --> 00:12:47,700
in many ways, have said
a lot of destructive things.
199
00:12:47,766 --> 00:12:49,969
I thought it was
a breath of fresh air
200
00:12:50,035 --> 00:12:52,071
that at least somebody said
something constructive
201
00:12:52,138 --> 00:12:53,606
and stood up
for their people.
202
00:12:53,672 --> 00:12:56,275
Well, when I was up there,
I wasn't concerned about
record sales.
203
00:12:56,342 --> 00:12:57,776
I wasn't concerned
about...
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00:12:59,845 --> 00:13:01,213
sponsorships,
205
00:13:01,280 --> 00:13:03,215
about losing
any sponsorships,
206
00:13:03,282 --> 00:13:05,484
which, I mean,
we did.
207
00:13:05,551 --> 00:13:08,621
But I was
more concerned about...
208
00:13:09,788 --> 00:13:12,791
you know, if I was
in these people's shoes.
209
00:13:12,858 --> 00:13:16,562
I can't even remember
what was what, hardly.
210
00:13:16,629 --> 00:13:19,198
There was a hotel
right there.
211
00:13:19,265 --> 00:13:22,034
People who follow hurricanes
212
00:13:22,101 --> 00:13:25,171
know that the primary amount
of damage from a hurricane
213
00:13:25,237 --> 00:13:28,707
is from the northeast quadrant,
and the northeast quadrant
214
00:13:28,774 --> 00:13:32,278
of Hurricane Katrina
primarily affected Hancock
215
00:13:32,344 --> 00:13:35,281
and Harrison
and Jackson Counties
in Mississippi.
216
00:13:35,347 --> 00:13:38,184
There was a ton
of devastation along
the Mississippi Gulf Coast,
217
00:13:38,250 --> 00:13:41,187
which a lot of times
seems to go unnoticed
by the media.
218
00:13:41,253 --> 00:13:43,522
This is 2nd Street?
Oh, my God.
219
00:13:43,589 --> 00:13:45,624
This is 2nd Street.
220
00:13:47,426 --> 00:13:49,562
Jay had been
helping me move
221
00:13:49,628 --> 00:13:51,864
stuff out of
my destroyed house,
222
00:13:51,931 --> 00:13:55,034
and I had actually
borrowed a rental van.
223
00:13:55,100 --> 00:13:58,103
So we were shooting
some video, and we got
to the train tracks,
224
00:13:58,170 --> 00:14:01,674
which are literally
about 150 feet north
of my house,
225
00:14:01,740 --> 00:14:03,776
and the MP's stop us.
226
00:14:03,842 --> 00:14:06,845
So they tell me,
"No one can cross here,"
quote, unquote.
227
00:14:06,912 --> 00:14:08,914
That was their exact words.
"You have to turn around."
228
00:14:08,981 --> 00:14:12,051
They told me I had to
go this alternate route,
15 minutes out of the way...
229
00:14:12,117 --> 00:14:14,486
Four miles out of the way.
...and then come back
to my house.
230
00:14:14,553 --> 00:14:16,989
So they wouldn't let us
go down to my house
231
00:14:17,056 --> 00:14:19,992
'cause the vice president's
going down there.
232
00:14:20,059 --> 00:14:22,661
Did you see that,
that convoy?
Yeah.
233
00:14:22,728 --> 00:14:25,731
Dick Cheney was
down the street
talking to people.
234
00:14:25,798 --> 00:14:28,267
So I was like, "Come on,
Jay, let's go down there."
235
00:14:28,334 --> 00:14:30,035
And Jay was like, "Uh..."
236
00:14:30,102 --> 00:14:33,105
This is literally, what,
150 feet from your house?
237
00:14:33,172 --> 00:14:35,608
Yeah, I was thinking
of what I was going to say,
238
00:14:35,674 --> 00:14:39,678
because, you know,
everything that we had
personally been through,
239
00:14:39,745 --> 00:14:42,314
and we'd been hearing reports
of what was going on
240
00:14:42,381 --> 00:14:44,683
in New Orleans
and everything,
241
00:14:44,750 --> 00:14:47,853
and just how
completely incompetent
242
00:14:47,920 --> 00:14:51,523
the response was
to this disaster.
243
00:14:51,590 --> 00:14:54,760
No weapons here.
All right.
244
00:14:54,827 --> 00:14:58,497
I remember what he had
said to Senator Leahy
from Vermont
245
00:14:58,564 --> 00:15:00,299
on the floor
of the Senate
246
00:15:00,366 --> 00:15:02,968
when he had told him
to go fuck himself.
247
00:15:03,035 --> 00:15:05,804
So I thought it would be
poetic justice if I quoted
248
00:15:05,871 --> 00:15:07,740
the dick to the dick.
249
00:15:07,806 --> 00:15:11,477
Go fuck yourself,
Mr. Cheney!
We gotta figure out what to do--
250
00:15:11,543 --> 00:15:12,811
After I said it
the first time,
251
00:15:12,878 --> 00:15:14,980
he kind of looked at me,
and everybody was like,
252
00:15:15,047 --> 00:15:17,449
"What? What was that?
I can't believe I just
heard that."
253
00:15:17,516 --> 00:15:20,019
So I was like,
"I'd better say it again
to make sure they heard it."
254
00:15:20,085 --> 00:15:23,355
Go fuck yourself.
Are you getting a lot
of that, Mr. Vice President?
255
00:15:23,422 --> 00:15:25,024
It's the first time
I've heard it.
256
00:15:25,090 --> 00:15:27,192
And then I saw the guy
who had wanded me down,
257
00:15:27,259 --> 00:15:29,862
and I waved at him
and told him to have
a nice day
258
00:15:29,928 --> 00:15:31,563
and walked back
to my house.
259
00:15:31,630 --> 00:15:34,733
Basically, you told
the vice president to go
fuck himself, man,
260
00:15:34,800 --> 00:15:36,835
in front
of about 100 media.
261
00:15:36,902 --> 00:15:39,038
He says it to people
in Congress,
262
00:15:39,104 --> 00:15:40,939
and then he wants
to come down here
263
00:15:41,006 --> 00:15:42,941
to make a photo op
for himself
264
00:15:43,008 --> 00:15:45,678
to try to make himself
look cool or whatever.
265
00:15:45,744 --> 00:15:48,714
This is how we feel.
266
00:15:48,781 --> 00:15:51,917
Look at this,
house after house--
267
00:15:51,984 --> 00:15:54,520
nothing, decimation.
268
00:15:55,587 --> 00:15:57,222
Where was FEMA
269
00:15:57,289 --> 00:15:59,358
three days
after the storm
270
00:15:59,425 --> 00:16:01,794
when everybody was dying
in New Orleans?
271
00:16:03,962 --> 00:16:06,665
It's taken him two weeks,
but today the president
272
00:16:06,732 --> 00:16:09,702
finally ventured in
to the center of New Orleans
273
00:16:09,768 --> 00:16:12,037
for his first close-up look
at this abandoned,
274
00:16:12,104 --> 00:16:13,806
devastated city.
275
00:16:13,872 --> 00:16:15,641
People here won't forget
276
00:16:15,708 --> 00:16:17,443
that initially
he stayed on holiday
277
00:16:17,509 --> 00:16:19,745
while New Orleans
was drowning.
278
00:16:19,812 --> 00:16:22,581
But the floods have
already done the damage
to New Orleans
279
00:16:22,648 --> 00:16:24,683
and to the president.
280
00:16:26,151 --> 00:16:28,187
Good evening.
281
00:16:28,253 --> 00:16:30,889
I'm speaking to you
from the city of New Orleans,
282
00:16:30,956 --> 00:16:33,258
nearly empty,
283
00:16:33,325 --> 00:16:35,561
still partly
underwater,
284
00:16:35,627 --> 00:16:36,729
and waiting
for life
285
00:16:36,795 --> 00:16:38,230
and hope
to return.
286
00:16:38,297 --> 00:16:40,366
Throughout the area
hit by the hurricane,
287
00:16:40,432 --> 00:16:42,768
we will do what it takes,
288
00:16:42,835 --> 00:16:44,970
we will stay as long
as it takes
289
00:16:45,037 --> 00:16:47,940
to help citizens rebuild
their communities
290
00:16:48,006 --> 00:16:50,175
and their lives.
291
00:16:50,242 --> 00:16:52,811
And all who
question the future
of the Crescent City
292
00:16:52,878 --> 00:16:55,414
need to know
there is no way
293
00:16:55,481 --> 00:16:58,283
to imagine America
without New Orleans.
294
00:16:58,350 --> 00:17:00,953
And this great city
will rise again.
295
00:17:01,019 --> 00:17:02,421
When the president
296
00:17:02,488 --> 00:17:04,323
came here
in New Orleans,
297
00:17:04,390 --> 00:17:05,991
I passed
my office
building
298
00:17:06,058 --> 00:17:07,993
where I
practice law--
299
00:17:08,060 --> 00:17:09,728
lit up like
a Christmas tree.
300
00:17:09,795 --> 00:17:11,163
I'm like, "Oh,
man, this is--
301
00:17:11,230 --> 00:17:12,931
"the power's
back on.
302
00:17:12,998 --> 00:17:14,166
"We're going
to be back
in business.
303
00:17:14,233 --> 00:17:15,501
"We'll be able--
this is all right, man!
304
00:17:15,567 --> 00:17:16,769
"I'm calling my brothers.
305
00:17:16,835 --> 00:17:19,338
The power's back on
in our building!"
306
00:17:19,405 --> 00:17:22,007
So, the next morning,
307
00:17:22,074 --> 00:17:23,709
I go to the office
fully expecting
308
00:17:23,776 --> 00:17:25,644
to be able to turn on,
you know, the light.
309
00:17:25,711 --> 00:17:28,046
The lights are all off.
No power.
310
00:17:29,448 --> 00:17:31,216
"What happened?
What happened?"
311
00:17:31,283 --> 00:17:33,585
What happened was
they needed to create
312
00:17:33,652 --> 00:17:36,588
a media event
for the president.
313
00:17:36,655 --> 00:17:39,124
They wanted to make
the city look like it
was coming back together.
314
00:17:39,191 --> 00:17:41,126
I make that point
because that's the game
315
00:17:41,193 --> 00:17:42,828
that's been played
with us.
316
00:17:42,895 --> 00:17:45,531
It is the day-to-day
struggles
317
00:17:45,597 --> 00:17:47,332
that still consume those
living in Ground Zero
318
00:17:47,399 --> 00:17:50,135
of America's worst
natural disaster
319
00:17:50,202 --> 00:17:52,738
and kept most from watching
President Bush's speech
320
00:17:52,805 --> 00:17:54,139
from Jackson Square.
321
00:17:54,206 --> 00:17:55,974
He did say
last night, he...
322
00:17:56,041 --> 00:17:58,343
Took responsibility for it?
...took responsibility for it.
323
00:17:58,410 --> 00:18:01,013
Two, three weeks
into the game--
324
00:18:01,079 --> 00:18:03,415
it's a little late to be
taking responsibility.
325
00:18:03,482 --> 00:18:05,083
When you're in
a ship at sea
326
00:18:05,150 --> 00:18:06,985
and somebody screams,
"Man overboard!"
327
00:18:07,052 --> 00:18:09,321
you got to move
and go save the
man overboard.
328
00:18:09,388 --> 00:18:12,024
The Bush administration was--
"Oh, a lot of people overboard.
329
00:18:12,090 --> 00:18:14,493
"Well, let's check
with the lawyers what
we should do
330
00:18:14,560 --> 00:18:16,128
"and who's going
to foot the bill?
331
00:18:16,195 --> 00:18:18,897
"What-- will FEMA pay for this
or will this come out
332
00:18:18,964 --> 00:18:20,466
of the state
of Louisiana's budget?"
333
00:18:20,532 --> 00:18:22,701
President Bush
can kiss my ass.
334
00:18:22,768 --> 00:18:25,571
United States Government
can kiss my ass.
335
00:18:25,637 --> 00:18:27,906
St. Bernard Parish
can kiss my ass,
336
00:18:27,973 --> 00:18:30,075
even though there's
not much left.
337
00:18:30,142 --> 00:18:31,710
But there's enough
to kiss.
338
00:18:31,777 --> 00:18:34,179
The whole way the president
and the Congress
339
00:18:34,246 --> 00:18:35,714
and the world is treating us
is so frightening
340
00:18:35,781 --> 00:18:40,719
because it-- it truly...
could kill the city.
341
00:18:40,786 --> 00:18:43,255
And I guess, if you could
kill this city,
342
00:18:43,322 --> 00:18:44,723
you could kill any city.
343
00:18:44,790 --> 00:18:46,058
And they're not
doing nothing
344
00:18:46,125 --> 00:18:47,559
for the Katrina
victims...
345
00:18:49,261 --> 00:18:50,762
not the blacks
anyway.
346
00:18:52,364 --> 00:18:54,032
I've been here
in New York--
347
00:18:54,099 --> 00:18:55,400
will be two months
on the 16th,
348
00:18:55,467 --> 00:18:57,002
and I'm still in a hotel.
349
00:19:01,039 --> 00:19:02,574
FEMA not doing
anything for us,
350
00:19:02,641 --> 00:19:04,643
and the Red Cross
have pulled out.
351
00:19:04,710 --> 00:19:06,545
Tens of thousands
of hurricane
evacuees
352
00:19:06,612 --> 00:19:08,280
will be forced
to move
once again
353
00:19:08,347 --> 00:19:10,582
now that FEMA says
it will no longer
foot the bill
354
00:19:10,649 --> 00:19:12,951
for their hotel rooms
after this month.
355
00:19:13,018 --> 00:19:16,555
Many of them say they
cannot pay for the rooms
on their own.
356
00:19:16,622 --> 00:19:19,791
FEMA, in the wee, wee hours
of the night...
357
00:19:21,627 --> 00:19:25,097
put 900 people
out of the hotel.
358
00:19:25,163 --> 00:19:27,132
I don't know if two weeks,
I'm going to be homeless
359
00:19:27,199 --> 00:19:29,301
or what I'm gonna do.
Where is the money?
360
00:19:29,368 --> 00:19:31,503
It's just horrible.
It's horrible.
361
00:19:31,570 --> 00:19:34,039
The aftermath,
to me,
362
00:19:34,106 --> 00:19:35,741
is worth--
worse
363
00:19:35,807 --> 00:19:38,844
than the actual
levees breaking
364
00:19:38,911 --> 00:19:40,779
because at least,
you know,
365
00:19:40,846 --> 00:19:43,849
you've survived
with your life.
366
00:19:43,916 --> 00:19:47,419
But... getting back
on track,
367
00:19:47,486 --> 00:19:49,388
it's almost like
you're stuck.
368
00:19:49,454 --> 00:19:52,224
Thanksgiving was
a gut-wrenching,
369
00:19:52,291 --> 00:19:53,825
heart-wrenching situation.
370
00:19:53,892 --> 00:19:57,329
They-- they--
most of them have had
371
00:19:57,396 --> 00:19:59,298
Thanksgiving dinner
with their families
372
00:19:59,364 --> 00:20:00,732
for many, many, many,
many years.
373
00:20:00,799 --> 00:20:03,302
They have never been
away from home.
374
00:20:03,368 --> 00:20:06,305
And it just broke my heart
to listen to them
375
00:20:06,371 --> 00:20:08,407
talking about
how tough it is.
376
00:20:08,473 --> 00:20:10,876
Everybody crying,
everybody saying,
377
00:20:10,943 --> 00:20:13,779
"I want to go home,
but I have no home to go to."
378
00:20:13,845 --> 00:20:15,647
They wanted to really be
in New Orleans.
379
00:20:15,714 --> 00:20:18,350
They wanted
their family members.
380
00:20:18,417 --> 00:20:20,118
It's Christmas holidays now.
381
00:20:20,185 --> 00:20:22,154
It's the day
after Thanksgiving--
382
00:20:22,220 --> 00:20:24,823
Black Friday,
as they call it.
383
00:20:24,890 --> 00:20:27,292
It's black for me
because that's all
I see right now.
384
00:20:27,359 --> 00:20:30,596
It's black 'cause everybody's
Christmas shopping but us.
385
00:20:30,662 --> 00:20:33,632
Everybody's having
family dinners but us.
386
00:20:33,699 --> 00:20:36,034
I couldn't even eat yesterday
because my mom's in Texas,
387
00:20:36,101 --> 00:20:37,669
my sister's in New York.
388
00:20:37,736 --> 00:20:39,805
My family's completely,
completely gone.
389
00:20:39,871 --> 00:20:41,907
I have my husband.
I'm glad for that.
390
00:20:41,974 --> 00:20:43,308
But it's not the same.
391
00:20:43,375 --> 00:20:45,811
And I'm not leaving
New Orleans, Louisiana,
392
00:20:45,877 --> 00:20:48,480
because I was
born here in 1963
393
00:20:48,547 --> 00:20:49,748
on December 24th,
394
00:20:49,815 --> 00:20:51,316
and this is where the fuck
I'm going to die at.
395
00:20:51,383 --> 00:20:53,619
Whether you try to drown me
or I die naturally,
396
00:20:53,685 --> 00:20:55,487
I'm going to stay here
until the end.
397
00:20:55,554 --> 00:20:58,223
People of New Orleans
stay here.
398
00:20:58,290 --> 00:20:59,858
Culturally, we stay here.
399
00:20:59,925 --> 00:21:01,793
We don't venture further
than the city.
400
00:21:01,860 --> 00:21:04,429
It's always hard
to get people to leave.
401
00:21:04,496 --> 00:21:07,199
I want to go back home because
that's where I was born,
402
00:21:07,265 --> 00:21:10,769
and I wanted to stay there
all my life.
403
00:21:10,836 --> 00:21:13,071
And I still want
to visit other places,
404
00:21:13,138 --> 00:21:15,273
but that's my main place--
New Orleans.
405
00:21:15,340 --> 00:21:16,708
There's a lot of people
from New Orleans--
406
00:21:16,775 --> 00:21:18,410
we're so sick, we don't
even know what to do.
407
00:21:18,477 --> 00:21:20,912
We don't-- we don't even
know where to go.
408
00:21:20,979 --> 00:21:23,348
We're so used to New Orleans.
We were born and raised here.
409
00:21:23,415 --> 00:21:26,485
Where are we gonna go?
You know?
410
00:21:26,551 --> 00:21:29,187
I mean, we-- we--
I mean, we're like,
you know--
411
00:21:29,254 --> 00:21:31,757
they had the nerve
to call us refugees.
412
00:21:31,823 --> 00:21:34,326
Tens of thousands
of refugees...
Refugees...
413
00:21:34,393 --> 00:21:36,061
Where an untold
number of
refugees...
414
00:21:36,128 --> 00:21:37,562
The refugees...
415
00:21:37,629 --> 00:21:38,864
Refugees...
The Astrodome
416
00:21:38,930 --> 00:21:40,432
is refugee-ready.
417
00:21:40,499 --> 00:21:43,535
It's a very
strange thing
418
00:21:43,602 --> 00:21:45,871
to see people that look
like people you know
419
00:21:45,937 --> 00:21:48,306
or see people that look
like people in your family
420
00:21:48,373 --> 00:21:50,208
on television,
421
00:21:50,275 --> 00:21:53,745
and they're being talked about
as if they're refugees
422
00:21:53,812 --> 00:21:56,448
or-- or homeless people,
423
00:21:56,515 --> 00:21:58,483
and that was hard to take.
424
00:21:58,550 --> 00:22:02,054
When I heard they called
us refugees, I couldn't do
nothing but drop my head,
425
00:22:02,120 --> 00:22:05,624
because I say,
"I'm a United States
citizen of America."
426
00:22:05,691 --> 00:22:07,626
Calling me a refugee?
427
00:22:07,693 --> 00:22:10,262
What kind of shit
is that, man? "Refugees"?
428
00:22:10,328 --> 00:22:12,230
They were referring to us
when this thing first happened--
429
00:22:12,297 --> 00:22:14,099
people leaving New Orleans--
"You are refugees."
430
00:22:14,166 --> 00:22:17,669
Damn, when the storm
came in, that blew away
our citizenship, too?
431
00:22:17,736 --> 00:22:19,671
What, we forgot-- we weren't
American citizens anymore?
432
00:22:19,738 --> 00:22:21,073
What kind of shit is that?
433
00:22:21,139 --> 00:22:25,510
In the media and people
on the street-- refugees.
434
00:22:25,577 --> 00:22:27,646
I thought that was folks that
didn't have a country, man,
435
00:22:27,713 --> 00:22:29,948
that didn't have anywhere.
You know, it's--
436
00:22:30,015 --> 00:22:33,552
We are calling
on the media
437
00:22:33,618 --> 00:22:37,823
to stop calling them
refugees.
438
00:22:37,889 --> 00:22:41,293
These are American
citizens
439
00:22:41,359 --> 00:22:44,062
that in most cases
440
00:22:44,129 --> 00:22:47,799
were very viable
taxpayers.
441
00:22:47,866 --> 00:22:51,136
And the con--
the-- the inference,
442
00:22:51,203 --> 00:22:53,105
the connotation
of refugees
443
00:22:53,171 --> 00:22:55,707
is like they are
some others
444
00:22:55,774 --> 00:22:58,810
from somewhere lost,
needing charity.
445
00:22:58,877 --> 00:23:01,446
I think the most
shocking display
446
00:23:01,513 --> 00:23:04,149
of insensitivity
that I saw
447
00:23:04,216 --> 00:23:06,918
was when Barbara Bush,
the former First Lady,
448
00:23:06,985 --> 00:23:10,021
the president's mama--
let's put it straight up--
449
00:23:10,088 --> 00:23:12,924
is touring
the Houston
Astrodome
450
00:23:12,991 --> 00:23:14,993
with her husband,
former President Bush,
451
00:23:15,060 --> 00:23:17,028
and former
President Clinton.
452
00:23:17,095 --> 00:23:19,965
And in the height
of insensitivity
453
00:23:20,031 --> 00:23:22,033
if not just
outright bias,
454
00:23:22,100 --> 00:23:24,903
she says, "Well,
these people are living
better than they ever did.
455
00:23:24,970 --> 00:23:27,139
"Some of them--
it ended up good for them.
456
00:23:27,205 --> 00:23:28,840
They ended up making out
all right."
457
00:23:46,258 --> 00:23:49,828
I mean--
and Clinton says nothing,
Bush says nothing.
458
00:23:49,895 --> 00:23:53,098
We have had
black leaders denounced
459
00:23:53,165 --> 00:23:55,133
by the US Senate
for less.
460
00:23:55,200 --> 00:23:57,569
This woman acted
like this was
461
00:23:57,636 --> 00:24:00,872
some kind
of social upward mobility.
462
00:24:00,939 --> 00:24:03,809
My phone number
is 504-919-8699.
463
00:24:03,875 --> 00:24:05,577
Tell her, call me
and say that shit.
464
00:24:05,644 --> 00:24:07,345
Who's better off
and why? How?
465
00:24:07,412 --> 00:24:09,781
As you say,
I were poor.
466
00:24:12,951 --> 00:24:14,352
Everything I got...
467
00:24:15,754 --> 00:24:17,322
I got it honest.
468
00:24:19,291 --> 00:24:20,592
You are rich.
469
00:24:22,227 --> 00:24:24,396
How did you get there?
470
00:24:24,462 --> 00:24:28,066
504-- and I ain't Mike Jones.
I'm Phyllis Montana LeBlanc.
471
00:24:28,133 --> 00:24:31,736
Call me.
504-919-8699.
472
00:24:31,803 --> 00:24:34,873
New Orleans area code.
My phone works now.
473
00:24:34,940 --> 00:24:37,642
She's the present
mama of America,
474
00:24:37,709 --> 00:24:39,477
and that's
what she thinks
475
00:24:39,544 --> 00:24:42,147
of the citizens
of New Orleans.
476
00:24:42,214 --> 00:24:45,250
So you wonder why he was
slow to responding?
477
00:24:45,317 --> 00:24:47,419
Well, if he talks
to his mother,
478
00:24:47,485 --> 00:24:49,221
he was doing us a favor.
479
00:24:49,287 --> 00:24:51,122
This is such
a rich country.
480
00:24:51,189 --> 00:24:54,059
It always has the money
to do what it thinks
is very important.
481
00:24:54,125 --> 00:24:55,760
If we want to put a man
on the moon,
482
00:24:55,827 --> 00:24:58,196
if we want to go to Mars,
we find the money.
483
00:24:58,263 --> 00:25:00,732
We want to fight
a war in Iraq,
484
00:25:00,799 --> 00:25:03,568
which costs
billions of dollars
every month,
485
00:25:03,635 --> 00:25:05,470
we do it.
486
00:25:05,537 --> 00:25:08,106
It's really
a question
of priorities
487
00:25:08,173 --> 00:25:10,008
and what
we think
is important.
488
00:25:10,075 --> 00:25:12,410
Martin Luther King, Jr. said,
"Don't flip a coin to me
489
00:25:12,477 --> 00:25:14,279
"as a beggar
and expect that to do.
490
00:25:14,346 --> 00:25:16,114
That's generosity.
That's charity."
491
00:25:16,181 --> 00:25:18,149
King said, "When you're
on the Jericho road,
492
00:25:18,216 --> 00:25:19,918
"don't just help the brother
on the Jericho road.
493
00:25:19,985 --> 00:25:21,386
That's good,
but that's charity."
494
00:25:21,453 --> 00:25:22,821
He said, "
495
00:25:22,888 --> 00:25:24,990
"ask why it is
on the Jericho road
496
00:25:25,056 --> 00:25:27,325
"the guy still keeps
getting mugged--
497
00:25:27,392 --> 00:25:29,160
not only him,
but other people."
498
00:25:29,227 --> 00:25:32,163
He said, "Pretty soon,
you've got to transform
the Jericho road."
499
00:25:32,230 --> 00:25:33,798
That's what we've got
to do in America.
500
00:25:33,865 --> 00:25:36,301
So this dispersal
of black people only
highlights the degree
501
00:25:36,368 --> 00:25:39,671
to which
we failed to transform
the Jericho road.
502
00:25:39,738 --> 00:25:42,374
Oh, my--
oh, this is beautiful.
503
00:25:42,440 --> 00:25:46,211
Kathy Phipps signed
a lease on a house that means
a lease on a new life.
504
00:25:46,278 --> 00:25:47,779
Bless your soul.
505
00:25:47,846 --> 00:25:49,781
She's moving into a community
506
00:25:49,848 --> 00:25:51,883
that's embracing her
with open arms.
507
00:25:53,885 --> 00:25:56,922
When we first met Kathy,
she was a hurricane evacuee,
508
00:25:56,988 --> 00:25:59,024
surprised to find
herself in Utah.
509
00:25:59,090 --> 00:26:01,459
Utah?
She learned her kids
510
00:26:01,526 --> 00:26:03,028
made it to a shelter
in Texas.
511
00:26:03,094 --> 00:26:05,864
Mama's right here.
I'm safe, and I'm alive.
512
00:26:05,931 --> 00:26:08,533
I'm not dead.
513
00:26:08,600 --> 00:26:10,335
I'm coming to get you.
514
00:26:10,402 --> 00:26:13,438
And Kathy was reunited
515
00:26:13,505 --> 00:26:15,106
with her eight-year-old
daughter...
516
00:26:17,142 --> 00:26:18,743
and her 11-year-old son.
517
00:26:18,810 --> 00:26:20,845
Oh, we got you, boy.
518
00:26:20,912 --> 00:26:23,782
Kathy had made
a huge decision.
We got 'em.
519
00:26:23,848 --> 00:26:26,818
She'd take her kids
with her to the state
that embraced her.
520
00:26:26,885 --> 00:26:28,954
The mountains of Utah
are a long way
521
00:26:29,020 --> 00:26:30,922
from the bayous
of Louisiana.
522
00:26:30,989 --> 00:26:33,625
Look like I done went
through this hurricane
and came to heaven.
523
00:26:33,692 --> 00:26:37,195
Heaven is
a four-bedroom house
on a pristine cul-de-sac
524
00:26:37,262 --> 00:26:40,265
in the aptly named community
Pleasant Grove.
525
00:26:40,332 --> 00:26:42,233
Oh, this is a new
beginning for me.
526
00:26:42,300 --> 00:26:44,836
And this is what I've
really been dreaming of
527
00:26:44,903 --> 00:26:46,504
for my kids, you know.
528
00:26:48,640 --> 00:26:51,343
I think people have made
a lot of money
529
00:26:51,409 --> 00:26:53,345
from keeping an underclass
in New Orleans.
530
00:26:53,411 --> 00:26:56,781
And now those people
who were in that underclass
531
00:26:56,848 --> 00:26:59,751
are now in Atlanta
and Houston and Dallas
532
00:26:59,818 --> 00:27:02,287
and starting to say, "I got
better opportunities here
533
00:27:02,354 --> 00:27:03,955
and the schools
are a lot better here."
534
00:27:04,022 --> 00:27:06,458
My sister Katherine
is relocated
535
00:27:06,524 --> 00:27:08,393
to Houston, Texas.
536
00:27:08,460 --> 00:27:11,062
It's Katherine,
my mother,
537
00:27:11,129 --> 00:27:13,264
and my nephew Nicholas.
538
00:27:13,331 --> 00:27:14,833
Nicholas is nine years old.
539
00:27:14,899 --> 00:27:16,501
He's autistic, nonverbal.
540
00:27:16,568 --> 00:27:19,437
So they can't stay here,
because there's no hospitals
541
00:27:19,504 --> 00:27:21,506
in the local
New Orleans East area.
542
00:27:21,573 --> 00:27:24,943
He's absolutely doing
wonderful out there
with the schooling.
543
00:27:25,010 --> 00:27:26,544
He's getting close
to starting
544
00:27:26,611 --> 00:27:28,680
to actually say words now,
like "mama" or whatever.
545
00:27:29,881 --> 00:27:32,384
But when I talk
to her every day--
546
00:27:32,450 --> 00:27:34,853
'cause I talk
to her and my mom
every single day,
547
00:27:34,919 --> 00:27:37,655
seven days a week, at least
five to 10 times a day--
548
00:27:37,722 --> 00:27:40,425
um, you can hear the want--
they want to come back,
549
00:27:40,492 --> 00:27:43,128
but there's no--
there's nothing
550
00:27:43,194 --> 00:27:44,696
to help them
to survive here.
551
00:27:44,763 --> 00:27:46,498
So my family is in Texas.
552
00:27:48,033 --> 00:27:50,368
I'm not sure where New Orleans
is gonna go from here.
553
00:27:50,435 --> 00:27:51,736
You know, it was bad.
554
00:27:51,803 --> 00:27:53,738
We're-- we're starting
at negative 12,
555
00:27:53,805 --> 00:27:55,340
and I don't know how
we're gonna get to three.
556
00:27:55,407 --> 00:27:57,108
I really don't know
what's gonna happen.
557
00:27:57,175 --> 00:27:59,110
I honestly think that--
I'm hoping
558
00:27:59,177 --> 00:28:01,112
that people who had
the mind to work
559
00:28:01,179 --> 00:28:04,115
and were trying
to just give themselves
a better opportunity
560
00:28:04,182 --> 00:28:05,784
and a better situation
in life,
561
00:28:05,850 --> 00:28:07,018
I hope that
they don't come back.
562
00:28:07,085 --> 00:28:08,887
My Uncle James
is still
in Utah.
563
00:28:09,988 --> 00:28:11,923
He said they're
giving him
everything--
564
00:28:11,990 --> 00:28:15,026
free rent,
an apartment, a new TV.
565
00:28:15,093 --> 00:28:17,729
My roots are tied firmly
into this place.
566
00:28:17,796 --> 00:28:20,465
My parents and grandparents
are buried here.
567
00:28:20,532 --> 00:28:22,667
So this is really my home.
568
00:28:22,734 --> 00:28:25,270
But it's hard to stay
in a place that you feel
569
00:28:25,336 --> 00:28:27,272
that don't really want you
to be here.
570
00:28:27,338 --> 00:28:29,340
I don't want to even
be under their
jurisdiction.
571
00:28:29,407 --> 00:28:31,776
I don't want
to be under the--
the leadership
572
00:28:31,843 --> 00:28:33,311
of no one in
New Orleans,
573
00:28:33,378 --> 00:28:35,146
Louisiana, nothing.
574
00:28:35,213 --> 00:28:38,450
I don't think
I'll ever come back.
575
00:28:38,516 --> 00:28:39,918
There's nothing here
for me.
576
00:28:39,984 --> 00:28:41,152
They don't care
about us here,
577
00:28:41,219 --> 00:28:44,055
so I got
to do the next
best thing
578
00:28:44,122 --> 00:28:46,024
for me and my
family, which
is move on.
579
00:28:46,091 --> 00:28:47,625
If they wanted us
in New Orleans,
580
00:28:47,692 --> 00:28:49,427
they wouldn't have tried
to drown us and kill us.
581
00:28:50,829 --> 00:28:53,798
So I'm not going back
so they can finish it off.
582
00:29:04,309 --> 00:29:06,744
Post-Katrina,
I think we're doing
583
00:29:06,811 --> 00:29:10,415
a horrible job with respect
to getting people home.
584
00:29:10,482 --> 00:29:12,984
It's very attractive for them
to stay in those places
585
00:29:13,051 --> 00:29:15,987
like Houston and Atlanta
and Memphis,
586
00:29:16,054 --> 00:29:18,089
but there comes a time
where folks are like,
587
00:29:18,156 --> 00:29:20,158
"Wait a minute,
we were just doing this
588
00:29:20,225 --> 00:29:21,960
"out of the goodness
of our hearts,
589
00:29:22,026 --> 00:29:23,928
"as Americans who care
about Americans.
590
00:29:23,995 --> 00:29:26,764
"When are you gonna take care
of your people?
591
00:29:26,831 --> 00:29:29,334
"And what are you doing,
Louisiana, New Orleans,
592
00:29:29,400 --> 00:29:31,069
to bring
your people home?"
593
00:29:32,604 --> 00:29:33,972
People have
been dispersed
594
00:29:34,038 --> 00:29:35,507
to 44 different
states
595
00:29:35,573 --> 00:29:37,208
around the
United States
596
00:29:37,275 --> 00:29:39,611
with one-way
tickets.
597
00:29:39,677 --> 00:29:42,180
And there's no
clear discussion
and debate,
598
00:29:42,247 --> 00:29:44,649
other than myself having
with Washington,
599
00:29:44,716 --> 00:29:46,284
about how
we get folk back.
600
00:29:46,351 --> 00:29:48,653
The question I've asked FEMA
over and over again,
601
00:29:48,720 --> 00:29:51,523
my husband has asked FEMA
over and over again--
602
00:29:51,589 --> 00:29:55,193
"Why don't you give them
a ticket back home?"
603
00:29:55,260 --> 00:29:56,628
It could be a voucher.
604
00:29:56,694 --> 00:29:58,930
They can't cash it
for anything else,
605
00:29:58,997 --> 00:30:01,666
but at least give them
the option of coming back.
606
00:30:01,733 --> 00:30:03,835
Pre-Katrina,
the murder rate
607
00:30:03,902 --> 00:30:05,670
was approaching 200,
608
00:30:05,737 --> 00:30:07,872
with African-American males
killing each other
over this city
609
00:30:07,939 --> 00:30:09,974
day in
and day out.
610
00:30:10,041 --> 00:30:11,743
Four or five people
getting killed
611
00:30:11,809 --> 00:30:13,745
sometimes a night
in the same house.
612
00:30:13,811 --> 00:30:16,514
The school system was one
of the worst in the nation.
613
00:30:16,581 --> 00:30:19,050
Our poverty rate
was double that
614
00:30:19,117 --> 00:30:21,886
of every major city
in the country.
615
00:30:21,953 --> 00:30:24,155
The wages
for the common man
616
00:30:24,222 --> 00:30:26,291
was below
the national average.
617
00:30:26,357 --> 00:30:28,126
The wages
for professionals
618
00:30:28,193 --> 00:30:29,994
was even below
national average.
619
00:30:30,061 --> 00:30:32,764
New Orleans
is different
only in that
620
00:30:32,830 --> 00:30:35,833
67% to 70%
of people
there
621
00:30:35,900 --> 00:30:38,069
are African-Americans
622
00:30:38,136 --> 00:30:41,005
and that a very
large proportion
of African-Americans
623
00:30:41,072 --> 00:30:44,042
are living in a situation
which is-- which violates--
624
00:30:44,108 --> 00:30:47,045
in my terms,
really violates
human rights
625
00:30:47,111 --> 00:30:49,280
in a wealthy country
like the United States.
626
00:30:49,347 --> 00:30:51,783
A lot of people are
speculating about the crime
627
00:30:51,849 --> 00:30:53,484
returning in New Orleans,
628
00:30:53,551 --> 00:30:55,887
and I don't think that
we have-- there's more crime,
629
00:30:55,954 --> 00:30:58,923
and people are pointing
towards the proportion
of the population--
630
00:30:58,990 --> 00:31:01,626
but what we're seeing is
it's about the same
as it was.
631
00:31:01,693 --> 00:31:04,896
I think some people
had that brief two-three
weeks where it was calm,
632
00:31:04,963 --> 00:31:07,398
and they figured the bad--
the trash is out of the city,
633
00:31:07,465 --> 00:31:09,734
the storm came and swept
the trash out of the city.
634
00:31:09,801 --> 00:31:12,804
But what they fail to realize--
I'm trying to figure out,
635
00:31:12,870 --> 00:31:15,406
why they ever imagined
this new New Orleans.
636
00:31:15,473 --> 00:31:17,542
Early Saturday,
five teens were murdered
637
00:31:17,609 --> 00:31:19,310
in a storm
of automatic
weapons fire
638
00:31:19,377 --> 00:31:21,312
on a city street
just blocks
639
00:31:21,379 --> 00:31:23,381
from the Central
Business District.
640
00:31:23,448 --> 00:31:26,784
Among the dead--
Mona Lisa Hunter's two sons.
641
00:31:26,851 --> 00:31:31,022
I don't care what they say--
drugs, retaliation.
642
00:31:31,089 --> 00:31:33,057
They didn't deserve this.
That's right.
643
00:31:33,124 --> 00:31:36,194
We've had enough.
So today,
an angry Mayor of New Orleans
644
00:31:36,261 --> 00:31:39,931
asked for and got
several hundred National
Guard soldiers
645
00:31:39,998 --> 00:31:42,200
and additional
state police officers
646
00:31:42,267 --> 00:31:45,003
to try and stem
the rising tide
of violence.
647
00:31:45,069 --> 00:31:47,905
This is our line in the sand.
That's right.
648
00:31:47,972 --> 00:31:51,009
We are saying, "We're not
going any further."
That's right.
649
00:31:51,075 --> 00:31:53,144
In a city still pleading
for residents
650
00:31:53,211 --> 00:31:55,079
to come home,
the sell gets tougher
651
00:31:55,146 --> 00:31:58,950
when crime seems to be
returning faster than people.
652
00:31:59,017 --> 00:32:03,121
The African-American crime
on African-Americans,
653
00:32:03,187 --> 00:32:06,090
particularly young black men,
654
00:32:06,157 --> 00:32:08,159
is a direct result
655
00:32:08,226 --> 00:32:10,328
of the educational system,
in my opinion.
656
00:32:10,395 --> 00:32:13,231
If you don't
give young brothers
the opportunity
657
00:32:13,298 --> 00:32:16,401
to better themselves
individually
658
00:32:16,467 --> 00:32:18,970
and then also tend
to their families,
659
00:32:19,037 --> 00:32:22,006
then it's gonna be--
continue to be a vicious cycle.
660
00:32:22,073 --> 00:32:23,708
This educational system
661
00:32:23,775 --> 00:32:25,543
was just killing the city.
662
00:32:25,610 --> 00:32:28,146
Young brothers
were dropping out
663
00:32:28,212 --> 00:32:31,149
at the ages
of 14, 15, and 16.
664
00:32:31,215 --> 00:32:33,985
At a very early age,
665
00:32:34,052 --> 00:32:35,753
they were just checking out.
666
00:32:35,820 --> 00:32:39,324
And then they would get into,
you know, the activity
667
00:32:39,390 --> 00:32:41,426
that we all wish
they-- they never would.
668
00:32:41,492 --> 00:32:43,461
the National Guard
669
00:32:43,528 --> 00:32:45,029
is called into New Orleans.
670
00:32:45,096 --> 00:32:46,798
No, not because
of Katrina,
671
00:32:46,864 --> 00:32:49,200
not because
of national disaster,
672
00:32:49,267 --> 00:32:52,203
because of the crime rate.
673
00:32:52,270 --> 00:32:53,971
It's hard for me
to imagine,
674
00:32:54,038 --> 00:32:57,342
after everyone
surviving Katrina,
675
00:32:57,408 --> 00:33:01,145
now the city is being
brought down by criminals?
676
00:33:01,212 --> 00:33:03,314
And it's so bad,
you have to call in
677
00:33:03,381 --> 00:33:05,249
the National Guard,
for Pete's sake?
678
00:33:05,316 --> 00:33:08,252
"Whether grime or crime,
I'm going to get mine,"
as Tupac said.
679
00:33:08,319 --> 00:33:09,887
In the city
of New Orleans, no.
680
00:33:09,954 --> 00:33:13,057
When you have
a 60% dropout rate,
55% dropout rate in a city,
681
00:33:13,124 --> 00:33:14,659
in a public school
system,
682
00:33:14,726 --> 00:33:18,496
90 of 116 schools
have been deemed failures,
683
00:33:18,563 --> 00:33:19,997
I mean, what options
do you have?
684
00:33:20,064 --> 00:33:22,066
We were in a system
of decline
685
00:33:22,133 --> 00:33:25,269
because the state revenue
was so low,
686
00:33:25,336 --> 00:33:28,172
we were not able to support
our schools sufficiently
687
00:33:28,239 --> 00:33:31,242
to ensure that every child
got a quality education.
688
00:33:31,309 --> 00:33:33,344
We didn't support
our teachers.
689
00:33:33,411 --> 00:33:35,213
Our schools weren't
air-conditioned.
690
00:33:35,279 --> 00:33:37,348
Our bathrooms
were unsanitary.
691
00:33:37,415 --> 00:33:40,251
It was dysfunctional
in every single way
692
00:33:40,318 --> 00:33:42,086
that you could imagine it
being dysfunctional.
693
00:33:42,153 --> 00:33:45,022
They hadn't
been able
to produce
694
00:33:45,089 --> 00:33:46,391
an accuratefinancial statement
695
00:33:46,457 --> 00:33:48,092
for more
than five
years.
696
00:33:48,159 --> 00:33:51,129
They had FBI agents
actually stationed
697
00:33:51,195 --> 00:33:52,930
at the school system
headquarters,
698
00:33:52,997 --> 00:33:56,100
which is quite
the rarity.
699
00:33:56,167 --> 00:33:58,803
But the superintendent
had decided that it was
so out of control
700
00:33:58,870 --> 00:34:00,905
that he was just going
to open the doors
and let them in,
701
00:34:00,972 --> 00:34:02,340
let them have
anything they wanted.
702
00:34:02,407 --> 00:34:05,943
We've lost children.
We can't-- in Orleans Parish,
703
00:34:06,010 --> 00:34:08,880
we've gone down to 1/6th
of the previous population,
704
00:34:08,946 --> 00:34:11,949
so we can't fund
education here
at a time
705
00:34:12,016 --> 00:34:14,786
when it's so critical
in the redevelopment
of the community
706
00:34:14,852 --> 00:34:16,287
until we get children.
707
00:34:16,354 --> 00:34:19,090
And children don't come until
they have a place to live
708
00:34:19,157 --> 00:34:21,192
and parents have
a place to work,
709
00:34:21,259 --> 00:34:23,728
and sometimes it's like
the dog wagging its tail.
710
00:34:23,795 --> 00:34:26,764
More African-Americans got
dispersed than whites.
711
00:34:26,831 --> 00:34:29,667
how you bring everybody
back home,
712
00:34:29,734 --> 00:34:31,936
give them an opportunity
to get back but to be safe...
713
00:34:33,337 --> 00:34:35,873
to-- to really fix
a neighborhood
714
00:34:35,940 --> 00:34:37,775
so that it's safe
and it's sustainable,
715
00:34:37,842 --> 00:34:39,243
so that the schools work.
716
00:34:39,310 --> 00:34:41,846
And this is not
gonna be easy, and it's
gonna take a long time.
717
00:34:41,913 --> 00:34:43,047
We have
to get...
718
00:34:44,081 --> 00:34:45,950
the black people
who lived here
before--
719
00:34:46,017 --> 00:34:47,084
we had
to get 'em
back.
720
00:34:47,151 --> 00:34:48,386
We gotta get 'em back,
721
00:34:48,453 --> 00:34:50,388
and we're not gonna
get 'em all back.
722
00:34:50,455 --> 00:34:52,590
But we ha--
have to at least
723
00:34:52,657 --> 00:34:54,959
offer them a chance
to get back.
724
00:34:55,026 --> 00:34:57,028
And by that I mean
something to come back to.
725
00:34:57,094 --> 00:34:58,996
The roots run deep here--
726
00:34:59,063 --> 00:35:01,532
that there's music
and food...
727
00:35:02,967 --> 00:35:05,303
that are unlike
728
00:35:05,369 --> 00:35:07,405
any other place
in the world--
729
00:35:07,472 --> 00:35:09,073
very, very special.
730
00:35:09,140 --> 00:35:10,508
You don't walk away
from that.
731
00:35:10,575 --> 00:35:12,577
Without black people,
New Orleans would be
732
00:35:12,643 --> 00:35:15,012
a bad version
of even Disneyland.
733
00:35:15,079 --> 00:35:17,515
I mean, the history
and culture of New Orleans
734
00:35:17,582 --> 00:35:20,818
comes out
of the suffering,
735
00:35:20,885 --> 00:35:24,121
the creativity
of-- of black people.
736
00:35:24,188 --> 00:35:26,524
And to have a New Orleans
without black people
737
00:35:26,591 --> 00:35:28,526
would-- would be
to have nothing.
738
00:35:28,593 --> 00:35:31,028
We had social
and pleasure clubs
739
00:35:31,095 --> 00:35:34,565
that dress out
in streamers and nice suits,
740
00:35:34,632 --> 00:35:38,035
gator shoes, with fans
and Dobbs hats
741
00:35:38,102 --> 00:35:39,704
and things like that.
742
00:35:39,770 --> 00:35:41,472
And it ain't gonna
be the same.
743
00:35:43,307 --> 00:35:45,510
New Orleans
is a cultural gem,
744
00:35:45,576 --> 00:35:46,878
a unique place
745
00:35:46,944 --> 00:35:48,913
where you can say
"Only in New Orleans,"
746
00:35:48,980 --> 00:35:51,916
from the cuisine,
the music,
747
00:35:51,983 --> 00:35:54,118
the Mardi Gras Indians,
the people,
748
00:35:54,185 --> 00:35:56,254
just the way
we talk to each other.
749
00:35:56,320 --> 00:35:59,624
We have a patois that
you don't see anywhere else.
750
00:35:59,690 --> 00:36:01,058
It's a very strange place.
751
00:36:01,125 --> 00:36:03,294
There's great segregation
and ignorance and prejudice,
752
00:36:03,361 --> 00:36:06,497
but there's great integration,
'cause we're Creoles.
753
00:36:06,564 --> 00:36:09,567
And the kind of Creole,
light-skinned blacks,
754
00:36:09,634 --> 00:36:11,035
they're always trying
to fit in somewhere.
755
00:36:11,102 --> 00:36:12,303
They weren't trying
to be white.
756
00:36:12,370 --> 00:36:13,971
A lot of times
people don't know--
757
00:36:14,038 --> 00:36:15,473
Creoles, they only
like Creoles.
758
00:36:15,540 --> 00:36:17,441
This is a city with roots,
759
00:36:17,508 --> 00:36:22,346
families, deep,
way deep.
760
00:36:22,413 --> 00:36:25,583
First, it starts
with the whole form
of slavery that we had.
761
00:36:25,650 --> 00:36:27,585
You know how
the French people are--
they enslave people,
762
00:36:27,652 --> 00:36:29,186
but they marry them, too.
763
00:36:29,253 --> 00:36:31,722
The mouth of the Mississippi,
man, the curve.
764
00:36:31,789 --> 00:36:33,190
The Big Easy, you know,
Crescent City.
765
00:36:33,257 --> 00:36:35,593
It's a hell of a thing
to be known for--
766
00:36:35,660 --> 00:36:37,595
as the number one place
where you can buy a nigger.
767
00:36:37,662 --> 00:36:40,631
It was like the Paris
of-- of the South.
768
00:36:40,698 --> 00:36:43,734
It was always the center
of vice, gambling, and all
different types of ignorance,
769
00:36:43,801 --> 00:36:45,736
and that always draws
a lot of people
770
00:36:45,803 --> 00:36:47,538
who's not that interested
in being prejudiced.
771
00:36:47,605 --> 00:36:50,841
'Cause when you get far
enough down on the bottom,
we're all down here, brother.
772
00:36:50,908 --> 00:36:53,511
Tourists come to New Orleans,
they go to quaint places
773
00:36:53,578 --> 00:36:55,680
like Lafitte's
Blacksmith Shop.
774
00:36:55,746 --> 00:36:57,915
Well, Lafitte was
a slave pirate.
775
00:36:57,982 --> 00:36:59,917
At one point, the French,
they had to let
776
00:36:59,984 --> 00:37:01,619
all the slaves go,
'cause they were starving.
777
00:37:01,686 --> 00:37:03,287
They was like, "Man,
you all go and figure out
778
00:37:03,354 --> 00:37:05,122
what you gonna do,
'cause we're not gonna
make it here."
779
00:37:05,189 --> 00:37:08,225
And the slaves,
they all went out and stayed
with the Native Americans,
780
00:37:08,292 --> 00:37:10,561
but they came back.
781
00:37:20,004 --> 00:37:22,473
Now,
if you look at the tradition
of the Mardi Gras Indians,
782
00:37:22,540 --> 00:37:24,041
they play
the bamboula beat.
783
00:37:24,108 --> 00:37:25,142
The bass
rhythm is...
784
00:37:28,879 --> 00:37:30,581
♪ Shallow water,
oh, Mama ♪
785
00:37:32,617 --> 00:37:34,185
♪ Shallow water,
oh, Mama ♪
786
00:37:34,251 --> 00:37:38,122
♪ Mighty, mighty
cooty fiyo ♪
787
00:37:38,189 --> 00:37:43,427
♪ Indian Red,
Indian Red ♪
788
00:37:43,494 --> 00:37:47,498
♪ Mighty, mighty
cooty fiyo ♪
789
00:37:47,565 --> 00:37:51,302
♪ Indian Red,
Indian Red ♪
790
00:37:51,369 --> 00:37:53,571
♪ Oh, I am
the Big Chief ♪
791
00:37:53,638 --> 00:37:57,408
♪ The Big Chief,
the Indian from the Nation ♪
792
00:37:57,475 --> 00:37:59,210
♪ The whole wild
creation ♪
793
00:37:59,276 --> 00:38:03,481
♪ Oh, I won't bow down,
not on the ground ♪
794
00:38:03,547 --> 00:38:08,519
♪ Because I love
to hear you call
my Indian Red ♪
795
00:38:08,586 --> 00:38:11,989
♪ Mighty, mighty
cooty fiyo ♪
796
00:38:12,056 --> 00:38:17,762
♪ Indian Red,
Indian Red. ♪
797
00:38:17,828 --> 00:38:20,398
It's such
a direct correlation
798
00:38:20,464 --> 00:38:23,267
to your ancestry
799
00:38:23,334 --> 00:38:26,604
and culturally significant,
because--
800
00:38:26,671 --> 00:38:28,806
you know, I could take you
to the very spot
801
00:38:28,873 --> 00:38:31,108
where jazz was born--
Congo Square.
802
00:38:32,376 --> 00:38:33,944
Grandfathers, grandmothers,
803
00:38:34,011 --> 00:38:37,515
mothers, fathers,
brothers, sisters.
804
00:38:37,581 --> 00:38:38,883
Grandfathers,
grandmothers,
805
00:38:38,949 --> 00:38:41,485
mothers, fathers,
brothers, sisters.
806
00:38:41,552 --> 00:38:43,688
Congo Square was a plains,
807
00:38:43,754 --> 00:38:45,990
a green area
outside of New Orleans.
808
00:38:46,057 --> 00:38:48,092
And today
it's Armstrong Park.
809
00:38:48,159 --> 00:38:50,428
And it was the only place
in North America
810
00:38:50,494 --> 00:38:52,830
where slaves
could play the drums
811
00:38:52,897 --> 00:38:54,799
in the African tradition.
812
00:39:01,939 --> 00:39:04,341
Masters, in their
infinite wisdom,
813
00:39:04,408 --> 00:39:06,343
or their own hypocrisy,
however you want
to look at it,
814
00:39:06,410 --> 00:39:09,847
they decided to let
enslaved Africans
have Sundays off
815
00:39:09,914 --> 00:39:12,316
because it went in line
with no work
816
00:39:12,383 --> 00:39:14,118
on the Sabbath
for anybody.
817
00:39:14,185 --> 00:39:15,886
They would dance
the bamboula,
818
00:39:15,953 --> 00:39:19,290
you know, the oom-bah-bah,
oom-bah-bah, oom-bah-bah.
819
00:39:19,356 --> 00:39:22,860
Turned into oom bah,
oom bah-bah, oom-uh...
820
00:39:25,730 --> 00:39:27,064
And I mean,
it's right there.
821
00:39:34,972 --> 00:39:37,274
If you look at our--
our culture,
822
00:39:37,341 --> 00:39:38,943
music becomes a part
of everyday life.
823
00:39:39,009 --> 00:39:40,377
It's not a small thing.
824
00:39:48,619 --> 00:39:50,888
People eat when
they play music.
825
00:39:50,955 --> 00:39:52,890
They got songs we eat.
826
00:39:52,957 --> 00:39:56,060
People get on
the street, the music is
connected to the dance.
827
00:39:56,127 --> 00:39:58,696
So there you have it.
828
00:39:58,763 --> 00:40:02,466
You got a great
church tradition,
sanctified church.
829
00:40:02,533 --> 00:40:05,035
♪ Every day, my Lord ♪
830
00:40:05,102 --> 00:40:06,937
♪ He's calling me... ♪
831
00:40:07,004 --> 00:40:08,272
Then you got
the French people.
832
00:40:08,339 --> 00:40:10,708
Man, they love music.
They got the French opera.
833
00:40:10,775 --> 00:40:13,377
You could be a slave,
and you could go
to Congo Square,
834
00:40:13,444 --> 00:40:15,212
and you could go
to the opera.
835
00:40:15,279 --> 00:40:17,748
Where else you going
to do that in the rest
of the United States
836
00:40:17,815 --> 00:40:19,183
of America?
You couldn't do that
in Boston.
837
00:40:19,250 --> 00:40:21,585
We place a great importance
on culture,
838
00:40:21,652 --> 00:40:24,889
and that's something
that you see in how
we celebrate life
839
00:40:24,955 --> 00:40:26,991
and how we even deal
with death.
840
00:40:33,798 --> 00:40:36,233
A jazz funeral
is a ceremony.
841
00:40:36,300 --> 00:40:40,004
You bring the body out
to the grave and you play
slow hymns and dirges,
842
00:40:40,070 --> 00:40:43,707
traditional dirges like
"Nearer My God to Thee,"
843
00:40:43,774 --> 00:40:45,242
"Free as a Bird."
844
00:40:47,611 --> 00:40:49,146
And that's
the mourning part.
845
00:40:55,820 --> 00:40:59,190
You give into your grief
and you know that you
won't see 'em again,
846
00:40:59,256 --> 00:41:03,060
but you just were happy
to know who they were
847
00:41:03,127 --> 00:41:04,428
and be a part
of their life.
848
00:41:06,063 --> 00:41:08,599
And then they say some words
over the deceased
849
00:41:08,666 --> 00:41:10,434
out at the burial site,
850
00:41:10,501 --> 00:41:13,838
and then you start to play
the up-tempo, happy songs.
851
00:41:13,904 --> 00:41:15,172
You play a parade
from there.
852
00:41:22,012 --> 00:41:23,981
And that's
the celebratory part.
853
00:41:24,048 --> 00:41:26,951
It's the whole
yin and the yang
of the beginning and the end.
854
00:41:27,017 --> 00:41:28,786
Because, yeah,
I'm sad you're gone,
855
00:41:28,853 --> 00:41:30,754
but, damn,
it sure was nice
to know you.
856
00:41:32,656 --> 00:41:35,659
Second line is the dancers
that follow the parade.
857
00:41:35,726 --> 00:41:38,729
And the dance that they do
is called "second line."
858
00:41:38,796 --> 00:41:40,030
The beautiful thing
about second line
859
00:41:40,097 --> 00:41:41,866
is everybody has
their own style.
860
00:41:41,932 --> 00:41:45,436
Some people just walk.
Some people really get down.
861
00:41:45,502 --> 00:41:47,504
Some people get on the ground.
So you can do what you want to.
862
00:41:47,571 --> 00:41:49,807
It's personal expression.
There's a certain
freedom in it.
863
00:41:53,110 --> 00:41:55,479
It's one of our-- one
of our great ceremonies.
864
00:41:55,546 --> 00:41:57,214
It has a lot
of meanings.
865
00:41:57,281 --> 00:41:58,682
And the Christian
tradition--
866
00:41:58,749 --> 00:42:00,584
how it ties in with
the African tradition
867
00:42:00,651 --> 00:42:03,120
is that the afterlife
is rich and full,
868
00:42:03,187 --> 00:42:05,923
and the life on earth
is one of travail.
869
00:42:05,990 --> 00:42:07,625
So this person is dead,
870
00:42:07,691 --> 00:42:10,961
but they're going on
to riches, and that's
why we celebrate.
871
00:42:11,028 --> 00:42:14,231
It's also-- it's given us
the type of way
872
00:42:14,298 --> 00:42:16,100
to not hush over death.
873
00:42:38,856 --> 00:42:40,858
Driving around the city--
man, it-- it was rough,
874
00:42:40,925 --> 00:42:43,327
'cause this
was the first time
I been back.
875
00:42:43,394 --> 00:42:45,663
And I talked to,
you know,
876
00:42:45,729 --> 00:42:48,666
a good friend of mine,
Wade, and he was telling me,
877
00:42:48,732 --> 00:42:50,734
he says, "Man, you got
to prepare yourself."
878
00:42:50,801 --> 00:42:53,704
He says, "You know"--
he says, "We can talk about it
879
00:42:53,771 --> 00:42:55,773
and you can see it
on the news," he says,
880
00:42:55,839 --> 00:42:58,175
"but cameras can't
really tell you
881
00:42:58,242 --> 00:43:00,611
the level of devastation
that you're going to see."
882
00:43:06,617 --> 00:43:09,253
So I was trying
to prepare myself,
883
00:43:09,320 --> 00:43:10,721
but it still
was hard, man,
884
00:43:10,788 --> 00:43:13,524
because... I'm looking
at a place that I grew up.
885
00:43:13,590 --> 00:43:15,326
I'm looking at homes
that I used to frequent,
886
00:43:15,392 --> 00:43:17,828
you know, hang out
with my boys,
887
00:43:17,895 --> 00:43:19,463
you know,
and there's nothing here.
888
00:43:19,530 --> 00:43:20,965
It's like a ghost town.
889
00:43:24,969 --> 00:43:27,905
When I came
back into the city,
I saw complete devastation.
890
00:43:27,972 --> 00:43:31,075
I didn't think I would
ever see anything like
that in my life.
891
00:43:31,141 --> 00:43:33,277
It looked like someone
had dropped a nuclear bomb
892
00:43:33,344 --> 00:43:36,380
on every part possible
in the city.
893
00:43:39,283 --> 00:43:42,686
It was as if I had walked
through a time warp,
894
00:43:42,753 --> 00:43:45,489
and I was in Europe
following a bombing
895
00:43:45,556 --> 00:43:47,024
in World War II.
896
00:43:47,091 --> 00:43:48,792
Everything was gray.
897
00:43:48,859 --> 00:43:51,996
There was no green,
no flowers, no birds,
898
00:43:52,062 --> 00:43:55,065
no dogs, no people,
no children.
899
00:43:57,234 --> 00:43:59,470
When we first crossed
the bridge and we saw
900
00:43:59,536 --> 00:44:01,638
a lot of damage,
we were taking pictures
901
00:44:01,705 --> 00:44:04,208
and going,
"Wow, this is--
oh, my God."
902
00:44:04,274 --> 00:44:06,844
And as we came over closer
to where the north side
903
00:44:06,910 --> 00:44:10,280
where the breach happened,
we stopped taking pictures.
904
00:44:13,450 --> 00:44:15,219
When I saw the Lower Nine,
I saw my neighborhood,
905
00:44:15,285 --> 00:44:18,489
it was like looking
at a friend who had
been disfigured.
906
00:44:18,555 --> 00:44:19,857
You know who
you're talking to.
907
00:44:19,923 --> 00:44:20,958
You just don't
recognize 'em.
908
00:44:22,726 --> 00:44:24,862
We are destroyed.
909
00:44:24,928 --> 00:44:27,765
I've seen Beirut.
I've seen Calcutta.
910
00:44:27,831 --> 00:44:29,767
I've seen
downtown Jakarta.
911
00:44:29,833 --> 00:44:32,970
I've seen Aceh.
They have nothing on us.
912
00:44:36,507 --> 00:44:38,342
Look at this one.
Man.
913
00:44:38,409 --> 00:44:40,844
I'm telling you,
nothing but destruction
everywhere you look.
914
00:44:40,911 --> 00:44:42,346
Look at over here.
Look at the car.
915
00:44:42,413 --> 00:44:44,314
Mmm-mmm-mmm.
916
00:44:46,583 --> 00:44:48,652
All of these houses
are empty.
917
00:44:48,719 --> 00:44:50,888
Oh, sure.
Mmm.
918
00:44:50,954 --> 00:44:53,357
How do you feel?
Uptight...
919
00:44:54,825 --> 00:44:57,528
just to see all
of the devastation
get into the house.
920
00:44:57,594 --> 00:44:59,363
Look at-- this is
all boarded up here.
921
00:44:59,430 --> 00:45:01,598
Yeah.
This is so strange.
922
00:45:01,665 --> 00:45:04,568
Yesterday,
coming in New Orleans,
923
00:45:04,635 --> 00:45:07,805
I just got so full,
because I knew I was
going to see my house
924
00:45:07,871 --> 00:45:09,773
for the first time.
Yeah.
925
00:45:09,840 --> 00:45:12,810
And not knowing
what I'm going to see...
926
00:45:14,545 --> 00:45:16,346
I'm just at a loss.
927
00:45:16,413 --> 00:45:17,881
Yeah.
All right, step down.
928
00:45:19,583 --> 00:45:21,952
This arthritis
is doing me so bad.
929
00:45:22,019 --> 00:45:24,888
Okay. Leave that
in there.
930
00:45:24,955 --> 00:45:25,856
Yeah.
Okay.
931
00:45:27,091 --> 00:45:29,726
Take your--
Take your time.
932
00:45:30,894 --> 00:45:33,330
It's all right.
933
00:45:37,868 --> 00:45:40,437
Come on, come on.
Come on.
934
00:45:41,972 --> 00:45:45,275
- But you're okay.
- Okay. I'll be okay.
935
00:45:45,342 --> 00:45:48,645
You're okay.
This is all stuff
that can be rebuilt.
936
00:45:53,183 --> 00:45:54,952
What is all of this?
937
00:46:07,397 --> 00:46:08,732
I-- I'll get it.
938
00:46:11,568 --> 00:46:13,170
Wait, wait, wait.
939
00:46:13,237 --> 00:46:14,638
Look, look, look.
940
00:46:14,705 --> 00:46:16,473
This thing's
way over here.
941
00:46:16,540 --> 00:46:19,476
What is that?
That's the thing you gave me.
It was over here.
942
00:46:19,543 --> 00:46:22,346
What is that over there?
What is what?
943
00:46:22,412 --> 00:46:25,182
That.
That's a--
944
00:46:26,950 --> 00:46:28,952
That looks-- looks like
your china closet.
945
00:46:29,019 --> 00:46:32,222
The china closet
don't have any business
being over here.
946
00:46:32,289 --> 00:46:33,891
It's in the den.
I know.
947
00:46:35,292 --> 00:46:38,562
Oh, Lord, the pictures
I had in there.
948
00:46:38,629 --> 00:46:41,231
So, is this picture
still up on the wall?
949
00:46:41,298 --> 00:46:44,067
There's nothing
on the wall.
Lord, have mercy.
950
00:46:44,134 --> 00:46:46,036
You can rebuild
this stuff, though.
951
00:46:46,103 --> 00:46:49,540
Yeah, that's easier
said than done.
952
00:46:54,444 --> 00:46:56,914
Hey, huh-uh,
huh-uh.
953
00:46:56,980 --> 00:46:59,750
Let's move.
954
00:46:59,816 --> 00:47:02,786
Oh, Lord, have mercy.
955
00:47:07,324 --> 00:47:09,426
I knew it was
devastation,
956
00:47:09,493 --> 00:47:12,296
but I didn't think
it was this bad.
957
00:47:14,298 --> 00:47:16,567
It's unbelievable.
958
00:47:16,633 --> 00:47:19,136
I didn't know
how bad it was.
959
00:47:19,203 --> 00:47:22,105
Today, you know,
when we went into the house,
960
00:47:22,172 --> 00:47:25,742
that was really hard,
because, you know...
961
00:47:27,644 --> 00:47:29,146
it's like
I can't go home.
962
00:47:29,213 --> 00:47:30,747
You know what I mean?
It's-- it...
963
00:47:39,823 --> 00:47:41,225
I'm sorry.
964
00:47:46,463 --> 00:47:47,764
The house in which
I grew up,
965
00:47:47,831 --> 00:47:50,400
the only home
I've really ever known
966
00:47:50,467 --> 00:47:51,935
has now been gutted.
967
00:47:52,002 --> 00:47:54,104
It's a shell
of what it was.
968
00:47:54,171 --> 00:47:56,206
3511 Cecil Street
969
00:47:56,273 --> 00:47:58,408
still has
a brick exterior,
970
00:47:58,475 --> 00:48:00,310
but the interior,
971
00:48:00,377 --> 00:48:02,846
which contained
not just the furniture
972
00:48:02,913 --> 00:48:06,016
and the clothing,
but all of the pictures,
973
00:48:06,083 --> 00:48:07,484
the family Bible...
974
00:48:08,619 --> 00:48:11,655
all of those things
that really remind us
975
00:48:11,722 --> 00:48:13,457
of what our lives
have been about,
976
00:48:13,523 --> 00:48:15,359
reminds us
of where we came from--
977
00:48:15,425 --> 00:48:18,462
all of that has been
washed away in the flood.
978
00:48:19,830 --> 00:48:22,065
It pisses you off,
'cause it didn't
have to happen.
979
00:48:24,034 --> 00:48:25,669
And, uh...
980
00:48:29,039 --> 00:48:32,109
I look at--
one of the things that
made me angry last night
981
00:48:32,175 --> 00:48:34,911
is that you drive
around the neighborhood
982
00:48:34,978 --> 00:48:36,780
and you see
all of these homes
983
00:48:36,847 --> 00:48:40,550
where people have tried
to clean out their homes,
984
00:48:40,617 --> 00:48:43,420
and all of the debris
is on the sidewalk.
985
00:48:43,487 --> 00:48:46,723
So you can see
people have
986
00:48:46,790 --> 00:48:48,692
a desire to come home...
987
00:48:49,826 --> 00:48:52,829
and a desire
to rebuild their lives,
988
00:48:52,896 --> 00:48:54,364
and they can't do it.
989
00:48:54,431 --> 00:48:55,932
They can't come home.
990
00:48:55,999 --> 00:49:00,137
You know, they can't get
their lives back on track.
991
00:49:00,203 --> 00:49:02,406
And you have to
ask yourself why.
992
00:49:02,472 --> 00:49:04,074
I came back to nothing.
993
00:49:05,509 --> 00:49:06,977
Absolutely nothing.
994
00:49:08,011 --> 00:49:10,847
No help, no home,
nothing.
995
00:49:13,150 --> 00:49:15,319
I'm 59 years old.
996
00:49:15,385 --> 00:49:18,055
My husband
is 67 years old.
997
00:49:18,121 --> 00:49:20,991
We've worked hard.
We're well-educated.
998
00:49:21,058 --> 00:49:23,327
He's got a master's
from UCLA,
999
00:49:23,393 --> 00:49:25,062
undergrad from Berkeley.
1000
00:49:25,128 --> 00:49:29,032
I have a law degree,
an MBA, and I had nothing.
1001
00:49:29,099 --> 00:49:31,201
I had nothing.
1002
00:49:31,268 --> 00:49:35,305
I don't know how to make you
understand the despair,
1003
00:49:35,372 --> 00:49:38,642
the depression,
the anxiety.
1004
00:49:38,709 --> 00:49:40,744
It's like somebody
violated your mama.
1005
00:49:40,811 --> 00:49:42,913
You don't know what
it's gonna feel like,
1006
00:49:42,979 --> 00:49:45,615
'cause you might
always prize yourself
for not having the type
1007
00:49:45,682 --> 00:49:48,618
of dramatic emotion,
or "Hey, man, you know,
1008
00:49:48,685 --> 00:49:51,088
death is a part of life,"
a kind of spiritual overview,
1009
00:49:51,154 --> 00:49:52,422
or whatever you want
to call it.
1010
00:49:52,489 --> 00:49:55,258
But it rattled me
in a way that I could not--
1011
00:49:55,325 --> 00:49:58,095
I guess it's kind of what
people say when one of your
parents dies--
1012
00:49:58,161 --> 00:49:59,830
you think you know
how you'll deal with it,
1013
00:49:59,896 --> 00:50:03,100
but when it happens
to you,
1014
00:50:03,166 --> 00:50:06,136
it's not what you think
it's gonna be.
1015
00:50:06,203 --> 00:50:08,638
My population right now,
what I'm seeing
1016
00:50:08,705 --> 00:50:13,610
is that the
children are
losing weight
1017
00:50:13,677 --> 00:50:17,314
or gaining weight
in huge proportions.
1018
00:50:17,381 --> 00:50:19,750
They are not sleeping
at all.
1019
00:50:19,816 --> 00:50:20,917
They're acting out.
1020
00:50:20,984 --> 00:50:23,320
All the children
that had ADHD,
1021
00:50:23,387 --> 00:50:25,455
attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder,
1022
00:50:25,522 --> 00:50:28,225
they're all being bumped up
on all the medicines
they're on,
1023
00:50:28,291 --> 00:50:31,495
because this is
a post-traumatic stress
disorder situation.
1024
00:50:31,561 --> 00:50:35,232
I've been on
six different
medications.
1025
00:50:35,298 --> 00:50:36,700
Name 'em.
1026
00:50:36,767 --> 00:50:39,669
Seroquel, Geodon.
1027
00:50:39,736 --> 00:50:40,771
Let's see...
1028
00:50:42,172 --> 00:50:44,274
Zoloft,
1029
00:50:44,341 --> 00:50:46,643
and... that's the only ones
I can remember right now,
1030
00:50:46,710 --> 00:50:48,378
but those are the ones
I'm on right now.
1031
00:50:48,445 --> 00:50:51,481
Since the storm,
I do not sleep without
a sleeping aid--
1032
00:50:51,548 --> 00:50:54,484
Tylenol PM, Benadryl,
1033
00:50:54,551 --> 00:50:57,254
if it got acetaminophen
in it or whatever,
1034
00:50:57,320 --> 00:50:59,923
or dypho-whatever-it-is
that is like a mild sedative
or whatever,
1035
00:50:59,990 --> 00:51:01,291
I have to take it
every night.
1036
00:51:01,358 --> 00:51:04,361
I'd never been
on anxiety pills
1037
00:51:04,428 --> 00:51:06,963
or any prescriptions
for bad nerves
1038
00:51:07,030 --> 00:51:08,999
or anything before this.
1039
00:51:09,065 --> 00:51:12,202
I mean, I've had
high stress level,
but not like this.
1040
00:51:12,269 --> 00:51:14,237
Before I got
on the medication,
1041
00:51:14,304 --> 00:51:16,373
when I first got up here,
I got into an incident
1042
00:51:16,440 --> 00:51:19,209
where I hemmed a guy up
and picked him up
off the ground
1043
00:51:19,276 --> 00:51:21,244
about three feet
with one hand.
1044
00:51:21,311 --> 00:51:22,813
The guy weighed
about 220.
1045
00:51:24,381 --> 00:51:26,750
And that's when I decided
1046
00:51:26,817 --> 00:51:28,151
I really needed
to get some help.
1047
00:51:28,218 --> 00:51:30,086
People lost everything.
1048
00:51:30,153 --> 00:51:32,823
And people are really
still struggling with that.
1049
00:51:32,889 --> 00:51:35,659
And I think emotional needs--
emotionally, you know,
1050
00:51:35,725 --> 00:51:37,127
it's something that's hard
to deal with,
1051
00:51:37,194 --> 00:51:38,628
especially people
that might not have
1052
00:51:38,695 --> 00:51:40,397
the resources to go--
to be able to go
1053
00:51:40,464 --> 00:51:41,865
to a mental health
professional,
1054
00:51:41,932 --> 00:51:44,234
sit down and talk,
or are too stubborn to.
1055
00:51:44,301 --> 00:51:46,136
Again, we're talking about
people who were too stubborn
1056
00:51:46,203 --> 00:51:48,004
to leave in the face
of a Category Five storm,
1057
00:51:48,071 --> 00:51:49,473
so imagine going
to talk to a doctor
1058
00:51:49,539 --> 00:51:51,541
about why you're
a little more agitated,
1059
00:51:51,608 --> 00:51:54,110
or why you're in bed all day,
and why you're depressed.
1060
00:51:54,177 --> 00:51:57,347
We are seeing post-traumatic
stress disorders now.
1061
00:51:57,414 --> 00:51:59,216
I think we're going
to see this
1062
00:51:59,282 --> 00:52:01,852
permeate generation
to generation.
1063
00:52:01,918 --> 00:52:03,854
Can you imagine being
a child on a rooftop
1064
00:52:03,920 --> 00:52:06,523
and watching your mama
washed away and drowned?
1065
00:52:06,590 --> 00:52:08,758
Can you imagine being a mama
and seeing that?
1066
00:52:08,825 --> 00:52:11,495
People holding you back
and not letting you jump in?
1067
00:52:11,561 --> 00:52:13,663
By definition,
you're not gonna
forget that.
1068
00:52:13,730 --> 00:52:15,098
You're gonna play
that over in your mind,
1069
00:52:15,165 --> 00:52:17,000
you're gonna have
intrusive thoughts.
1070
00:52:17,067 --> 00:52:19,269
There are things that are
gonna remind you of that
1071
00:52:19,336 --> 00:52:22,772
10, 15 years from now,
because there's no closure.
1072
00:52:22,839 --> 00:52:25,175
And it does,
it catches up
with you.
1073
00:52:25,242 --> 00:52:26,510
And I find
there's a lot
of us
1074
00:52:26,576 --> 00:52:28,378
who live
here who--
1075
00:52:28,445 --> 00:52:30,180
you know, we find
ourselves weeping
1076
00:52:30,247 --> 00:52:31,515
or we just find
ourselves...
1077
00:52:33,183 --> 00:52:34,784
at inappropriate moments
1078
00:52:34,851 --> 00:52:37,287
just kind of going
into these very dark holes
1079
00:52:37,354 --> 00:52:40,190
and very dark places
where the things we've
seen catch us.
1080
00:52:40,257 --> 00:52:42,993
And they catch us unawares,
and it's hard to deal with.
1081
00:52:43,059 --> 00:52:45,362
So I'm sitting there thinking,
"You know what, Phyllis?
1082
00:52:45,428 --> 00:52:48,732
"If you kill yourself,
then you won't have to deal
with this shit anymore.
1083
00:52:48,798 --> 00:52:50,967
"If you just
disappear from the face
of the fucking earth,
1084
00:52:51,034 --> 00:52:53,303
"the pain stops,
the tears stop,
1085
00:52:53,370 --> 00:52:55,438
"and everything else
that's gonna bother you
1086
00:52:55,505 --> 00:52:59,142
for the rest of your life,
which is life's issues,
is gonna stop."
1087
00:52:59,209 --> 00:53:02,078
And I'm thinking
different ways of how
I could kill myself
1088
00:53:02,145 --> 00:53:04,414
without it even looking
like it's suicide, like,
say, accidental.
1089
00:53:04,481 --> 00:53:06,683
So that way nobody says,
"Oh, my God, she punked out,
1090
00:53:06,750 --> 00:53:08,485
and the system got to her,"
1091
00:53:08,552 --> 00:53:10,720
or big brother
or whatever the hell
they call 'em nowadays.
1092
00:53:10,787 --> 00:53:13,290
I had a lady from Texas
call me and says,
1093
00:53:13,356 --> 00:53:16,626
"I want you to know
I want my brother listed
as a hurricane victim.
1094
00:53:16,693 --> 00:53:18,428
"He was evacuated out,
1095
00:53:18,495 --> 00:53:20,430
"he had no medications,
and he shot himself
1096
00:53:20,497 --> 00:53:22,232
in the head
in our hotel room."
1097
00:53:22,299 --> 00:53:23,533
And you know what?
She's right.
1098
00:53:23,600 --> 00:53:25,468
That's a hurricane-related
victim.
1099
00:53:25,535 --> 00:53:28,505
Dr. Minyard and I met
and tried to come
to some agreement
1100
00:53:28,572 --> 00:53:30,840
as to what
a hurricane-related
death was,
1101
00:53:30,907 --> 00:53:33,376
because, again,
nothing like this
has ever happened.
1102
00:53:33,443 --> 00:53:36,413
We certainly looked
at some CDC criteria--
1103
00:53:36,479 --> 00:53:38,114
Center for Disease Control
criteria,
1104
00:53:38,181 --> 00:53:39,950
but there were no criteria
for something like this.
1105
00:53:40,016 --> 00:53:43,219
In post-Katrina,
there's a number of people
that are dying
1106
00:53:43,286 --> 00:53:46,122
that's related to Katrina,
but did not actually die
1107
00:53:46,189 --> 00:53:48,491
within the hurricane.
1108
00:53:48,558 --> 00:53:51,962
Five weeks ago, March 28,
my father passed away,
1109
00:53:52,028 --> 00:53:53,797
63 years old.
1110
00:53:53,863 --> 00:53:56,967
Six days before that,
his wife passed away,
1111
00:53:57,033 --> 00:53:59,536
which was 20 years
his junior. She was 43.
1112
00:53:59,603 --> 00:54:01,271
Two weeks before Katrina,
1113
00:54:01,338 --> 00:54:04,040
my dad was diagnosed
with lung cancer.
1114
00:54:04,107 --> 00:54:06,476
This was a man
who started a business
1115
00:54:06,543 --> 00:54:08,678
right here in New Orleans,
Mackie Roofing--
1116
00:54:08,745 --> 00:54:10,513
one of the largest
roofing companies in the city,
1117
00:54:10,580 --> 00:54:12,248
in the state,
for the longest time.
1118
00:54:12,315 --> 00:54:15,385
Employed over
100 African-American
males in the community.
1119
00:54:15,452 --> 00:54:17,487
So, to get sick during
the middle of Katrina
1120
00:54:17,554 --> 00:54:19,356
was actually
even more sickening.
1121
00:54:19,422 --> 00:54:21,358
We evacuated.
It took us five weeks
1122
00:54:21,424 --> 00:54:23,293
to get him back
into the system.
1123
00:54:23,360 --> 00:54:26,196
Once we got him back
into the system, they didn't
know who his doctors were.
1124
00:54:26,262 --> 00:54:28,865
They didn't have any records,
'cause everything
had been flooded.
1125
00:54:28,932 --> 00:54:31,835
So it was six weeks
before he could start
his treatment again.
1126
00:54:31,901 --> 00:54:34,704
His wife was
taking care of him.
1127
00:54:34,771 --> 00:54:37,907
Sometime in January,
we noticed that she began
to lose weight.
1128
00:54:37,974 --> 00:54:40,477
She had been diagnosed
with cancer, like,
six years ago--
1129
00:54:40,543 --> 00:54:42,979
breast cancer--
and her cancer had come
back with a vengeance
1130
00:54:43,046 --> 00:54:45,482
and spread
all over her body.
1131
00:54:45,548 --> 00:54:48,818
There's no doubt in our minds
that the stress and strain
1132
00:54:48,885 --> 00:54:52,155
and the pain of Katrina
aided to their sickness
1133
00:54:52,222 --> 00:54:53,923
and the recurring
of her cancer.
1134
00:54:53,990 --> 00:54:55,625
A lot of people
are losing hope.
1135
00:54:55,692 --> 00:54:58,528
The number of obituaries
in the paper supposedly now
1136
00:54:58,595 --> 00:55:01,064
is running at a rate
of 30% higher pre-Katrina.
1137
00:55:01,131 --> 00:55:04,234
People are coming back,
looking at this despair
and dying.
1138
00:55:04,300 --> 00:55:06,603
And that was the pain
when I had to bury my dad.
1139
00:55:06,670 --> 00:55:09,339
Because everything
that he built was destroyed
1140
00:55:09,406 --> 00:55:11,274
because of the failure
of the United States
1141
00:55:11,341 --> 00:55:13,076
Army Corps of Engineers,
this government--
1142
00:55:13,143 --> 00:55:15,145
not the mayor,
not the governor,
1143
00:55:15,211 --> 00:55:16,312
but this government.
1144
00:55:25,055 --> 00:55:26,823
My name is Kimberly Polk.
1145
00:55:26,890 --> 00:55:28,692
I am Serena
Polk's mother.
1146
00:55:28,758 --> 00:55:32,095
Serena was here
in New Orleans
1147
00:55:32,162 --> 00:55:33,963
across the Lower
Ninth Ward
1148
00:55:34,030 --> 00:55:37,534
on Tennessee Street
with her father,
1149
00:55:37,600 --> 00:55:40,203
his girlfriend,
and his two kids.
1150
00:55:40,270 --> 00:55:43,973
And she and her father
and his family did not
evacuate.
1151
00:55:44,040 --> 00:55:46,109
She came to me
in a dream.
1152
00:55:46,176 --> 00:55:48,311
I woke up sweating
out of my sleep.
1153
00:55:48,378 --> 00:55:50,547
She came to me in a dream,
and she was saying,
1154
00:55:50,613 --> 00:55:52,582
"Mama, I'm falling,
I'm falling.
1155
00:55:52,649 --> 00:55:54,284
Mama, I'm falling."
1156
00:55:54,350 --> 00:55:57,520
And all I could see was water
that she was falling into.
1157
00:55:57,587 --> 00:56:00,690
I think it was,
like, April,
1158
00:56:00,757 --> 00:56:02,459
they called me
and let me know--
1159
00:56:02,525 --> 00:56:04,160
first I'd seen it
on the news,
1160
00:56:04,227 --> 00:56:05,995
where I'd seen
a little girl
1161
00:56:06,062 --> 00:56:08,531
between the ages
of six and 10 years old
1162
00:56:08,598 --> 00:56:11,067
that they found
in the Lower Ninth Ward
1163
00:56:11,134 --> 00:56:12,702
that had a backpack
on her back.
1164
00:56:12,769 --> 00:56:15,572
And Serena
was known to everyone,
my whole family,
1165
00:56:15,638 --> 00:56:17,073
everybody that knew her,
1166
00:56:17,140 --> 00:56:19,442
to have always
a backpack on her back.
1167
00:56:19,509 --> 00:56:22,045
The coroner is trying
to identify a child
1168
00:56:22,112 --> 00:56:24,114
found buried in debris
in the Lower Ninth Ward.
1169
00:56:24,180 --> 00:56:27,350
This is the ninth body
the fire department has
found this month.
1170
00:56:27,417 --> 00:56:29,052
This child could have come
from anywhere.
1171
00:56:29,119 --> 00:56:30,887
I mean, she could have
floated from miles away.
1172
00:56:30,954 --> 00:56:34,491
This is
my daughter,
Serena,
1173
00:56:34,557 --> 00:56:36,025
who drowned
during...
1174
00:56:37,694 --> 00:56:39,662
Hurricane Katrina.
1175
00:56:39,729 --> 00:56:41,631
She was
five years old...
1176
00:56:43,133 --> 00:56:46,069
and I never got
a chance...
1177
00:56:46,136 --> 00:56:47,771
to say goodbye.
1178
00:56:53,576 --> 00:56:55,111
And I miss her...
1179
00:56:56,112 --> 00:56:57,747
so much.
1180
00:57:25,308 --> 00:57:27,577
I didn't want to have
the service in New Orleans
1181
00:57:27,644 --> 00:57:30,780
because I blame New Orleans
for her death--
1182
00:57:30,847 --> 00:57:33,116
the way they-- they went
about doing things.
1183
00:57:33,183 --> 00:57:35,485
I think if it
would have been done
a little bit different,
1184
00:57:35,552 --> 00:57:36,786
I would feel different,
1185
00:57:36,853 --> 00:57:39,255
but it's-- it's just not--
I don't think
1186
00:57:39,322 --> 00:57:41,891
New Orleans is fit
for me to live in.
1187
00:57:41,958 --> 00:57:44,961
Father, here I am again
down on my knees
1188
00:57:45,028 --> 00:57:46,930
before Thee
and the holy throngs
of angels.
1189
00:57:46,996 --> 00:57:48,798
Yes, Lord.
Preach, sir.
1190
00:57:48,865 --> 00:57:51,734
Father, I bow down here
because I feel so righteous.
1191
00:57:51,801 --> 00:57:54,804
Father, I bow
because I feel so holy.
1192
00:57:54,871 --> 00:57:58,908
Oh, a long time ago,
my Heavenly Father.
1193
00:57:58,975 --> 00:58:02,579
♪ Soon and very soon ♪
1194
00:58:02,645 --> 00:58:07,350
♪ We are going to see
the King ♪
1195
00:58:07,417 --> 00:58:11,621
♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪
1196
00:58:11,688 --> 00:58:15,825
♪ We are going to see
the King ♪
1197
00:58:15,892 --> 00:58:19,762
♪ No more dying there ♪
1198
00:58:19,829 --> 00:58:24,467
♪ We are going to see
the King ♪
1199
00:58:24,534 --> 00:58:27,170
♪ No more dying... ♪
1200
00:58:27,237 --> 00:58:30,506
Ashes to ashes,
dust to dust,
1201
00:58:30,573 --> 00:58:33,776
and our inspiring privilege
1202
00:58:33,843 --> 00:58:36,279
to commend her soul
1203
00:58:36,346 --> 00:58:39,382
to our maker, father,
and redeemer
1204
00:58:39,449 --> 00:58:41,885
in the confidence
of hope
1205
00:58:41,951 --> 00:58:43,486
for the coming again
1206
00:58:43,553 --> 00:58:46,122
of our lord and savior
Jesus Christ,
1207
00:58:46,189 --> 00:58:47,924
the resurrection
of the body
1208
00:58:47,991 --> 00:58:49,959
from the grave
1209
00:58:50,026 --> 00:58:52,328
and a joyful life
deserved
1210
00:58:52,395 --> 00:58:54,330
in Jesus' name.
In Jesus' name.
1211
00:58:54,397 --> 00:58:56,099
Amen.
Amen.
1212
01:00:02,765 --> 01:00:04,701
Dinerral "Dick"
This is what's left.
1213
01:00:04,767 --> 01:00:06,903
You know, your whole
history is just...
1214
01:00:06,970 --> 01:00:09,272
somewhere under
a pile of rubble.
1215
01:00:25,121 --> 01:00:27,023
It's really nothing.
1216
01:00:27,090 --> 01:00:28,858
It's like you got
things on your mind
1217
01:00:28,925 --> 01:00:30,927
to remember where it was at,
but when you come down here,
1218
01:00:30,994 --> 01:00:32,428
there's no landmarks
or nothing
1219
01:00:32,495 --> 01:00:34,330
to make you remember
even where you're at.
1220
01:00:34,397 --> 01:00:36,032
You might go up a street
that you've been
1221
01:00:36,099 --> 01:00:38,768
going up all your life
and get lost
1222
01:00:38,835 --> 01:00:40,837
'cause you don't know--
know where you're at.
1223
01:00:40,903 --> 01:00:42,405
You don't know nothing.
1224
01:00:42,472 --> 01:00:44,907
It's sad, man.
I mean, the church
1225
01:00:44,974 --> 01:00:47,210
you went to all your life,
the school you went to--
1226
01:00:47,276 --> 01:00:48,845
a lot of the old men
used to always hang out
1227
01:00:48,911 --> 01:00:50,413
right here on the corner,
drinking their beer.
1228
01:00:50,480 --> 01:00:53,616
I mean, this is...
a good neighborhood that's--
1229
01:00:53,683 --> 01:00:56,052
it's gone, man.
I mean gone.
1230
01:00:56,119 --> 01:00:59,188
♪ Up on a hill ♪
1231
01:01:01,424 --> 01:01:03,993
♪ Far away ♪
1232
01:01:05,028 --> 01:01:06,863
♪ Stood an old ♪
1233
01:01:08,731 --> 01:01:10,967
♪ Rugged cross ♪
1234
01:01:12,602 --> 01:01:16,039
♪ The emblem ♪
1235
01:01:16,105 --> 01:01:17,840
♪ Of suffering ♪
1236
01:01:19,075 --> 01:01:20,977
♪ Oh, and pain ♪
1237
01:01:26,482 --> 01:01:28,251
♪ And I'll cherish ♪
1238
01:01:29,986 --> 01:01:32,355
♪ The old cross ♪
1239
01:01:33,790 --> 01:01:36,025
♪ Where the flood, yeah ♪
1240
01:01:37,293 --> 01:01:39,629
♪ Lies the state ♪
1241
01:01:40,930 --> 01:01:44,367
♪ For we're ♪
1242
01:01:44,434 --> 01:01:46,369
♪ Of suffering ♪
1243
01:01:47,437 --> 01:01:49,439
♪ Oh, and pain. ♪
1244
01:02:04,053 --> 01:02:05,421
It's just unbelievable.
1245
01:02:05,488 --> 01:02:08,057
There's no way possible
that you can even say
1246
01:02:08,124 --> 01:02:10,259
you checked these houses
to find people.
1247
01:02:10,326 --> 01:02:12,495
I mean, people coming home,
going to their houses,
1248
01:02:12,562 --> 01:02:14,764
and they're still
finding dead people
in these houses, man.
1249
01:02:14,831 --> 01:02:16,699
Just the other day,
1250
01:02:16,766 --> 01:02:19,735
there were five people found
in the attic of a house.
1251
01:02:19,802 --> 01:02:22,839
Who knows? Somebody might
be in there right now,
lying in the rubble.
1252
01:02:22,905 --> 01:02:26,209
I mean, who is--
who is we to know that?
1253
01:02:26,275 --> 01:02:28,478
But the military say
they checked every house.
1254
01:02:28,544 --> 01:02:31,047
This house here
has iron bars on it.
1255
01:02:31,114 --> 01:02:34,917
But they have
numbers on the window
as if it'd been checked.
1256
01:02:34,984 --> 01:02:37,420
I mean, come on, you got
to keep it real, man.
1257
01:02:37,487 --> 01:02:39,856
I mean, they didn't go
in none of these houses.
1258
01:03:05,948 --> 01:03:07,917
Hey!
1259
01:03:18,528 --> 01:03:21,497
You know, a lot of people
around the country,
1260
01:03:21,564 --> 01:03:24,433
when they heard
that New Orleans was going
to do Mardi Gras again,
1261
01:03:24,500 --> 01:03:26,969
they was like, "Well,
why you all doing Mardi Gras?
1262
01:03:27,036 --> 01:03:28,738
"You all got to rebuild
the city.
1263
01:03:28,804 --> 01:03:31,207
You all got stuff that's bad,"
this, that, and the other.
1264
01:03:31,274 --> 01:03:33,409
But you got
to understand, baby.
1265
01:03:33,476 --> 01:03:36,646
We need Mardi Gras
for our city.
1266
01:03:36,712 --> 01:03:39,081
This is our healing.
This is how we do.
1267
01:03:39,148 --> 01:03:40,516
It ain't for
the rest of the world.
1268
01:03:40,583 --> 01:03:42,451
If you don't understand,
that's all right.
1269
01:03:42,518 --> 01:03:45,087
We just invite you
to come down here,
have a good time,
1270
01:03:45,154 --> 01:03:46,889
do like we do,
you understand?
1271
01:03:46,956 --> 01:03:49,258
And we just want you
to come and have some fun.
1272
01:03:49,325 --> 01:03:52,461
Today is my grandfather's
last day as grand marshal.
1273
01:03:52,528 --> 01:03:54,130
He's right up front.
1274
01:03:54,197 --> 01:03:58,734
He's been the grand marshal,
unopposed, for about 35 years.
1275
01:03:58,801 --> 01:04:01,871
I come from New York
to come here every year
1276
01:04:01,938 --> 01:04:03,973
to parade with him.
1277
01:04:07,276 --> 01:04:10,213
I am so happy that
we had this celebration,
1278
01:04:10,279 --> 01:04:12,215
because it
brought us all back.
1279
01:04:12,281 --> 01:04:15,885
I saw so many people
who were in California,
1280
01:04:15,952 --> 01:04:17,620
they're in Houston,
they're in Atlanta,
1281
01:04:17,687 --> 01:04:19,388
they're in Memphis,
Nashville.
1282
01:04:19,455 --> 01:04:21,924
It was the best thing
that happened to us,
1283
01:04:21,991 --> 01:04:24,560
because it let us know
that New Orleans is still here
1284
01:04:24,627 --> 01:04:26,095
and home is still here.
1285
01:04:26,162 --> 01:04:28,564
We are waiting
for insurance,
1286
01:04:28,631 --> 01:04:30,866
and look what FEMA
did to my baby.
1287
01:04:30,933 --> 01:04:32,468
Is this a shame or what?
1288
01:04:32,535 --> 01:04:35,338
Nine years old--
six months.
1289
01:04:35,404 --> 01:04:38,241
Look at him-- old man.
We're still waiting for FEMA.
1290
01:04:38,307 --> 01:04:40,810
If they don't come,
we're not going to have
another Mardi Gras.
1291
01:04:45,214 --> 01:04:47,350
I know people questioned
whether we should
have it or not.
1292
01:04:47,416 --> 01:04:48,851
But for those people
that actually came
1293
01:04:48,918 --> 01:04:50,586
and saw it and felt it
and touched it,
1294
01:04:50,653 --> 01:04:52,688
you found out
something really serious
about this city,
1295
01:04:52,755 --> 01:04:54,190
which is the city's
going to live.
1296
01:04:54,257 --> 01:04:56,058
It's got a heartbeat.
It's got a soul to it
1297
01:04:56,125 --> 01:04:58,494
that's so vibrant
that you can't kill it.
1298
01:05:03,799 --> 01:05:07,570
♪ Me got fire,
can't put it out ♪
1299
01:05:07,637 --> 01:05:10,973
♪ Heap fire water,
gonna make me shout ♪
1300
01:05:11,040 --> 01:05:13,943
♪ I'm goin' down
and a-get my squaw ♪
1301
01:05:15,244 --> 01:05:18,514
♪ Me might buy
a great big car ♪
1302
01:05:18,581 --> 01:05:22,351
♪ I'm gonna do
everything I could ♪
1303
01:05:22,418 --> 01:05:25,421
♪ Me Big Chief,
I'm feelin' good ♪
1304
01:05:25,488 --> 01:05:29,825
♪ Me Big Chief,
I got 'em tribe ♪
1305
01:05:29,892 --> 01:05:32,428
♪ Got my squaw
right by my side ♪
1306
01:05:33,629 --> 01:05:35,865
♪ My Flagboy,
he just went by ♪
1307
01:05:37,333 --> 01:05:39,769
♪ My Spyboy,
he's full of fire ♪
1308
01:05:41,437 --> 01:05:44,807
♪ Me whole tribe
is havin' fun ♪
1309
01:05:44,874 --> 01:05:48,010
♪ We gonna dance
till morning come. ♪
1310
01:05:59,955 --> 01:06:02,491
Hail Zulu!
1311
01:06:02,558 --> 01:06:05,161
Hail Zulu!
Yeah!
1312
01:06:05,227 --> 01:06:07,396
Hail Zulu!
Hail Zulu!
1313
01:06:07,463 --> 01:06:09,832
After you leave the areas
where Mardi Gras is,
1314
01:06:09,899 --> 01:06:12,234
you're looking around
and you leave Mardi Gras
1315
01:06:12,301 --> 01:06:13,736
in a different way.
1316
01:06:13,803 --> 01:06:16,839
I was actually looking
at the trash.
1317
01:06:16,906 --> 01:06:19,508
You know there's
a huge buildup of trash
after a parade or something,
1318
01:06:19,575 --> 01:06:21,110
which they clean up
immediately.
1319
01:06:22,578 --> 01:06:25,147
And I felt
the weirdest feeling.
1320
01:06:25,214 --> 01:06:27,550
I was like, "Okay,
when you leave this trash,
1321
01:06:27,616 --> 01:06:29,819
you're usually going
to a clean area."
1322
01:06:29,885 --> 01:06:33,723
But you leave that trash
and you go to an area
that looks the same.
1323
01:06:37,727 --> 01:06:40,496
It turns out the Corps
of Engineers for some reason
1324
01:06:40,563 --> 01:06:42,031
is in charge
of debris removal.
1325
01:06:42,098 --> 01:06:44,567
And it took the Corps
1326
01:06:44,633 --> 01:06:48,904
probably four months
before they even showed up
1327
01:06:48,971 --> 01:06:51,474
with their contractors here
to start moving debris out.
1328
01:06:53,142 --> 01:06:55,444
When you really look around,
if you were to arrive today,
1329
01:06:55,511 --> 01:06:57,680
you would think
that the hurricane might
have hit yesterday.
1330
01:06:57,747 --> 01:07:02,418
But as of February 1st,
we had removed
1331
01:07:02,485 --> 01:07:05,521
debris equivalent to 25
World Trade Center disasters,
1332
01:07:05,588 --> 01:07:07,390
and we were not
at 70% yet.
1333
01:07:08,858 --> 01:07:10,826
The city is still struggling.
1334
01:07:10,893 --> 01:07:13,562
Outside the city limits,
people are still unsure
1335
01:07:13,629 --> 01:07:15,064
if they can ever
come back.
1336
01:07:15,131 --> 01:07:16,632
We still haven't seen
that big rally.
1337
01:07:16,699 --> 01:07:18,601
We haven't seen
the three-mile-long
1338
01:07:18,667 --> 01:07:22,438
caravan of trash trucks
coming to clean up the city.
1339
01:07:23,939 --> 01:07:26,475
I find it insulting
that the streets
1340
01:07:26,542 --> 01:07:27,810
are not even cleaned up.
1341
01:07:27,877 --> 01:07:30,513
I'm not expecting
to come back and see
1342
01:07:30,579 --> 01:07:33,015
New Orleans as I knew it
before, but...
1343
01:07:35,484 --> 01:07:38,287
I expected to see a little
more progress than this.
1344
01:07:49,565 --> 01:07:51,500
Right now
we had
several dogs
1345
01:07:51,567 --> 01:07:52,968
confirm that
there still is
1346
01:07:53,035 --> 01:07:54,970
the scent
of human
remains
1347
01:07:55,037 --> 01:07:57,006
in those structures.
1348
01:07:57,072 --> 01:08:00,676
We've searched that house
as extensively as we can
1349
01:08:00,743 --> 01:08:03,512
without bringing
danger to ourself,
1350
01:08:03,579 --> 01:08:05,815
and we didn't find
anything.
1351
01:08:05,881 --> 01:08:07,316
And that's what
they're doing right now.
1352
01:08:07,383 --> 01:08:10,820
We've got guys on lookout
as the excavator
1353
01:08:10,886 --> 01:08:13,355
peels the construction
debris away,
1354
01:08:13,422 --> 01:08:15,491
looking for human remains.
1355
01:08:15,558 --> 01:08:17,626
The first slash of the X
1356
01:08:17,693 --> 01:08:19,862
signifies that a team
has entered the building.
1357
01:08:19,929 --> 01:08:21,597
Once the team exits
the building,
1358
01:08:21,664 --> 01:08:24,266
they complete the X
with another slash.
1359
01:08:24,333 --> 01:08:27,470
At the 12:00 position is
the date that the building
was searched.
1360
01:08:27,536 --> 01:08:30,539
At the 3:00 position is
the number of hazards found.
1361
01:08:30,606 --> 01:08:34,276
At the 6:00 position
is the number of victims found.
1362
01:08:34,343 --> 01:08:37,279
And in this case,
the team found none.
1363
01:08:37,346 --> 01:08:40,349
At the 9:00 position
is the team that did
the search--
1364
01:08:40,416 --> 01:08:44,086
in this case,
the Florida Task Force 1 team,
which is a FEMA team.
1365
01:08:56,732 --> 01:08:58,767
You can see the markings
on the houses,
1366
01:08:58,834 --> 01:09:00,302
and the markings
mean nothing.
1367
01:09:00,369 --> 01:09:02,805
People are coming back home
and finding corpses
1368
01:09:02,872 --> 01:09:05,774
and mummified bodies
in their houses.
1369
01:09:05,841 --> 01:09:07,776
So it seems like people
are just walking
1370
01:09:07,843 --> 01:09:09,311
down the street
and looked at the house,
1371
01:09:09,378 --> 01:09:11,313
said, "Oh, it doesn't seem
like anyone is in there."
1372
01:09:19,722 --> 01:09:21,657
It's so weird to go
through my neighborhood
1373
01:09:21,724 --> 01:09:24,260
no bodies, no bodies.
1374
01:09:24,326 --> 01:09:26,662
And then all of the sudden,
when you see that number
1375
01:09:26,729 --> 01:09:30,332
on the shell of a house--
you know, two--
1376
01:09:30,399 --> 01:09:32,268
you know, like,
"Wow, man."
1377
01:09:32,334 --> 01:09:34,169
Right around the corner
1378
01:09:34,236 --> 01:09:36,605
two people died
in this home, you know.
1379
01:09:36,672 --> 01:09:39,542
And it's just
so deafeningly quiet.
1380
01:09:49,718 --> 01:09:53,289
My mother decided
to stay in New Orleans
1381
01:09:53,355 --> 01:09:55,124
and I left.
1382
01:09:55,190 --> 01:09:56,725
First time
I came back
1383
01:09:56,792 --> 01:09:59,528
was October
4th and 5th,
1384
01:09:59,595 --> 01:10:02,131
and it was a few days
after they opened up the city.
1385
01:10:02,197 --> 01:10:04,199
I found out
a few days earlier
1386
01:10:04,266 --> 01:10:07,670
from getting in contact
with people in the search
and rescue teams
1387
01:10:07,736 --> 01:10:09,905
that they had gone
to the house
1388
01:10:09,972 --> 01:10:12,908
and they wrote
a zero for--
1389
01:10:12,975 --> 01:10:15,077
meaning no body was
found in there.
1390
01:10:15,144 --> 01:10:18,380
So I was thinking, "Okay,
at least she made it out.
1391
01:10:18,447 --> 01:10:22,184
She may be sick, but she's
not-- she made it out."
1392
01:10:22,251 --> 01:10:25,888
When I went to the house,
all three of the doors
were locked,
1393
01:10:25,955 --> 01:10:28,757
so there was no way for them
to go into the house
1394
01:10:28,824 --> 01:10:30,426
to search the house.
1395
01:10:30,492 --> 01:10:32,194
I had to bust through
the doors.
1396
01:10:32,261 --> 01:10:34,563
There were a few lines
where you can tell the water
1397
01:10:34,630 --> 01:10:37,166
was at-- between
seven and eight feet.
1398
01:10:37,232 --> 01:10:40,102
I just searched
as best I could,
1399
01:10:40,169 --> 01:10:42,871
but I didn't
find her in there.
1400
01:10:42,938 --> 01:10:45,274
After the floodwaters
let down, they were saying
1401
01:10:45,341 --> 01:10:49,745
that people were
finding their relatives
and loved ones in their house
1402
01:10:49,812 --> 01:10:53,048
and that their house
had not been searched.
1403
01:10:53,115 --> 01:10:55,584
So I called 9-1-1
1404
01:10:55,651 --> 01:10:57,853
and within a few minutes,
1405
01:10:57,920 --> 01:10:59,355
some police officers
showed up
1406
01:10:59,421 --> 01:11:01,890
and they searched the house
and they had, in fact,
1407
01:11:01,957 --> 01:11:04,026
found my mother's body
in the house.
1408
01:11:08,430 --> 01:11:09,465
I...
1409
01:11:12,201 --> 01:11:13,235
It was a...
1410
01:11:20,743 --> 01:11:24,079
The initial flood certainly
caused a lot of deaths,
1411
01:11:24,146 --> 01:11:26,749
but people were dying
long before that.
1412
01:11:26,815 --> 01:11:29,251
They were dying because
the electricity was out.
1413
01:11:29,318 --> 01:11:31,153
There was no respirator.
1414
01:11:31,220 --> 01:11:34,923
They were in their homes,
dependent on oxygen.
1415
01:11:34,990 --> 01:11:36,692
No more oxygen,
no way to get out,
1416
01:11:36,759 --> 01:11:38,527
essentially smothered
to death.
1417
01:11:38,594 --> 01:11:40,729
People died
of heat stroke,
1418
01:11:40,796 --> 01:11:43,866
dehydration,
lack of medication.
1419
01:11:44,933 --> 01:11:46,135
People drowned.
1420
01:11:46,201 --> 01:11:49,104
People went up into attics
and drowned there
1421
01:11:49,171 --> 01:11:51,874
as the water rose
and they couldn't get out.
1422
01:11:51,940 --> 01:11:53,909
I can just tell you,
1423
01:11:53,976 --> 01:11:56,145
I've been up in those attics
recovering those people,
1424
01:11:56,211 --> 01:11:58,280
and you can tell that
they took their clothes off
1425
01:11:58,347 --> 01:11:59,815
because they were
either delirious
1426
01:11:59,882 --> 01:12:01,984
or that the heat
was getting so high.
1427
01:12:02,051 --> 01:12:05,554
They would look
into the area they came up,
and it was just water.
1428
01:12:05,621 --> 01:12:07,489
So there you had
this toxic sludge there
1429
01:12:07,556 --> 01:12:09,324
at the entrance
into the attic
1430
01:12:09,391 --> 01:12:12,761
and you had nowhere to go
when the heat's getting
terrifically high--
1431
01:12:12,828 --> 01:12:15,531
110, 120 degrees,
whatever it gets.
1432
01:12:15,597 --> 01:12:17,633
The people would try
to go by the vents,
1433
01:12:17,700 --> 01:12:20,035
and you could see
the people were trying to
have their faces by vents
1434
01:12:20,102 --> 01:12:21,704
and ultimately
fell back and died.
1435
01:12:21,770 --> 01:12:24,406
She was in the kitchen
1436
01:12:24,473 --> 01:12:26,508
under the refrigerator.
1437
01:12:27,876 --> 01:12:28,944
I think it's horrible
1438
01:12:29,011 --> 01:12:30,713
for a family member
to go home and find a body.
1439
01:12:30,779 --> 01:12:32,214
That's horrible,
1440
01:12:32,281 --> 01:12:33,916
because it was either
missed in the search
1441
01:12:33,982 --> 01:12:36,318
or overlooked,
or the house wasn't searched,
1442
01:12:36,385 --> 01:12:39,621
or the search criteria
was so stringent that they
couldn't search it.
1443
01:12:39,688 --> 01:12:41,957
The bottom line
is when you're talking
1444
01:12:42,024 --> 01:12:43,826
to that family member,
none of that matters.
1445
01:12:43,892 --> 01:12:45,928
There's so many houses here,
they really haven't
1446
01:12:45,994 --> 01:12:48,464
checked yet to see
what exactly's in them.
1447
01:12:48,530 --> 01:12:50,666
This woman came down
the other day
1448
01:12:50,733 --> 01:12:53,702
and they were just
gonna go out and check out
her daughter's house.
1449
01:12:53,769 --> 01:12:56,872
They had no idea--
I think the woman thought that
her daughter had evacuated
1450
01:12:56,939 --> 01:12:58,640
and just hadn't been able
to get in touch with her.
1451
01:12:58,707 --> 01:13:00,576
But they went into the house,
they started looking around,
1452
01:13:00,642 --> 01:13:01,977
and they found her in there.
1453
01:13:02,044 --> 01:13:03,612
And that-- that was yesterday.
1454
01:13:03,679 --> 01:13:06,215
In two or three days
is the six-month anniversary
of the storm,
1455
01:13:06,281 --> 01:13:07,716
if you can call it
an anniversary.
1456
01:13:07,783 --> 01:13:10,619
When the police came out
and found my mother,
1457
01:13:10,686 --> 01:13:14,089
they took a police report
and said it'd take about
two weeks or so.
1458
01:13:14,156 --> 01:13:15,591
They said it wouldn't
take as long,
1459
01:13:15,657 --> 01:13:19,328
because they knew
who she was
1460
01:13:19,394 --> 01:13:22,698
and that it wasn't just
somebody that they found
1461
01:13:22,765 --> 01:13:25,801
and that I was
the only other person
living there with her.
1462
01:13:27,302 --> 01:13:29,238
But it turned out to take
much longer than that.
1463
01:13:29,304 --> 01:13:31,907
"You found
that body in that house.
It must be my mom."
1464
01:13:31,974 --> 01:13:33,909
Well, unfortunately,
that's not true.
1465
01:13:33,976 --> 01:13:36,044
And that's not true
for several reasons.
1466
01:13:36,111 --> 01:13:37,679
There was a lot of drift
and a lot of flood,
1467
01:13:37,746 --> 01:13:39,715
and people did drift
in and out.
1468
01:13:39,782 --> 01:13:41,950
Some people ran
to other houses.
1469
01:13:42,017 --> 01:13:44,620
Perhaps if you were
in a one-story, you ran
to a two-story house.
1470
01:13:44,686 --> 01:13:47,189
Houses were moved
everywhere which way.
1471
01:13:47,256 --> 01:13:49,825
I also had people that--
there were no street
signs left.
1472
01:13:49,892 --> 01:13:53,128
So people couldn't
really tell me exactly
what house they came out of.
1473
01:13:53,195 --> 01:13:56,031
The only way that they were
releasing bodies at that time
1474
01:13:56,098 --> 01:13:58,500
was with fingerprints,
1475
01:13:58,567 --> 01:14:01,170
dental X-rays,
or DNA samples.
1476
01:14:01,236 --> 01:14:04,072
DNA testing didn't start
until December.
1477
01:14:04,139 --> 01:14:05,974
I can tell you
that in September
1478
01:14:06,041 --> 01:14:07,676
when this mission
was given to me,
1479
01:14:07,743 --> 01:14:10,946
the first thing we did
was have a meeting with
Louisiana State Police,
1480
01:14:11,013 --> 01:14:13,982
because our crime lab
has the DNA resource.
1481
01:14:14,049 --> 01:14:16,418
At that point in time,
we knew we needed DNA,
1482
01:14:16,485 --> 01:14:18,120
but we did not
get funding
1483
01:14:18,187 --> 01:14:21,290
and the ability
to move forward on DNA
until December.
1484
01:14:21,356 --> 01:14:23,025
You asked for it
in September?
1485
01:14:23,091 --> 01:14:25,627
We needed it in September.
We were several months behind--
1486
01:14:25,694 --> 01:14:27,763
and right now
we're several months behind.
1487
01:14:27,830 --> 01:14:31,066
From November 11th,
it took till January 10th
1488
01:14:31,133 --> 01:14:33,802
to get my mother released.
1489
01:14:33,869 --> 01:14:36,638
This is a picture
of me and my mother,
1490
01:14:36,705 --> 01:14:38,907
Mary Johnell Morant.
1491
01:14:38,974 --> 01:14:41,476
According to
the medical log,
she did drown...
1492
01:14:42,644 --> 01:14:43,846
in her own home.
1493
01:14:52,688 --> 01:14:54,790
I tell people all the time--
1494
01:14:54,857 --> 01:14:56,325
Katrina didn't do in
New Orleans.
1495
01:14:56,391 --> 01:14:58,927
The Corps of Engineers
did in New Orleans.
1496
01:14:58,994 --> 01:15:02,431
If they had built
those levees
1497
01:15:02,497 --> 01:15:04,566
really to Category Three...
1498
01:15:06,668 --> 01:15:09,504
all of the residents
of New Orleans would
still be here.
1499
01:15:11,340 --> 01:15:13,775
As a child, I grew up
at the lakefront,
1500
01:15:13,842 --> 01:15:15,377
and we watched
the levees go up and up.
1501
01:15:15,444 --> 01:15:16,879
They raised them
every year.
1502
01:15:16,945 --> 01:15:18,513
And every time
a hurricane would come,
1503
01:15:18,580 --> 01:15:20,015
we'd go out to the levee
and watch the waters
1504
01:15:20,082 --> 01:15:21,984
lap up against the top,
and it was fun to see
1505
01:15:22,050 --> 01:15:25,053
how close to the top
the waves were going to get.
1506
01:15:25,120 --> 01:15:28,490
We never, ever thought
that there would ever be
a levee break.
1507
01:15:29,758 --> 01:15:32,294
We arrived here
in late September,
1508
01:15:32,361 --> 01:15:34,663
a group of about
20 engineers,
1509
01:15:34,730 --> 01:15:37,399
in an attempt to understand
what happened here.
1510
01:15:37,466 --> 01:15:40,469
The first major area
that we visited
1511
01:15:40,535 --> 01:15:43,472
was out on
the 17th Street Canal.
1512
01:15:43,538 --> 01:15:46,808
It was obvious
something had happened
that shouldn't have happened.
1513
01:15:46,875 --> 01:15:49,044
And since that time,
we have been working
1514
01:15:49,111 --> 01:15:53,482
to fill in the pieces
of the puzzle
1515
01:15:53,548 --> 01:15:56,785
to understand
what about the hurricane
1516
01:15:56,852 --> 01:15:59,154
and what about the levees
and the soils
1517
01:15:59,221 --> 01:16:02,624
that had backgrounded
what is, in fact,
1518
01:16:02,691 --> 01:16:06,194
the most tragic failure
of a civil-engineered system
1519
01:16:06,261 --> 01:16:08,230
in the history
of the United States.
1520
01:16:08,297 --> 01:16:12,367
This is the failed
sheet pile and I-wall
1521
01:16:12,434 --> 01:16:14,703
that failed during
the hurricane itself.
1522
01:16:14,770 --> 01:16:16,705
And then you can see
right here behind me
1523
01:16:16,772 --> 01:16:20,008
what's left standing
is the existing sheet pile
from the hurricane.
1524
01:16:20,075 --> 01:16:21,810
So it's about 20 foot.
1525
01:16:21,877 --> 01:16:23,845
And you can imagine--
this is 17 feet
1526
01:16:23,912 --> 01:16:25,781
into the ground
below sea level.
1527
01:16:25,847 --> 01:16:28,383
The force of this water
pushing against this levee,
1528
01:16:28,450 --> 01:16:31,720
against this sheet pile,
it forced this sheet pile over.
1529
01:16:31,787 --> 01:16:34,222
And when the wall collapsed,
it let the storm surge--
1530
01:16:34,289 --> 01:16:36,692
Lake Pontchartrain--
into the city itself.
1531
01:16:36,758 --> 01:16:39,194
It was very important
to us that we knew
1532
01:16:39,261 --> 01:16:41,863
and we find out exactly
why did this happen.
1533
01:16:41,930 --> 01:16:45,500
This is one of
three failures we had
in and around New Orleans.
1534
01:16:45,567 --> 01:16:50,005
The other two were
on the Orleans Avenue Canal
and the London Avenue Canal.
1535
01:16:50,072 --> 01:16:52,207
One of the breaks was
1536
01:16:52,274 --> 01:16:54,376
the London Avenue Canal.
1537
01:16:54,443 --> 01:16:58,513
We went there
and they had some people there
from the Corps of Engineers.
1538
01:16:58,580 --> 01:17:03,518
They were saying how the water
went under the levee.
1539
01:17:03,585 --> 01:17:05,554
They were only 10 feet deep.
1540
01:17:05,620 --> 01:17:07,622
They should have been
17 feet deep.
1541
01:17:09,725 --> 01:17:12,361
The way we actually
build the flood walls here
1542
01:17:12,427 --> 01:17:14,496
along the outfall canals
is we have sheet pile
1543
01:17:14,563 --> 01:17:17,733
driven 17 feet
below sea level,
1544
01:17:17,799 --> 01:17:20,969
and then they are
actually integrated
into an earthen levee.
1545
01:17:21,036 --> 01:17:22,938
That didn't happen,
1546
01:17:23,005 --> 01:17:25,207
so the levees just
fell down like dominoes.
1547
01:17:25,273 --> 01:17:27,109
The only things
that were holding
1548
01:17:27,175 --> 01:17:31,480
these 13-feet-by-25-foot
slabs
1549
01:17:31,546 --> 01:17:33,315
was a piece of plastic.
1550
01:17:33,382 --> 01:17:34,950
I call them rubber bands.
1551
01:17:35,017 --> 01:17:36,885
And that was in the dirt--
1552
01:17:36,952 --> 01:17:38,987
in the levee part--
1553
01:17:39,054 --> 01:17:41,490
which had been
washed away.
1554
01:17:41,556 --> 01:17:45,160
And you realize that
that was the only security
1555
01:17:45,227 --> 01:17:48,330
to holding
those panels together.
1556
01:17:48,397 --> 01:17:52,067
I wouldn't build a fence
for my dog... like that.
1557
01:17:52,134 --> 01:17:55,003
We didn't know
why these things failed.
1558
01:17:55,070 --> 01:17:58,106
you can have water go over,
1559
01:17:58,173 --> 01:18:01,176
you can have water go under,
or you can have water go
through a flood wall.
1560
01:18:01,243 --> 01:18:04,079
There were so many breaches
throughout New Orleans.
1561
01:18:04,146 --> 01:18:05,647
And ultimately,
we found out
1562
01:18:05,714 --> 01:18:08,283
there was 170 miles'
worth of damages.
1563
01:18:08,350 --> 01:18:09,785
The hurricane
protection system
1564
01:18:09,851 --> 01:18:12,354
did not perform
as we would have liked.
1565
01:18:12,421 --> 01:18:15,590
The Army Corps of Engineers
is under heavy fire
1566
01:18:15,657 --> 01:18:17,692
for a report
it released today.
1567
01:18:17,759 --> 01:18:19,694
6,000 pages long,
1568
01:18:19,761 --> 01:18:22,631
it says, in part,
that the work was bad.
1569
01:18:22,697 --> 01:18:25,500
The work of humans
and not an act of God
1570
01:18:25,567 --> 01:18:28,703
was what led to this
awful destruction here.
1571
01:18:28,770 --> 01:18:31,940
We will begin here tonight
with my colleague Martin Savidge
1572
01:18:32,007 --> 01:18:34,709
of our New Orleans Bureau,
who is with us here
this evening.
1573
01:18:34,776 --> 01:18:36,578
- Martin, good evening.
- Good evening, Brian.
1574
01:18:36,645 --> 01:18:38,980
This turnabout on the part
of the Army Corps
of Engineers--
1575
01:18:39,047 --> 01:18:41,950
this report is
a huge about-face.
1576
01:18:42,017 --> 01:18:44,786
What the Corps
is saying is that
the flood protection system
1577
01:18:44,853 --> 01:18:47,789
for the city of New Orleans
and Southeast Louisiana
1578
01:18:47,856 --> 01:18:50,225
was a system in name only.
1579
01:18:50,292 --> 01:18:51,927
This is the first time
that the Corps of Engineers
1580
01:18:51,993 --> 01:18:54,496
has had to stand up
and say,
1581
01:18:54,563 --> 01:18:56,765
"We had a catastrophic failure
of one of our projects."
1582
01:18:56,832 --> 01:18:58,867
The $19.7 million review
1583
01:18:58,934 --> 01:19:00,569
pointed out details
of engineering
1584
01:19:00,635 --> 01:19:03,805
and design failures that led
to Katrina's storm surge
1585
01:19:03,872 --> 01:19:06,641
overwhelming the city's
levees and flood walls.
1586
01:19:06,708 --> 01:19:08,810
According to the report,
the walls failed
1587
01:19:08,877 --> 01:19:11,012
when the water
pushed the walls enough
to create a crack
1588
01:19:11,079 --> 01:19:12,948
between them
and levee soils,
1589
01:19:13,014 --> 01:19:16,651
allowing the water
to seep below the walls
and push them aside.
1590
01:19:16,718 --> 01:19:18,920
You know, somebody needs
to go to jail.
1591
01:19:18,987 --> 01:19:21,423
Somebody needs
to go to jail
1592
01:19:21,490 --> 01:19:23,258
because those levees
were never really maintained
1593
01:19:23,325 --> 01:19:26,695
the way they should have been,
and now it's too late.
1594
01:19:26,761 --> 01:19:30,365
This is the greatest
engineering firm in the world.
1595
01:19:30,432 --> 01:19:32,968
You designed a wall
1596
01:19:33,034 --> 01:19:35,904
which is supposed
to hold back water
1597
01:19:35,971 --> 01:19:38,340
that you know
will fall over
1598
01:19:38,406 --> 01:19:40,542
if the water goes
over the top.
1599
01:19:40,609 --> 01:19:42,511
Now, as a lawyer,
I'm sitting there thinking,
1600
01:19:42,577 --> 01:19:44,212
"Are we gonna have to sue
the Corps of Engineers?"
1601
01:19:44,279 --> 01:19:47,549
And we find,
"Oh, man, wait a minute.
1602
01:19:47,616 --> 01:19:49,284
They're immune,"
1603
01:19:49,351 --> 01:19:51,987
meaning you can't sue
the Corps of Engineers.
1604
01:19:52,053 --> 01:19:54,823
The statute says,
"The United States of America
1605
01:19:54,890 --> 01:19:57,859
is not liable for damage
from floods."
1606
01:19:57,926 --> 01:20:00,662
The next sentence says,
"Provided that
1607
01:20:00,729 --> 01:20:04,799
"where there is
insufficient land
to build a levee,
1608
01:20:04,866 --> 01:20:06,801
"you have to expropriate
the land
1609
01:20:06,868 --> 01:20:08,603
or you have to buy
the flood rights."
1610
01:20:08,670 --> 01:20:12,140
So why is there an I-wall
and no levee?
1611
01:20:12,207 --> 01:20:14,209
Well, an I-wall
is something you can build
1612
01:20:14,276 --> 01:20:16,378
on a tiny piece of ground,
so here we go again.
1613
01:20:16,444 --> 01:20:18,647
They didn't want
to spend the money
1614
01:20:18,713 --> 01:20:21,449
to buy the land
to put up a levee,
1615
01:20:21,516 --> 01:20:23,418
so they put up
this chinky I-wall.
1616
01:20:23,485 --> 01:20:25,220
And by the way,
what's a levee?
1617
01:20:25,287 --> 01:20:28,390
A levee is this earthen
piece of work--
1618
01:20:28,456 --> 01:20:31,293
four feet wide
for every one foot
of height.
1619
01:20:31,359 --> 01:20:33,128
That's what holds back
the water.
1620
01:20:38,166 --> 01:20:39,234
The levee...
1621
01:20:40,268 --> 01:20:41,703
it's the same thing, man.
1622
01:20:41,770 --> 01:20:42,804
I mean...
1623
01:20:44,039 --> 01:20:46,374
they been knew
that this could happen.
1624
01:20:46,441 --> 01:20:47,776
You know what I'm saying?
1625
01:20:47,842 --> 01:20:49,844
They knew it-- before--
when I was a child,
1626
01:20:49,911 --> 01:20:51,813
they knew if a hurricane
came through
1627
01:20:51,880 --> 01:20:55,250
or a large mass like that,
that it could happen.
1628
01:20:55,317 --> 01:20:58,053
And I'm wondering,
damn, I mean...
1629
01:20:59,654 --> 01:21:01,990
why nobody never fixed it
or nobody never--
1630
01:21:02,057 --> 01:21:04,359
not only fixed it
or made an attempt--
1631
01:21:04,426 --> 01:21:07,629
just if they didn't have
the money or whatever,
1632
01:21:07,696 --> 01:21:10,298
make some noise about,
"Hey, this could happen."
1633
01:21:10,365 --> 01:21:12,100
I ain't hear nothing
about this
1634
01:21:12,167 --> 01:21:14,469
from the government
or anyone from our town--
1635
01:21:14,536 --> 01:21:17,405
the mayor or anyone
ever say something like,
1636
01:21:17,472 --> 01:21:20,609
"We need money because
hurricanes always come
1637
01:21:20,675 --> 01:21:24,379
and they're always a threat
and we need help to fix this."
1638
01:21:24,446 --> 01:21:28,383
So it's like, to me,
if they knew it could
have happened,
1639
01:21:28,450 --> 01:21:31,186
it's almost like
they let it happen.
1640
01:21:31,253 --> 01:21:32,954
♪ ♪
1641
01:21:35,991 --> 01:21:39,527
To understand the situation
New Orleans is in,
1642
01:21:39,594 --> 01:21:43,064
you've got
to understand the power
of the Mississippi River.
1643
01:21:49,437 --> 01:21:53,141
As the river deposits
sediment in the delta,
1644
01:21:53,208 --> 01:21:57,545
this creates, often, sandbars
that block shipping channels.
1645
01:21:57,612 --> 01:22:01,216
To get through
these sandbars,
1646
01:22:01,283 --> 01:22:03,018
the engineers
built jetties
1647
01:22:03,084 --> 01:22:06,154
that go two miles out
into the Gulf of Mexico
1648
01:22:06,221 --> 01:22:09,758
and drop all the sediment
into deep water
1649
01:22:09,824 --> 01:22:12,894
so it is no longer
building up land.
1650
01:22:12,961 --> 01:22:15,297
The main reason
that New Orleans
1651
01:22:15,363 --> 01:22:18,300
has become vulnerable
to hurricanes
1652
01:22:18,366 --> 01:22:21,903
is because the wetlands
have been eroding.
1653
01:22:21,970 --> 01:22:24,606
Those wetlands are
responsible
1654
01:22:24,673 --> 01:22:28,276
for reducing storm surges
when a hurricane comes along.
1655
01:22:28,343 --> 01:22:30,612
To expand oil and gas
infrastructure,
1656
01:22:30,679 --> 01:22:33,448
we've dredged thousands
of miles
of canals
1657
01:22:33,515 --> 01:22:37,085
for pipelines, for drilling,
and for navigation purposes.
1658
01:22:37,152 --> 01:22:39,454
If you imagine,
in the old days,
1659
01:22:39,521 --> 01:22:41,856
we had all these
distributory channels
1660
01:22:41,923 --> 01:22:44,526
that were kind of like
the arteries in your hand.
1661
01:22:44,592 --> 01:22:48,430
Man came along
and cut off that supply.
1662
01:22:48,496 --> 01:22:50,165
So over
the last 70 years,
1663
01:22:50,231 --> 01:22:53,001
we've starved
our wetlands to death,
1664
01:22:53,068 --> 01:22:55,337
like putting a rubber band
around your hand.
1665
01:22:55,403 --> 01:22:57,172
On top of that,
1666
01:22:57,238 --> 01:22:59,407
we have global warming,
which is a very big issue.
1667
01:22:59,474 --> 01:23:01,776
It's causing
sea level
to rise.
1668
01:23:01,843 --> 01:23:02,944
It's basically
making
1669
01:23:03,011 --> 01:23:04,212
these coastal
cities
1670
01:23:04,279 --> 01:23:06,648
more vulnerable
to the storm surge
1671
01:23:06,715 --> 01:23:09,217
and the eventual flooding
when these storms come.
1672
01:23:09,284 --> 01:23:10,885
Today the government
will release
1673
01:23:10,952 --> 01:23:12,787
its national hurricane forecast.
1674
01:23:12,854 --> 01:23:14,923
And so far, it's not
looking good.
1675
01:23:14,989 --> 01:23:17,525
The next hurricane season
is bearing down,
1676
01:23:17,592 --> 01:23:20,862
and forecasters said today
it could be a bad one.
1677
01:23:20,929 --> 01:23:23,498
Worse than usual again--
1678
01:23:23,565 --> 01:23:27,302
that's the prediction
from every respected
forecaster out there.
1679
01:23:27,369 --> 01:23:28,837
After 24 hurricanes...
1680
01:23:30,605 --> 01:23:32,741
and 11 making landfall
in the United States
1681
01:23:32,807 --> 01:23:34,242
in the past two years...
1682
01:23:37,645 --> 01:23:40,415
today's prediction
for this year's Atlantic
hurricane season
1683
01:23:40,482 --> 01:23:43,585
13-16 named storms,
1684
01:23:43,651 --> 01:23:45,720
eight to 10
becoming hurricanes,
1685
01:23:45,787 --> 01:23:48,356
four to six
becoming major hurricanes
1686
01:23:48,423 --> 01:23:51,526
with winds
of 111 miles per hour
or higher.
1687
01:23:51,593 --> 01:23:53,795
The research meteorologists
are telling us
1688
01:23:53,862 --> 01:23:55,864
that we're in this
very active period
1689
01:23:55,930 --> 01:23:58,166
for major hurricanes
that may last
1690
01:23:58,233 --> 01:24:00,769
at least another
10 to 20 years.
1691
01:24:00,835 --> 01:24:03,438
That's not good news,
1692
01:24:03,505 --> 01:24:05,006
we need to be prepared.
1693
01:24:05,073 --> 01:24:07,108
With global warming,
1694
01:24:07,175 --> 01:24:09,711
you're now making
a New York climate
1695
01:24:09,778 --> 01:24:11,913
more like
a North Carolina climate,
1696
01:24:11,980 --> 01:24:13,581
and we know how often
they get hit
1697
01:24:13,648 --> 01:24:15,483
and how warm
the waters are there.
1698
01:24:15,550 --> 01:24:17,619
So the prospect
of a severe storm
1699
01:24:17,685 --> 01:24:21,289
hitting the DC to Boston
metroplex corridor
1700
01:24:21,356 --> 01:24:23,258
is very high
in the ensuing decades.
1701
01:24:23,324 --> 01:24:25,927
When you have a storm surge
from Katrina,
1702
01:24:25,994 --> 01:24:28,029
say, of 20 feet
above sea level,
1703
01:24:28,096 --> 01:24:30,999
it's not going
to help things when you
have global warming
1704
01:24:31,065 --> 01:24:33,601
throwing in an extra
12 inches on top of that.
1705
01:24:36,538 --> 01:24:39,607
25% of all
the natural gas
1706
01:24:39,674 --> 01:24:42,010
produced in the United States
1707
01:24:42,076 --> 01:24:45,680
is actually produced
offshore of Louisiana.
1708
01:24:45,747 --> 01:24:50,418
20% of all the oil
produced domestically
in the United States
1709
01:24:50,485 --> 01:24:53,555
is produced off the coast
of Louisiana.
1710
01:24:53,621 --> 01:24:56,090
And it's ironic...
1711
01:24:56,157 --> 01:24:58,193
because one of the few things
in the country
1712
01:24:58,259 --> 01:25:02,330
that environmentalists
and the oil industry agree on
1713
01:25:02,397 --> 01:25:05,567
is that you have
to rebuild the wetlands
1714
01:25:05,633 --> 01:25:08,536
around New Orleans
1715
01:25:08,603 --> 01:25:10,772
not only to protect
New Orleans,
1716
01:25:10,839 --> 01:25:12,874
but even if New Orleans
didn't exist,
1717
01:25:12,941 --> 01:25:15,176
you would need to rebuild
those wetlands
1718
01:25:15,243 --> 01:25:17,912
to protect
the production of energy.
1719
01:25:17,979 --> 01:25:20,248
I understand,
in a way,
1720
01:25:20,315 --> 01:25:22,517
why they're going
to abandon us--
1721
01:25:22,584 --> 01:25:27,455
no political power,
very little money, black city.
1722
01:25:27,522 --> 01:25:29,958
We can't influence much.
1723
01:25:30,024 --> 01:25:32,594
And then I thought,
"But how stupid
1724
01:25:32,660 --> 01:25:35,396
"does a president
and a Congress have to be
1725
01:25:35,463 --> 01:25:37,398
"to say,
'Oh, wait a minute.
1726
01:25:37,465 --> 01:25:40,802
"They control 30%
of our oil and gas.
1727
01:25:40,869 --> 01:25:42,971
"If it doesn't
come to us,
1728
01:25:43,037 --> 01:25:44,639
"our security
is threatened
1729
01:25:44,706 --> 01:25:47,942
and $6-a-gallon gasoline
is there overnight'?"
1730
01:25:48,009 --> 01:25:49,310
Nobody can argue that.
1731
01:25:49,377 --> 01:25:51,346
Do you
know that...
1732
01:25:51,412 --> 01:25:53,648
because these offshore
oil companies
1733
01:25:53,715 --> 01:25:56,017
go more than three miles
off the coast...
1734
01:25:56,084 --> 01:25:58,953
we don't get a dime
in this state?
1735
01:25:59,020 --> 01:26:00,722
The federal government
takes it all.
1736
01:26:00,788 --> 01:26:03,525
Do you know
that if Louisiana seceded
from the United States
1737
01:26:03,591 --> 01:26:05,360
and started collecting
all the royalties
1738
01:26:05,426 --> 01:26:08,196
from these
oil and gas companies,
we'd be like Saudi Arabia?
1739
01:26:08,263 --> 01:26:09,731
We'd all be riding around
in Bentleys.
1740
01:26:09,797 --> 01:26:11,766
We wouldn't need anything
from the United States.
1741
01:26:11,833 --> 01:26:13,535
So we're pumping all this money
into the government.
1742
01:26:13,601 --> 01:26:15,236
We're not asking
for a handout.
1743
01:26:15,303 --> 01:26:17,171
We're asking
for a little return
on what we're handing out.
1744
01:26:17,238 --> 01:26:20,141
The state of Louisiana
has long been used
1745
01:26:20,208 --> 01:26:23,778
as almost a colony or a place
to extract resources
1746
01:26:23,845 --> 01:26:26,981
by the rest
of the United States,
particularly Texas.
1747
01:26:27,048 --> 01:26:30,285
It's extremely oil-rich,
has natural gas,
1748
01:26:30,351 --> 01:26:32,687
and if you can
deal with the ragged
boot heel of Louisiana,
1749
01:26:32,754 --> 01:26:34,289
you have the seafood
coming in.
1750
01:26:34,355 --> 01:26:36,124
It's where
the oil platforms are.
1751
01:26:36,190 --> 01:26:38,159
But the money doesn't stay
in Louisiana.
1752
01:26:38,226 --> 01:26:39,794
The money goes
out of state.
1753
01:26:39,861 --> 01:26:43,731
It goes to anywhere else
in the so-called "New South"
but Louisiana.
1754
01:26:43,798 --> 01:26:45,400
I mean, cities like
Memphis now
1755
01:26:45,466 --> 01:26:47,802
have Federal Express
and they're booming,
1756
01:26:47,869 --> 01:26:50,338
and the Carolinas have
all this banking going on.
1757
01:26:50,405 --> 01:26:52,807
Atlanta's got Home Depot
and Delta Airlines.
1758
01:26:52,874 --> 01:26:56,010
Texas has Halliburton
and other construction
and oil companies.
1759
01:26:56,077 --> 01:26:57,712
There's nothing left here.
1760
01:26:57,779 --> 01:27:00,848
Up the Mississippi
in St. Paul and Minneapolis,
1761
01:27:00,915 --> 01:27:02,483
you have at
any given time
1762
01:27:02,550 --> 01:27:04,852
about 18
Fortune-500 companies.
1763
01:27:04,919 --> 01:27:07,288
We had one pre-Katrina--
Entergy.
1764
01:27:07,355 --> 01:27:08,790
And now that company's
bankrupt.
1765
01:27:08,856 --> 01:27:12,527
If they'd give us
our percentage...
1766
01:27:12,594 --> 01:27:14,696
of oil and gas
like Texas gets,
1767
01:27:14,762 --> 01:27:17,632
New Mexico gets, Wyoming gets,
Colorado gets,
1768
01:27:17,699 --> 01:27:20,435
Alaska gets--
if they'd give us that,
1769
01:27:20,501 --> 01:27:23,004
we can build
our own wetlands,
rebuild them.
1770
01:27:23,071 --> 01:27:26,007
We can build
our Category-Five levees.
1771
01:27:26,074 --> 01:27:29,077
We can, instead of
having to cut out
1772
01:27:29,143 --> 01:27:31,245
the neighborhoods
that are our culture
1773
01:27:31,312 --> 01:27:33,014
because we no longer
can afford 'em,
1774
01:27:33,081 --> 01:27:35,083
we could bring those
neighborhoods back, too.
1775
01:27:35,149 --> 01:27:37,185
Give us our
goddamn money.
1776
01:27:37,251 --> 01:27:38,686
Give us
our oil and gas money.
1777
01:27:38,753 --> 01:27:41,556
We'll help ourselves,
and you can kiss our ass.
1778
01:27:41,623 --> 01:27:43,391
Governor Blanco
is making good
1779
01:27:43,458 --> 01:27:45,893
on a promise to play hardball
with the federal government.
1780
01:27:45,960 --> 01:27:48,029
Today the state filed
a lawsuit to prevent
1781
01:27:48,096 --> 01:27:51,299
offshore oil and gas
lease sales in the western
Gulf of Mexico.
1782
01:27:51,366 --> 01:27:53,401
Blanco says the sale
would damage
1783
01:27:53,468 --> 01:27:55,303
Louisiana's
coastal environment.
1784
01:27:55,370 --> 01:27:58,039
The state hopes
the lawsuit forces
the federal government
1785
01:27:58,106 --> 01:28:00,975
to share profits from the sale
to protect wetlands.
1786
01:28:01,042 --> 01:28:03,011
It's about
our federal
government
1787
01:28:03,077 --> 01:28:06,180
sharing the royalty
revenue stream
1788
01:28:06,247 --> 01:28:08,716
from-- from
the exploration
1789
01:28:08,783 --> 01:28:11,252
and the production
that occurs
1790
01:28:11,319 --> 01:28:13,588
in our coastal waters.
1791
01:28:13,655 --> 01:28:15,890
If we don't get
significant help,
1792
01:28:15,957 --> 01:28:20,228
Louisiana people are in danger
for a very long time.
1793
01:28:27,635 --> 01:28:29,470
I want
to come home.
1794
01:28:29,537 --> 01:28:31,205
I was born here,
1795
01:28:31,272 --> 01:28:33,508
and I always
said I wanted
to die here,
1796
01:28:33,574 --> 01:28:35,977
but things been
so rough.
1797
01:28:36,044 --> 01:28:38,179
I almost had
two heart attacks.
1798
01:28:38,246 --> 01:28:40,114
Had to go to a hospital.
But you know what?
1799
01:28:40,181 --> 01:28:43,685
God is good, He's able,
and I'm going to keep my faith.
1800
01:28:43,751 --> 01:28:46,721
I've never seen such a time
when the US Government
1801
01:28:46,788 --> 01:28:49,957
turned its back on people
in need to this degree.
1802
01:28:50,024 --> 01:28:53,094
To have a people
in such dire need
1803
01:28:53,161 --> 01:28:56,230
getting such little help
from the federal government
1804
01:28:56,297 --> 01:28:59,500
while they're
screaming for help,
I think it's unprecedented.
1805
01:28:59,567 --> 01:29:03,137
We need lights,
water, and houses.
1806
01:29:03,204 --> 01:29:04,739
I got a little daughter,
she asks me every day,
1807
01:29:04,806 --> 01:29:06,441
"Dad, when can we go back
to New Orleans?"
1808
01:29:06,507 --> 01:29:08,910
Which section
of the city do you live in?
East New Orleans.
1809
01:29:08,976 --> 01:29:12,413
Let's get rid of
all the bureaucracy.
I don't understand.
1810
01:29:12,480 --> 01:29:13,948
If the government
can go to Iraq
1811
01:29:14,015 --> 01:29:15,683
and help people in Iraq...
1812
01:29:15,750 --> 01:29:19,487
...and we can't take
care of New Orleans,
then we have a problem.
1813
01:29:21,723 --> 01:29:24,392
I need
somewhere where
they can put
1814
01:29:24,459 --> 01:29:26,527
and place
me and my
grandkids at,
1815
01:29:26,594 --> 01:29:28,730
'cause I'm living here
in a shelter.
1816
01:29:28,796 --> 01:29:32,133
Parking, $14 a day,
we can't afford.
1817
01:29:32,200 --> 01:29:34,435
We got to
survive on food.
1818
01:29:34,502 --> 01:29:36,437
You got to eat out,
'cause there's nowhere
for you--
1819
01:29:36,504 --> 01:29:38,473
no icebox, no stove,
no nothing.
1820
01:29:38,539 --> 01:29:40,108
So you're bringing
the kids out
1821
01:29:40,174 --> 01:29:43,244
and you're eating
every day, that's $60.
1822
01:29:43,311 --> 01:29:45,980
So I need some kind of closure.
That's all I'm asking for.
1823
01:29:59,260 --> 01:30:01,362
This was my home
prior to Katrina.
1824
01:30:01,429 --> 01:30:02,864
It was a two-story home.
1825
01:30:02,930 --> 01:30:04,766
I've only been living
in it for two years.
1826
01:30:04,832 --> 01:30:08,269
Just recently finished
remodeling it.
1827
01:30:08,336 --> 01:30:11,072
This, all over here,
along here,
1828
01:30:11,139 --> 01:30:14,008
this wall here
was bookshelves, my TV,
1829
01:30:14,075 --> 01:30:16,544
my couch and everything.
1830
01:30:16,611 --> 01:30:20,047
Over here was
my refrigerator,
1831
01:30:20,114 --> 01:30:22,683
my stove, my sink.
1832
01:30:22,750 --> 01:30:25,920
Up the stairs--
you went up the stairs here.
1833
01:30:25,987 --> 01:30:28,122
You go up--
you went up this way.
1834
01:30:28,189 --> 01:30:29,991
Duck your head.
- Duck your head.
1835
01:30:30,057 --> 01:30:32,560
It had a low beam, yeah.
And then it went up here.
1836
01:30:32,627 --> 01:30:34,428
Probably the biggest
challenge
1837
01:30:34,495 --> 01:30:36,464
we have right now
is housing.
1838
01:30:36,531 --> 01:30:38,466
There's hundreds
of millions
1839
01:30:38,533 --> 01:30:40,835
of dollars
that have
been raised,
1840
01:30:40,902 --> 01:30:43,304
and we still have people
out around the country
1841
01:30:43,371 --> 01:30:45,506
still haven't gotten
their first FEMA check,
1842
01:30:45,573 --> 01:30:48,776
nor can they get a travel
trailer on their home.
1843
01:30:48,843 --> 01:30:50,778
We're still homeless.
We still have nowhere to live.
1844
01:30:50,845 --> 01:30:52,647
The lady called me again.
She said, "We have a trailer."
1845
01:30:52,713 --> 01:30:54,348
I said, "Okay,
I'll take it."
1846
01:30:54,415 --> 01:30:56,918
"Okay, give me
an address to put it."
1847
01:30:56,984 --> 01:31:00,154
"Anywhere.
Just put it somewhere
so I can go live in it."
1848
01:31:00,221 --> 01:31:03,724
"I'm sorry, we're gonna have
to put that on hold and list
you as 'still pending.'"
1849
01:31:03,791 --> 01:31:06,561
Of course, I've been pending
since August 29th, bitch.
1850
01:31:06,627 --> 01:31:08,663
I mean, I have
nowhere to live.
1851
01:31:08,729 --> 01:31:11,799
62-year-old
Florence Jackson
1852
01:31:11,866 --> 01:31:14,502
has been waiting
for help from FEMA.
1853
01:31:14,569 --> 01:31:17,338
Where is my government?
1854
01:31:19,440 --> 01:31:21,075
I'm so disappointed.
1855
01:31:21,142 --> 01:31:23,911
She has called FEMA
day and night
1856
01:31:23,978 --> 01:31:27,381
and is told her application
is still pending.
1857
01:31:27,448 --> 01:31:30,218
And I wantsomebody to know...
1858
01:31:33,087 --> 01:31:34,555
that I'm
suffering.
1859
01:31:39,160 --> 01:31:41,395
Our idea was, man,
after the storm,
1860
01:31:41,462 --> 01:31:44,465
they would have trailers
on every lawn, and you'd
get up in the morning,
1861
01:31:44,532 --> 01:31:46,767
wave at your neighbor
coming out their trailer,
and you'd just hear
1862
01:31:46,834 --> 01:31:49,837
a cacophony of, like, hammers
and nails all day long.
1863
01:31:49,904 --> 01:31:51,339
We still don't have
any trailers.
1864
01:31:51,405 --> 01:31:53,474
When you fly in
to New Orleans,
1865
01:31:53,541 --> 01:31:55,610
you look across
the street
1866
01:31:55,676 --> 01:31:57,245
in the extended
parking lots--
1867
01:31:57,311 --> 01:31:58,913
nothing but trailers
just sitting there empty.
1868
01:31:58,980 --> 01:32:00,481
Sitting there empty.
1869
01:32:01,816 --> 01:32:05,620
In mid-January,
both New Orleans
and Mississippi
1870
01:32:05,686 --> 01:32:09,557
had asked for about
40,000 trailers from FEMA.
1871
01:32:09,624 --> 01:32:12,960
In mid-January,
Mississippi had 33,000,
1872
01:32:13,027 --> 01:32:15,162
Louisiana had 3,000.
1873
01:32:15,229 --> 01:32:19,433
Now, some of that is because
of some internal politics
1874
01:32:19,500 --> 01:32:21,469
in the city
of New Orleans itself.
1875
01:32:21,535 --> 01:32:23,771
But most of that
is because of FEMA.
1876
01:32:23,838 --> 01:32:25,940
You can call FEMA
five times
1877
01:32:26,007 --> 01:32:27,508
and ask them
the same question
1878
01:32:27,575 --> 01:32:29,076
and get five
different answers.
1879
01:32:29,143 --> 01:32:30,945
You're constantly
going back and forth.
1880
01:32:31,012 --> 01:32:33,814
"Come back tomorrow.
The computers are broke."
1881
01:32:33,881 --> 01:32:36,784
"Oh, we lost
your application."
FEMA's a disaster.
1882
01:32:36,851 --> 01:32:39,620
"We tried to get in touch
with you on your cell phone,"
1883
01:32:39,687 --> 01:32:42,423
which three-quarters of the time
our cell phones don't work.
1884
01:32:42,490 --> 01:32:45,860
FEMA's a joke.
"We called you,
you didn't respond.
1885
01:32:45,927 --> 01:32:48,062
So that means you no longer
need any help."
1886
01:32:48,129 --> 01:32:49,830
Blah blah blah blah blah.
You'd call them
1887
01:32:49,897 --> 01:32:51,332
every couple of weeks
and try and be nice.
1888
01:32:51,399 --> 01:32:52,833
You don't want
to scream at them.
1889
01:32:52,900 --> 01:32:54,835
"Your trailer's
being ordered,"
and all that.
1890
01:32:54,902 --> 01:32:57,338
And I finally found
an apartment...
1891
01:32:57,405 --> 01:33:01,142
and just called them up
and told them I didn't
need the trailer.
1892
01:33:01,208 --> 01:33:03,411
And I'll be damned
if the trailer didn't
show up the next day.
1893
01:33:03,477 --> 01:33:05,947
FEMA's a dirty word.
It's just a four-letter word.
1894
01:33:06,013 --> 01:33:08,482
I just say FEMA now instead
of the other nasty words.
1895
01:33:08,549 --> 01:33:12,453
And now, still, here it is,
six months after the storm
1896
01:33:12,520 --> 01:33:14,388
and there's still no help.
1897
01:33:14,455 --> 01:33:17,325
Now I've lost all my--
every bit of information
1898
01:33:17,391 --> 01:33:19,260
that could have proved
that I owned this home,
1899
01:33:19,327 --> 01:33:21,162
that I've ever
lived here.
1900
01:33:21,228 --> 01:33:24,031
I had to--
I had to put--
1901
01:33:24,098 --> 01:33:27,435
I had to get
duplicate copies
of utility bills
1902
01:33:27,501 --> 01:33:31,372
stating that
I had utilities here,
that I lived here.
1903
01:33:31,439 --> 01:33:33,874
I had to go to
the Clerk of Courts office
1904
01:33:33,941 --> 01:33:37,478
and get whatever information
they had to say I owned this.
1905
01:33:37,545 --> 01:33:38,980
Then I had to go
to an attorney
1906
01:33:39,046 --> 01:33:41,649
who actually did the sale,
and he had to swear--
1907
01:33:41,716 --> 01:33:44,285
I had to swear
in an affidavit
that I owned this.
1908
01:33:44,352 --> 01:33:46,287
Who the hell
goes through that?
1909
01:33:46,354 --> 01:33:48,522
Who goes through
that crap?
1910
01:33:48,589 --> 01:33:52,727
I mean, my God, this is--
would I come here and say
I owned this if I didn't?
1911
01:33:52,793 --> 01:33:54,228
You know, we need help. Look.
1912
01:33:54,295 --> 01:33:56,764
See these little pink flags,
these little orange flags here?
1913
01:33:56,831 --> 01:33:58,933
I have been marked
for a FEMA trailer.
1914
01:33:59,000 --> 01:34:00,468
I'm still waiting
for a FEMA trailer.
1915
01:34:00,534 --> 01:34:02,336
Six months.
Six months.
1916
01:34:02,403 --> 01:34:04,772
People got trailers
over on that side.
1917
01:34:04,839 --> 01:34:07,141
Give us a trailer.
Look how big this yard is.
1918
01:34:07,208 --> 01:34:09,010
Give us a little
raggedy trailer,
you know.
1919
01:34:09,076 --> 01:34:10,945
Well, we'll need
a few of them
1920
01:34:11,012 --> 01:34:12,713
for the whole crew.
1921
01:34:12,780 --> 01:34:15,016
The yard big enough.
You got the sewer
right there.
1922
01:34:15,082 --> 01:34:17,284
It's big enough for, like,
about four good trailers.
1923
01:34:17,351 --> 01:34:18,452
That way, the people
in the block,
1924
01:34:18,519 --> 01:34:19,787
I can call them,
they can come home.
1925
01:34:19,854 --> 01:34:21,956
That is my FEMA trailer
right there.
1926
01:34:22,023 --> 01:34:23,891
I still have no power.
1927
01:34:23,958 --> 01:34:26,460
I do have water,
and I do have sewage
1928
01:34:26,527 --> 01:34:28,662
and I have a toilet
that I can sit on
1929
01:34:28,729 --> 01:34:30,197
rather than
a five-gallon bucket.
1930
01:34:30,264 --> 01:34:32,033
When is the power coming?
1931
01:34:32,099 --> 01:34:34,201
Um... whenever I decide
1932
01:34:34,268 --> 01:34:36,137
to give somebody
a blowjob, I guess.
1933
01:34:39,907 --> 01:34:41,342
Why you say that?
1934
01:34:41,409 --> 01:34:43,044
Because that's the way
I look at it.
1935
01:34:43,110 --> 01:34:44,779
When you get
a FEMA trailer--
1936
01:34:44,845 --> 01:34:46,313
which I'm fortunate
to have one
1937
01:34:46,380 --> 01:34:48,549
and most people in this
neighborhood that have one--
1938
01:34:48,616 --> 01:34:51,285
I would say 1% of them
are usable.
1939
01:34:51,352 --> 01:34:53,988
They don't have electricity
connected to them.
1940
01:34:54,055 --> 01:34:59,293
And-- and I've called
city councilmen,
1941
01:34:59,360 --> 01:35:01,562
my senators,
Jay Blossman.
1942
01:35:01,629 --> 01:35:03,831
I left a message
with the Pope, even.
1943
01:35:03,898 --> 01:35:06,600
And I'm thinking that may--
may be the answer.
1944
01:35:06,667 --> 01:35:10,671
We're here in my FEMA
condo trailer.
1945
01:35:10,738 --> 01:35:13,174
It took us...
1946
01:35:13,240 --> 01:35:16,177
We put in for it
in December,
1947
01:35:16,243 --> 01:35:18,012
and we got it, I think--
one, two, three--
1948
01:35:18,079 --> 01:35:21,315
about four months later,
which is really not
a long time to wait,
1949
01:35:21,382 --> 01:35:24,351
'cause, I mean,
there were people that
waited longer than that.
1950
01:35:24,418 --> 01:35:27,855
So four months
really wasn't that long,
but it was long enough.
1951
01:35:27,922 --> 01:35:30,324
We've been in here
two months.
1952
01:35:30,391 --> 01:35:32,760
It's not bad,
but we had a couple
1953
01:35:32,827 --> 01:35:35,196
of mild thunderstorms
last weekend
1954
01:35:35,262 --> 01:35:36,697
and it's not too stable.
1955
01:35:36,764 --> 01:35:38,899
I mean, it's sitting
on bricks,
1956
01:35:38,966 --> 01:35:43,404
so light winds
or mild to strong winds
1957
01:35:43,471 --> 01:35:45,239
are kind of like
run-for-your-life shit.
1958
01:35:45,306 --> 01:35:48,576
But we do have a house
in the back of us in case
we need to run out of here
1959
01:35:48,642 --> 01:35:50,311
and run into
a solid foundation.
1960
01:35:50,377 --> 01:35:51,812
Me and my father
1961
01:35:51,879 --> 01:35:53,948
have been living here
since about December.
1962
01:35:54,014 --> 01:35:54,982
Come on,
I'll take--
1963
01:35:55,049 --> 01:35:56,617
take you on
a tour of the
FEMA trailer.
1964
01:35:59,420 --> 01:36:01,422
It's so well-made.
1965
01:36:01,489 --> 01:36:03,157
There you go.
1966
01:36:04,158 --> 01:36:06,093
Luxurious,
spacious cabinets.
1967
01:36:06,160 --> 01:36:08,696
One of the doors to separate
the room, you know.
1968
01:36:08,762 --> 01:36:11,031
It used to stick up here,
but now we just have it
1969
01:36:11,098 --> 01:36:12,933
held on with safety pins
and twine.
1970
01:36:13,000 --> 01:36:15,803
This is
the dining room table.
1971
01:36:15,870 --> 01:36:17,371
It's not very well-built.
1972
01:36:17,438 --> 01:36:20,608
It just comes--
comes apart.
1973
01:36:20,674 --> 01:36:23,077
You know, this is
the bed area.
1974
01:36:23,144 --> 01:36:25,179
It's where I sleep.
It's-- you know.
1975
01:36:25,246 --> 01:36:27,381
I'll show you the view.
1976
01:36:28,782 --> 01:36:30,518
Look!
1977
01:36:30,584 --> 01:36:31,986
Another FEMA trailer.
1978
01:36:34,555 --> 01:36:36,557
It's straight bullshit.
1979
01:36:36,624 --> 01:36:39,527
These people have
been sitting out here
for nine months.
1980
01:36:48,202 --> 01:36:50,638
I think these politicians
forget who they work for.
1981
01:36:50,704 --> 01:36:52,173
They work for the people.
1982
01:36:52,239 --> 01:36:53,674
They think it's about
themselves.
1983
01:36:53,741 --> 01:36:56,110
There's no reason in the world
we should have this.
1984
01:37:02,116 --> 01:37:04,218
Louisiana is still
ass-backwards
1985
01:37:04,285 --> 01:37:07,988
and we still have people
who are scattered to the wind
1986
01:37:08,055 --> 01:37:09,823
and don't understand
what's next
1987
01:37:09,890 --> 01:37:13,194
or what's coming next
or where to even find it at.
1988
01:37:19,433 --> 01:37:21,702
So it's a lot
of bullshit, man.
1989
01:37:21,769 --> 01:37:23,204
It's a lot of bullshit,
and it's time
1990
01:37:23,270 --> 01:37:25,339
for the politicians
to quit the bullshit
1991
01:37:25,406 --> 01:37:27,041
and understand
who they work for.
1992
01:37:27,107 --> 01:37:29,543
I don't care who you are.
I don't care what color you are.
1993
01:37:29,610 --> 01:37:31,045
You could be orange.
1994
01:37:31,111 --> 01:37:32,846
You've gotta remember
who you work for
1995
01:37:32,913 --> 01:37:34,982
and you're working
on the backs of poor people
1996
01:37:35,049 --> 01:37:37,318
who work every day,
pay their taxes.
1997
01:37:37,384 --> 01:37:39,553
Ain't everybody here
looking for welfare.
1998
01:37:39,620 --> 01:37:42,856
People are working,
and working two and three jobs.
1999
01:37:42,923 --> 01:37:45,626
And these fools
running around here--
they don't know their head.
2000
01:37:45,693 --> 01:37:48,395
They don't know four dogs
got four assholes.
2001
01:37:52,199 --> 01:37:53,634
Can we move
onto something else?
2002
01:37:53,701 --> 01:37:55,869
'Cause this-- this is not
working for me.
2003
01:37:55,936 --> 01:37:58,706
Fuck.
2004
01:37:58,772 --> 01:38:01,775
I think that this is
a great moment in
American history...
2005
01:38:03,043 --> 01:38:04,912
because I feel
that in this moment
2006
01:38:04,979 --> 01:38:06,714
we see a lot
of what's wrong with us.
2007
01:38:06,780 --> 01:38:09,717
It's a signature moment.
It's like, sometimes you
walk past a mirror
2008
01:38:09,783 --> 01:38:12,519
and you see yourself
in a position you don't like.
2009
01:38:12,586 --> 01:38:15,055
"Damn.
Man, I know I was--
2010
01:38:15,122 --> 01:38:17,591
I thought I was
10 pounds overweight.
I'm 50."
2011
01:38:17,658 --> 01:38:19,526
This is like you stayed
in front of the mirror
2012
01:38:19,593 --> 01:38:21,328
and you couldn't
turn away from it.
2013
01:38:21,395 --> 01:38:23,397
You stayed in that pose.
2014
01:38:23,464 --> 01:38:26,200
And everything in that pose
shows us what's wrong with us.
2015
01:38:26,267 --> 01:38:30,271
I'm here today because
Louisiana needs your help.
2016
01:38:30,337 --> 01:38:34,842
Most homeowners' policies
will not pay flood losses.
2017
01:38:34,908 --> 01:38:38,145
We have an estimated
$20 to $30 billion
2018
01:38:38,212 --> 01:38:39,580
in uninsured losses.
2019
01:38:40,848 --> 01:38:43,150
If Congress
fails to help,
2020
01:38:43,217 --> 01:38:45,653
our people will have
no money to rebuild.
2021
01:38:45,719 --> 01:38:49,256
The first lawsuit we filed
was the insurance lawsuit.
2022
01:38:50,424 --> 01:38:54,662
And that was born
out of the idea
2023
01:38:54,728 --> 01:38:58,198
that most
of the insurance companies,
we knew in advance,
2024
01:38:58,265 --> 01:39:00,134
were not going to want
to pay the claims.
2025
01:39:00,200 --> 01:39:01,769
And as an aside,
2026
01:39:01,835 --> 01:39:03,971
20 years ago, there weren't
many exclusions.
2027
01:39:04,038 --> 01:39:07,641
As time goes by,
after the big Cold War,
2028
01:39:07,708 --> 01:39:10,277
they started putting in
"We're not going to pay
for nuclear war."
2029
01:39:10,344 --> 01:39:13,080
Then they said they weren't
going to pay for asbestos.
2030
01:39:13,147 --> 01:39:15,482
Then they said they're not
going to pay for lead.
2031
01:39:15,549 --> 01:39:18,118
Then they said they're not
going to pay for pollution.
2032
01:39:18,185 --> 01:39:21,689
Now they have something called
they're not going to pay
for "water damage."
2033
01:39:21,755 --> 01:39:24,291
In Mississippi today,
the opening moves
2034
01:39:24,358 --> 01:39:26,493
in a landmark lawsuit
that pits victims
2035
01:39:26,560 --> 01:39:29,663
of Hurricane Katrina against
their insurance companies.
2036
01:39:29,730 --> 01:39:33,133
As you may know,
this is a hot issue
in the storm zone.
2037
01:39:33,200 --> 01:39:35,069
The question
at the heart of this
2038
01:39:35,135 --> 01:39:37,738
is whether water damage
from Katrina
2039
01:39:37,805 --> 01:39:41,108
is classified
as hurricane damage
or flood damage.
2040
01:39:41,175 --> 01:39:42,943
The stakes here
are huge.
2041
01:39:43,010 --> 01:39:47,047
$75 billion in flood
and storm-surge damage
2042
01:39:47,114 --> 01:39:50,584
was reported
in 1.7 million claims.
2043
01:39:50,651 --> 01:39:53,253
I was told by my agent
that I had a policy
2044
01:39:53,320 --> 01:39:55,155
that would protect me
for hurricanes,
2045
01:39:55,222 --> 01:39:56,857
'cause I asked specifically
for that.
2046
01:39:56,924 --> 01:39:59,026
But Nationwide Mutual
concluded
2047
01:39:59,093 --> 01:40:01,562
that most of
the damage was
caused by flooding,
2048
01:40:01,628 --> 01:40:02,996
and because
Leonard did not have
2049
01:40:03,063 --> 01:40:05,099
a separate flood
insurance policy,
2050
01:40:05,165 --> 01:40:07,468
denied most of his claims.
2051
01:40:07,534 --> 01:40:09,737
We think the facts
clearly show
2052
01:40:09,803 --> 01:40:12,406
that the coverage
that the Leonards purchased
2053
01:40:12,473 --> 01:40:15,442
did not cover flood,
but the damage was
primarily flood.
2054
01:40:15,509 --> 01:40:18,278
This groundbreaking trial
over wind-versus-water damage
2055
01:40:18,345 --> 01:40:20,080
and which policy
covers what
2056
01:40:20,147 --> 01:40:23,283
could affect thousands
of other families along
the Gulf Coast
2057
01:40:23,350 --> 01:40:25,552
who were denied
their insurance claims
2058
01:40:25,619 --> 01:40:27,421
and have also filed suit.
2059
01:40:27,488 --> 01:40:30,157
Insurance companies
are another joke.
2060
01:40:30,224 --> 01:40:32,326
I mean, you pay
your premiums,
2061
01:40:32,393 --> 01:40:35,262
don't ever be late paying
the insurance premium,
2062
01:40:35,329 --> 01:40:37,931
and then you say,
"Well, I'm covered.
2063
01:40:37,998 --> 01:40:41,101
"I've got flood insurance.
I've got wind insurance.
2064
01:40:41,168 --> 01:40:44,271
I've got loss of use.
I've got loss of income."
2065
01:40:44,338 --> 01:40:46,006
Oh, insurance
companies.
2066
01:40:46,073 --> 01:40:47,875
Insurance companies has...
2067
01:40:47,941 --> 01:40:50,944
been playing hell
with me the whole
fricking time.
2068
01:40:51,011 --> 01:40:52,579
The argument
could be made--
2069
01:40:52,646 --> 01:40:54,615
which came first,
the chicken or the egg?
2070
01:40:54,681 --> 01:40:57,751
I think it rained
before the levees broke.
2071
01:40:57,818 --> 01:41:01,922
So it's quite possible
that your house was flooded
if you had no roof
2072
01:41:01,989 --> 01:41:04,691
before the levees broke
on Monday evening.
2073
01:41:04,758 --> 01:41:07,194
And the insurance carriers
are not honoring
2074
01:41:07,261 --> 01:41:09,997
their promise
to cover you.
2075
01:41:10,063 --> 01:41:13,333
Those "good hands" people
and the "good neighbor" people,
2076
01:41:13,400 --> 01:41:16,737
I don't believe
anything they say because
they're the worst offenders.
2077
01:41:19,673 --> 01:41:21,375
My street...
2078
01:41:21,442 --> 01:41:22,910
it's like a ghost town.
2079
01:41:22,976 --> 01:41:24,211
Nobody's here.
2080
01:41:26,914 --> 01:41:30,717
It's hard
to see a neighborhood
so full of life
2081
01:41:30,784 --> 01:41:32,753
without any life
in it anymore.
2082
01:41:35,422 --> 01:41:38,992
My father-- I knew it was
going to be hardest for him.
2083
01:41:39,059 --> 01:41:40,894
He came back
from World War II,
2084
01:41:40,961 --> 01:41:42,896
took his $10
to hold that contract,
2085
01:41:42,963 --> 01:41:46,600
took all 30 years to pay
that $13,000 for that house.
2086
01:41:46,667 --> 01:41:49,703
And he had broken his leg,
so he was shuffling
around the car.
2087
01:41:49,770 --> 01:41:52,339
Then he turned
and he saw the house
2088
01:41:52,406 --> 01:41:54,107
and he just broke down.
2089
01:41:54,174 --> 01:41:55,943
And he said,
"My whole life."
2090
01:41:56,009 --> 01:41:59,179
And that's the moment that...
I'll always remember,
2091
01:41:59,246 --> 01:42:00,280
because...
2092
01:42:02,015 --> 01:42:03,183
to see...
2093
01:42:06,053 --> 01:42:09,022
to see my father,
you know,
2094
01:42:09,089 --> 01:42:10,624
in his 80th year of life...
2095
01:42:11,959 --> 01:42:13,260
go through...
2096
01:42:16,430 --> 01:42:19,433
his darkest hour
was hard.
2097
01:42:19,500 --> 01:42:21,101
This is it.
2098
01:42:21,168 --> 01:42:23,437
This is my
childhood home.
2099
01:42:23,504 --> 01:42:26,974
Totally wiped out
by Katrina.
2100
01:42:29,643 --> 01:42:31,311
I could care less
about the house, almost.
2101
01:42:31,378 --> 01:42:32,913
It's just the fact that,
2102
01:42:32,980 --> 01:42:35,616
you know, I saw this young man,
2103
01:42:35,682 --> 01:42:37,851
young black man come back
from World War II,
2104
01:42:37,918 --> 01:42:39,586
take his last $10--
2105
01:42:39,653 --> 01:42:42,155
he always talked about
the day he bought the house.
2106
01:42:42,222 --> 01:42:43,757
He came back
to my mother and said,
2107
01:42:43,824 --> 01:42:45,092
"I bought a house today.
2108
01:42:45,158 --> 01:42:47,194
For $10, they'll hold
the contract."
2109
01:42:48,795 --> 01:42:51,765
So for him, he said,
"I've-- I have--
2110
01:42:51,832 --> 01:42:54,201
I had all my sons
in this house here."
2111
01:42:57,738 --> 01:42:59,406
Jesus.
2112
01:42:59,473 --> 01:43:01,542
The insurance
companies are--
2113
01:43:01,608 --> 01:43:04,545
there's a special, special
circle in hell for them, man.
2114
01:43:05,546 --> 01:43:08,615
Dante would--
would promote them
2115
01:43:08,682 --> 01:43:11,151
to a very special place
in hell,
2116
01:43:11,218 --> 01:43:13,053
because...
2117
01:43:14,521 --> 01:43:18,425
you know, you sit there
and you see everything
damaged
2118
01:43:18,492 --> 01:43:20,093
and they just come up
with any way to say,
2119
01:43:20,160 --> 01:43:21,595
"I'm not gonna pay you."
2120
01:43:21,662 --> 01:43:23,230
So, luckily,
we had flood insurance,
2121
01:43:23,297 --> 01:43:26,867
but the way they sell it is,
"You have homeowner's insurance,
2122
01:43:26,934 --> 01:43:28,468
"so get a little
flood insurance.
2123
01:43:28,535 --> 01:43:30,771
Between the two,
you'll be made whole."
2124
01:43:30,837 --> 01:43:33,307
But when it came to it,
it was just flood insurance.
2125
01:43:33,373 --> 01:43:35,208
Thankfully,
we had a little bit,
2126
01:43:35,275 --> 01:43:38,245
but it was like maybe
40, 50% of the value
of the house.
2127
01:43:38,312 --> 01:43:41,481
Then they said,
"Well, we'll give you wind
2128
01:43:41,548 --> 01:43:44,384
on your homeowner's insurance
above the waterline."
2129
01:43:44,451 --> 01:43:46,420
Then they came back
and said, "Everything
above the waterline
2130
01:43:46,486 --> 01:43:47,754
"was damaged
from the flood anyway.
2131
01:43:47,821 --> 01:43:49,690
We're not going
to cover that."
2132
01:43:49,756 --> 01:43:51,625
I said, "Well, we had
$12,000 insurance
2133
01:43:51,692 --> 01:43:53,393
on the shed
in the backyard."
2134
01:43:53,460 --> 01:43:55,429
I said, "There's a tree
fallen on it,
2135
01:43:55,495 --> 01:43:56,997
totally destroyed."
2136
01:43:57,064 --> 01:43:59,232
They came back and said,
"It's repairable,
2137
01:43:59,299 --> 01:44:02,202
"so we're only going
to give you 25% of that.
2138
01:44:02,269 --> 01:44:03,737
"And then we're going
to take the deductible
2139
01:44:03,804 --> 01:44:05,238
"of the full value
of the house,
2140
01:44:05,305 --> 01:44:08,442
"and your check for $670
is in the mail
2141
01:44:08,508 --> 01:44:12,279
along with the check for $400
for the time you were out."
2142
01:44:12,346 --> 01:44:17,050
You know, it was 10 days,
$40 a day, so it's in the mail.
2143
01:44:17,117 --> 01:44:19,052
So thank you very much.
2144
01:44:19,119 --> 01:44:21,622
My father's
hard of hearing, so...
2145
01:44:22,823 --> 01:44:24,458
the adjuster was there,
2146
01:44:24,524 --> 01:44:26,793
and as he was leaving,
he goes, "Hey, man"--
2147
01:44:26,860 --> 01:44:29,329
my father--
"I-I can't hear,
2148
01:44:29,396 --> 01:44:31,064
"but I just want you
to be fair.
2149
01:44:31,131 --> 01:44:33,634
Be fair with me."
You know?
2150
01:44:33,700 --> 01:44:35,402
The guy had
already told us,
2151
01:44:35,469 --> 01:44:37,537
"I'm not paying you
anything."
2152
01:44:37,604 --> 01:44:39,039
So the guy turns beet red.
2153
01:44:39,106 --> 01:44:41,808
And he goes,
"Just be fair.
Thank you."
2154
01:44:41,875 --> 01:44:44,011
So we drive 70 miles
to Baton Rouge.
2155
01:44:44,077 --> 01:44:46,213
I said, "Wait until we get
to Baton Rouge to tell Daddy."
2156
01:44:46,279 --> 01:44:47,648
So we said, "Listen."
2157
01:44:49,650 --> 01:44:52,052
I said, "Really, we got
to explain to you
2158
01:44:52,119 --> 01:44:55,022
"the insurance company's
not going to pay you anything.
2159
01:44:55,088 --> 01:44:58,659
"You are not 'in good hands
with Allstate.'
2160
01:44:58,725 --> 01:45:00,260
You're done."
2161
01:45:00,327 --> 01:45:03,530
My father said,
"What? No, man.
2162
01:45:03,597 --> 01:45:06,533
I've been paying them people
for 50 years. No."
2163
01:45:06,600 --> 01:45:09,336
I said, "No, Daddy,
they're not giving you--"
He said, "What?"
2164
01:45:09,403 --> 01:45:12,372
He said, "Man,
don't tell me that, man.
2165
01:45:12,439 --> 01:45:14,441
"I-- why you didn't
tell me in New Orleans?
2166
01:45:14,508 --> 01:45:15,942
I would have killed
that man."
2167
01:45:16,009 --> 01:45:18,011
I said, "That's why
I didn't tell you."
2168
01:45:19,846 --> 01:45:22,149
The master plan
for New Orleans
2169
01:45:22,215 --> 01:45:24,651
is to bulldoze down
the Ninth Ward.
2170
01:45:24,718 --> 01:45:26,586
The Ninth Ward
is a place
2171
01:45:26,653 --> 01:45:28,555
of predominantly
black people,
2172
01:45:28,622 --> 01:45:31,591
and you got these
land-grabbers down there,
2173
01:45:31,658 --> 01:45:33,260
the Trump land-grabbers,
2174
01:45:33,326 --> 01:45:35,929
who want to go down there
and buy up all the land.
2175
01:45:35,996 --> 01:45:38,365
And you know,
regentrification,
2176
01:45:38,432 --> 01:45:40,600
you know how that goes,
and urban renewal--
2177
01:45:40,667 --> 01:45:43,937
in the name of those things,
take this place and change it.
2178
01:45:44,004 --> 01:45:45,939
People basically
are being told
2179
01:45:46,006 --> 01:45:47,774
what you have
is of no value.
2180
01:45:47,841 --> 01:45:49,276
You won't have
an opportunity
2181
01:45:49,342 --> 01:45:52,312
for the intergenerational
transfer of wealth,
2182
01:45:52,379 --> 01:45:53,980
of property, of assets
2183
01:45:54,047 --> 01:45:56,349
from one generation
to the next.
2184
01:45:56,416 --> 01:45:57,851
And this is
particularly affecting
2185
01:45:57,918 --> 01:45:59,720
African-American communities
in New Orleans.
2186
01:45:59,786 --> 01:46:01,855
As soon as the planning
process is done--
2187
01:46:01,922 --> 01:46:04,825
which I say to you
should have been done by now.
2188
01:46:04,891 --> 01:46:07,961
Other communities
that have been devastated
along the coast
2189
01:46:08,028 --> 01:46:10,330
have already done that
so that people can make
2190
01:46:10,397 --> 01:46:14,468
their own individual
property decisions
based on fact.
2191
01:46:14,534 --> 01:46:17,537
This is 2310
Delery Street,
2192
01:46:17,604 --> 01:46:21,108
and these are
the three lots
2193
01:46:21,174 --> 01:46:24,077
that my grandparents
bought in the late--
2194
01:46:24,144 --> 01:46:26,546
like, in 1949 to build
their dream house.
2195
01:46:26,613 --> 01:46:29,683
When we came down,
my sister and I snuck in
2196
01:46:29,750 --> 01:46:32,052
and we were looking left,
looking for the house.
2197
01:46:32,119 --> 01:46:33,987
We were like,
"Do you see it?
Did it move?
2198
01:46:34,054 --> 01:46:35,822
Did it crush?
What happened?"
2199
01:46:35,889 --> 01:46:38,658
We didn't see the house,
and that's odd because
the house was really big.
2200
01:46:38,725 --> 01:46:40,961
I want you
2201
01:46:41,027 --> 01:46:43,296
the persons who
live in the
Lower Nine,
2202
01:46:43,363 --> 01:46:45,065
they were homeowners.
2203
01:46:45,132 --> 01:46:47,634
I was a homeowner.
2204
01:46:47,701 --> 01:46:50,437
35 years I worked
2205
01:46:50,504 --> 01:46:54,708
to pay for the property
that I own, plus my rentals.
2206
01:46:54,775 --> 01:46:58,078
Not only that,
I paid my tax bill.
2207
01:46:58,145 --> 01:47:00,313
I got the tax bill
in December,
2208
01:47:00,380 --> 01:47:03,750
and I paid it January--
before January 31st.
2209
01:47:03,817 --> 01:47:06,686
And on the back of that,
it said, "Police and school,"
2210
01:47:06,753 --> 01:47:09,489
and now I can't even
get a school open
2211
01:47:09,556 --> 01:47:11,725
in the Lower Nine.
2212
01:47:11,792 --> 01:47:14,294
This is what's left
of the house.
2213
01:47:15,495 --> 01:47:17,397
The house
actually lifted
2214
01:47:17,464 --> 01:47:19,466
and floated across
the street over here.
2215
01:47:19,533 --> 01:47:21,034
We were like,
"Oh, my God."
2216
01:47:21,101 --> 01:47:23,036
I don't know how
I'm going to break this
to my grandmother
2217
01:47:23,103 --> 01:47:25,205
that that house
that she loves so much,
2218
01:47:25,272 --> 01:47:27,340
that my grandfather
built, is like--
2219
01:47:27,407 --> 01:47:30,644
at this point, it's not
going to make it.
2220
01:47:30,710 --> 01:47:33,814
What really bothered me
was this risk--
2221
01:47:33,880 --> 01:47:36,116
"Building at my own risk."
2222
01:47:36,183 --> 01:47:37,617
Do you know--
2223
01:47:37,684 --> 01:47:40,153
I just want to call this
to your attention--
2224
01:47:40,220 --> 01:47:42,756
the geography?
2225
01:47:42,823 --> 01:47:47,093
New Orleans
is surrounded by water.
2226
01:47:47,160 --> 01:47:51,431
If you go north,
it's the Pontchartrain Lake.
2227
01:47:51,498 --> 01:47:53,166
If you go west,
2228
01:47:53,233 --> 01:47:55,335
it's the Bonnet Carré
Spillway.
2229
01:47:55,402 --> 01:47:58,572
If you go south,
it's the Mississippi River.
2230
01:47:58,638 --> 01:48:01,675
And if you go east,
you've got Lake Borgne
2231
01:48:01,741 --> 01:48:03,543
and all of
the little tributaries
2232
01:48:03,610 --> 01:48:05,045
in the wetlands out there.
2233
01:48:05,111 --> 01:48:07,614
So who's at risk?
2234
01:48:07,681 --> 01:48:10,050
I pulled my grandmother
to the side and I said,
2235
01:48:10,116 --> 01:48:11,651
"Nee, listen, sit down.
2236
01:48:11,718 --> 01:48:13,920
We have to tell you
what's going on."
2237
01:48:13,987 --> 01:48:16,489
And she says,
"What's going on?"
2238
01:48:16,556 --> 01:48:20,694
I said, "Well...
the house is gone.
2239
01:48:20,760 --> 01:48:22,362
It moved."
2240
01:48:22,429 --> 01:48:24,130
And she said,
"What do you mean
the house moved?"
2241
01:48:24,197 --> 01:48:27,567
I said, "The house,
it floated across
the street."
2242
01:48:27,634 --> 01:48:29,936
And, you know-- and I said,
"I don't think--"
2243
01:48:30,003 --> 01:48:31,571
I said, "It was
kind of tilted,
2244
01:48:31,638 --> 01:48:33,073
so I don't think that
it's going to make it.
2245
01:48:33,139 --> 01:48:34,908
I don't think
it's going to stand."
2246
01:48:34,975 --> 01:48:37,344
And she said, "Where is it?"
I said, "I don't know.
2247
01:48:37,410 --> 01:48:39,346
I think it's in
Mr. Johnny's yard."
2248
01:48:39,412 --> 01:48:40,847
I couldn't see
from where I was.
2249
01:48:40,914 --> 01:48:42,349
And Mr. Johnny's yard
is down there.
2250
01:48:42,415 --> 01:48:44,517
I thought it was in his yard,
but I really couldn't tell.
2251
01:48:44,584 --> 01:48:47,721
I said, "Well, I think
it's in Mr. Johnny's yard."
2252
01:48:47,787 --> 01:48:50,490
And my grandmother
just paused for a second
2253
01:48:50,557 --> 01:48:53,260
and she sits down.
2254
01:48:53,326 --> 01:48:55,662
And she looks up at me
and she says,
2255
01:48:55,729 --> 01:48:57,998
"Well, Johnny
can't never say
2256
01:48:58,064 --> 01:48:59,833
I ain't gave him nothing.
I gave him a whole house."
2257
01:48:59,900 --> 01:49:01,635
And I thought,
"Oh, G--"
2258
01:49:01,701 --> 01:49:03,370
I mean,
we're standing there
nervous and laughing
2259
01:49:03,436 --> 01:49:05,238
'cause we're relieved
that she didn't fall
to pieces.
2260
01:49:05,305 --> 01:49:08,541
New Orleanians
and Louisianians
are a resilient people,
2261
01:49:08,608 --> 01:49:11,211
and so they're going to find
a way to come back home.
2262
01:49:11,278 --> 01:49:13,647
I'm telling everybody,
"Hold tight.
2263
01:49:13,713 --> 01:49:15,448
Don't give up
your property
for anything.
2264
01:49:15,515 --> 01:49:17,951
We fought too long
to get our property,
2265
01:49:18,018 --> 01:49:20,754
so even if you
don't do anything with it,
gut it and sit on it."
2266
01:49:20,820 --> 01:49:24,057
Everybody knew
the property value in
the Ninth Ward was going up.
2267
01:49:24,124 --> 01:49:26,126
And when this
disaster happened,
2268
01:49:26,192 --> 01:49:28,595
they went,
"Here's our opportunity."
2269
01:49:28,662 --> 01:49:30,730
So developers
are now getting in bed
2270
01:49:30,797 --> 01:49:33,166
with politicians
to come with all--
to come up
2271
01:49:33,233 --> 01:49:35,268
with all these schemes
to take people's land.
2272
01:49:35,335 --> 01:49:38,271
Nine months after Katrina,
and the Lower Nine
2273
01:49:38,338 --> 01:49:40,173
still looks like
a bomb hit it.
2274
01:49:40,240 --> 01:49:42,409
I think that it's meant
to discourage
2275
01:49:42,475 --> 01:49:44,244
the neighbors
from coming back.
2276
01:49:44,311 --> 01:49:46,212
I mean,
most people have lived
in the Lower Ninth Ward
2277
01:49:46,279 --> 01:49:47,948
with a solid...
2278
01:49:49,482 --> 01:49:51,818
thought in the back
of their minds
2279
01:49:51,885 --> 01:49:54,688
that straight up,
we're not wanted here
2280
01:49:54,754 --> 01:49:56,523
in some way, shape,
form, or fashion,
2281
01:49:56,589 --> 01:49:59,292
that this area could be used
for industrial purposes.
2282
01:49:59,359 --> 01:50:01,161
We live on a waterway.
2283
01:50:01,227 --> 01:50:03,430
There are a lot of companies
who could use this area
2284
01:50:03,496 --> 01:50:06,066
for industrial purposes--
warehousing and things
like that.
2285
01:50:06,132 --> 01:50:08,034
And so a lot of people
have always felt like
2286
01:50:08,101 --> 01:50:10,804
that's been the goal
for a long time.
2287
01:50:10,870 --> 01:50:13,640
But most of the Lower Niners
I talk to are like, "Hell, no.
2288
01:50:13,707 --> 01:50:15,542
"You're not going to take
anything from me.
2289
01:50:15,608 --> 01:50:17,177
"You're not going
to run us off like that.
2290
01:50:17,243 --> 01:50:18,645
You're not going
to just shoo us away."
2291
01:50:18,712 --> 01:50:20,780
The people try
to buy us out.
2292
01:50:20,847 --> 01:50:23,416
I'm not going nowhere.
I'm keeping my little
raggedy house.
2293
01:50:23,483 --> 01:50:26,519
I'm going to stay right there
and get me some Sheetrock
and I'm going to be there.
2294
01:50:26,586 --> 01:50:28,221
Now, they can come
visit me if they want,
2295
01:50:28,288 --> 01:50:29,923
but I'll be right there
on that front porch,
2296
01:50:29,990 --> 01:50:32,692
waving at people when
they pass like I always do.
"How you all doing?"
2297
01:50:32,759 --> 01:50:35,695
We're probably going
to end up a small city,
2298
01:50:35,762 --> 01:50:38,832
gentrified,
primarily white,
2299
01:50:38,898 --> 01:50:40,800
primarily well-to-do.
2300
01:50:40,867 --> 01:50:43,903
And I think the rest
of the United States
thinks that's just fine.
2301
01:50:43,970 --> 01:50:46,840
I have publicly said,
and I will continue to say,
2302
01:50:46,906 --> 01:50:50,010
we plan to rebuild
every area of this city,
2303
01:50:50,076 --> 01:50:51,845
including the Ninth Ward.
2304
01:50:51,911 --> 01:50:55,815
And we're going to do it
regardless of if there's
a small group of people
2305
01:50:55,882 --> 01:50:58,218
that may have other plans
and other agendas.
2306
01:50:58,284 --> 01:51:00,653
New Orleans
is not New Orleans
2307
01:51:00,720 --> 01:51:03,490
without the mix of people
that were here before.
2308
01:51:03,556 --> 01:51:05,492
And it would not be
the kind of city
2309
01:51:05,558 --> 01:51:08,428
that I think most people
would treasure.
2310
01:51:08,495 --> 01:51:12,132
But it's all predicated upon
what the Corps of Engineers
2311
01:51:12,198 --> 01:51:14,667
is going to do as it relates
to levee protection.
2312
01:51:14,734 --> 01:51:17,837
June 1 is
a very significant date
to the people of New Orleans.
2313
01:51:17,904 --> 01:51:20,173
It's the beginning
of the next hurricane season.
2314
01:51:20,240 --> 01:51:22,876
And Task Force Guardian,
the Corps of Engineers--
2315
01:51:22,942 --> 01:51:24,844
we are trying
to make these repairs
2316
01:51:24,911 --> 01:51:28,314
to provide a level
of protection that existed
prior to Katrina
2317
01:51:28,381 --> 01:51:30,316
before the hurricane
season starts.
2318
01:51:30,383 --> 01:51:32,519
The Army Corps of Engineers
2319
01:51:32,585 --> 01:51:34,354
has been promising
the people
2320
01:51:34,421 --> 01:51:37,457
they would have
the levees back
2321
01:51:37,524 --> 01:51:40,960
to pre-Katrina conditions
prior to the first of June.
2322
01:51:41,027 --> 01:51:44,931
When we heard that,
a cold chill ran down our back
2323
01:51:44,998 --> 01:51:48,368
because we knew pre-Katrina
conditions were not okay.
2324
01:51:48,435 --> 01:51:54,007
New Orleans, as we begin
the hurricane season '06,
has Lego levees.
2325
01:51:54,074 --> 01:51:57,277
I mean, these things will
crumble with a strong wind.
2326
01:51:57,343 --> 01:52:01,181
Our obligation to the public
is to base our conclusions
on science,
2327
01:52:01,247 --> 01:52:03,917
on facts, on engineering,
and tell the truth.
2328
01:52:03,983 --> 01:52:05,852
Do I trust them? No.
2329
01:52:05,919 --> 01:52:09,989
They knew those levees
had issues 10, 15 years ago.
2330
01:52:10,056 --> 01:52:12,692
The Corps of Engineers
knew it...
2331
01:52:12,759 --> 01:52:15,228
the federal government knew it,
the state government knew it,
2332
01:52:15,295 --> 01:52:17,730
the city government knew it,
and they turned their head.
2333
01:52:17,797 --> 01:52:19,299
We've been honest
with the public,
2334
01:52:19,365 --> 01:52:21,401
and we have to tell them,
"Look at what we're building.
2335
01:52:21,468 --> 01:52:23,002
It's stronger than
what you had before."
2336
01:52:23,069 --> 01:52:25,738
I want to caution
all residents
2337
01:52:25,805 --> 01:52:29,843
that after much
probing and
questioning,
2338
01:52:29,909 --> 01:52:32,278
the Army Corps of Engineers
has warned me
2339
01:52:32,345 --> 01:52:36,349
that some of our lowest-lying
areas of New Orleans East
2340
01:52:36,416 --> 01:52:39,319
and the Lower Ninth Ward
will have some flooding
2341
01:52:39,385 --> 01:52:41,821
from levees overtopping
2342
01:52:41,888 --> 01:52:44,491
if another hurricane
travels along
2343
01:52:44,557 --> 01:52:46,860
the same path as Katrina.
2344
01:52:46,926 --> 01:52:48,995
The fact
of the matter
is that
2345
01:52:49,062 --> 01:52:51,397
no one
really takes it
very seriously.
2346
01:52:51,464 --> 01:52:52,465
All right?
They just--
2347
01:52:52,532 --> 01:52:53,533
they just-- it's--
2348
01:52:53,600 --> 01:52:55,401
"We're going to put
a little paste on it.
2349
01:52:55,468 --> 01:52:57,971
We'll put a little Band-Aid
and we're going to deal
with it that way."
2350
01:52:58,037 --> 01:53:01,141
And the reason why
they're doing that
is because our president
2351
01:53:01,207 --> 01:53:05,211
sees us as not quite
much of a threat, you know?
2352
01:53:05,278 --> 01:53:07,547
"Louisiana, I'm going
to get them anyway,
2353
01:53:07,614 --> 01:53:09,349
"because they buying
my bullshit.
2354
01:53:09,415 --> 01:53:12,252
"So why should I spend
billions of dollars
2355
01:53:12,318 --> 01:53:14,254
"fixing these levees
2356
01:53:14,320 --> 01:53:16,356
given the political
environment that we're in?"
2357
01:53:16,422 --> 01:53:19,959
We need a different
government.
2358
01:53:20,026 --> 01:53:22,128
We need somebody
in there
2359
01:53:22,195 --> 01:53:25,098
that actually
really and truly cares
2360
01:53:25,165 --> 01:53:28,535
about the people,
about their property,
2361
01:53:28,601 --> 01:53:31,204
about their homes.
2362
01:53:31,271 --> 01:53:33,706
You know?
Somebody who really
and truly cares.
2363
01:53:33,773 --> 01:53:35,275
But who's it going to be?
2364
01:53:37,076 --> 01:53:38,845
After Katrina, I had
the opportunity
2365
01:53:38,912 --> 01:53:42,081
to go to the Netherlands
to look at their
defense system.
2366
01:53:42,148 --> 01:53:44,751
And I was actually
embarrassed
2367
01:53:44,817 --> 01:53:47,320
to talk about ours when you
look at their system.
2368
01:53:47,387 --> 01:53:51,691
Number one,
they've built substantial
levees and they armor them.
2369
01:53:51,758 --> 01:53:54,694
They protect them
from waves and overtopping
2370
01:53:54,761 --> 01:53:57,497
and all the problems
we saw at Katrina.
2371
01:53:57,564 --> 01:54:00,133
But more importantly,
this is a very small country.
2372
01:54:00,200 --> 01:54:02,101
It's 14 million people.
2373
01:54:02,168 --> 01:54:06,072
65% of the Netherlands
is below sea level,
2374
01:54:06,139 --> 01:54:09,008
but they have
the will to go out
2375
01:54:09,075 --> 01:54:11,911
and build high enough
and strong enough to withstand
2376
01:54:11,978 --> 01:54:15,915
a one-in-10,000-year
storm-surge event.
2377
01:54:15,982 --> 01:54:18,851
We can do the kinds of things
the Dutch engineers have done,
2378
01:54:18,918 --> 01:54:21,821
and, in fact,
we should learn from them,
2379
01:54:21,888 --> 01:54:24,090
but we haven't
mobilized the will.
2380
01:54:24,157 --> 01:54:26,459
The Army Corps of Engineers
had 40 years to build
2381
01:54:26,526 --> 01:54:29,529
a protective system around
the city of New Orleans.
2382
01:54:29,596 --> 01:54:32,198
The hurricane hits
August 29th.
2383
01:54:32,265 --> 01:54:36,135
It takes them approximately
eight weeks to two months
to drain the water out.
2384
01:54:36,202 --> 01:54:38,438
So you mean to tell me
they're going to repair--
2385
01:54:38,504 --> 01:54:40,807
what they couldn't build
in 40 years,
2386
01:54:40,873 --> 01:54:43,142
they're going to repair it
in eight months
2387
01:54:43,209 --> 01:54:45,712
or 10 months
to be up to a point
2388
01:54:45,778 --> 01:54:47,413
where people
should feel secure?
2389
01:54:47,480 --> 01:54:49,582
I would caution people
2390
01:54:49,649 --> 01:54:52,518
to not be deluded,
2391
01:54:52,585 --> 01:54:57,056
to go forward in a way
2392
01:54:57,123 --> 01:54:59,425
that they understand,
2393
01:54:59,492 --> 01:55:02,962
not to buy promises
that could be false promises,
2394
01:55:03,029 --> 01:55:06,766
because it could mean
that they could lose their
lives and their homes again.
2395
01:55:06,833 --> 01:55:08,801
With the tropics
heating up, the work
2396
01:55:08,868 --> 01:55:11,537
at the 17th Street Canal
can't move quickly enough.
2397
01:55:11,604 --> 01:55:14,474
The gates are in place,
but the pumps still
aren't operational.
2398
01:55:14,540 --> 01:55:17,343
New delays make
old deadlines dicey.
2399
01:55:17,410 --> 01:55:19,178
Unfortunately,
to a large
degree,
2400
01:55:19,245 --> 01:55:20,680
our fate is
in the Corps'
hands.
2401
01:55:20,747 --> 01:55:23,950
The Corps is now blaming rain
and not enough working space,
2402
01:55:24,017 --> 01:55:26,352
and they say residents
need to keep their guard up.
2403
01:55:26,419 --> 01:55:30,290
I do believe that they should
be concerned, because...
2404
01:55:30,356 --> 01:55:32,659
we don't know what kind
of hurricane event
2405
01:55:32,725 --> 01:55:35,094
we could see
in-in-- in this year.
2406
01:55:35,161 --> 01:55:37,130
With the temporary
pumps on the bridge,
2407
01:55:37,196 --> 01:55:41,134
the Corps can pump less than
15% of the canal's capacity
2408
01:55:41,200 --> 01:55:43,036
if it needs
to close the gates.
2409
01:55:43,102 --> 01:55:46,139
The Corps says it's getting
little sleep, too,
2410
01:55:46,205 --> 01:55:48,341
having put in place
$1 billion worth
2411
01:55:48,408 --> 01:55:52,912
of flood protection
since Katrina, a work
still in progress.
2412
01:55:52,979 --> 01:55:55,148
What's going to happen
when hurricane season comes?
2413
01:55:55,214 --> 01:55:56,683
We're screwed.
2414
01:55:56,749 --> 01:55:59,118
They don't have to tell me
19 hours anymore,
2415
01:55:59,185 --> 01:56:02,655
'cause if it's
predicted on Monday,
I'm leaving Friday.
2416
01:56:02,722 --> 01:56:04,557
I'll admit, I'm scared.
2417
01:56:04,624 --> 01:56:06,025
You don't know
what's going to happen.
2418
01:56:06,092 --> 01:56:09,295
Be prepared to run and have
your place to run to.
2419
01:56:09,362 --> 01:56:11,564
If someone came to you,
2420
01:56:11,631 --> 01:56:13,666
has a house
that's near the lake
2421
01:56:13,733 --> 01:56:16,536
or a levee
or a flood wall
2422
01:56:16,602 --> 01:56:21,274
and says, "Is it safe
for me to move back in?"
2423
01:56:21,341 --> 01:56:23,710
Is it safe?
2424
01:56:23,776 --> 01:56:25,211
Remember "The Marathon Man"?
2425
01:56:25,278 --> 01:56:28,081
Oh, I remember.
With Sir Laurence Olivier?
2426
01:56:28,147 --> 01:56:29,782
Yep.
Is it safe?
2427
01:56:29,849 --> 01:56:31,918
The answer is no, it's not safe.
2428
01:57:07,286 --> 01:57:10,423
"Not just the levees broke,
the spirit broke,
2429
01:57:10,490 --> 01:57:12,191
"my spirit broke.
2430
01:57:12,258 --> 01:57:13,693
"The families broke apart.
2431
01:57:13,760 --> 01:57:15,194
"I want my mama back,
2432
01:57:15,261 --> 01:57:17,597
"I want my sister back,
I want my nephew back.
2433
01:57:19,298 --> 01:57:21,300
"The auction block broke
2434
01:57:21,367 --> 01:57:24,170
"from so many
African-American bodies.
2435
01:57:24,237 --> 01:57:26,873
"The sense of direction
was broken
2436
01:57:26,939 --> 01:57:28,908
"because of the darkness.
2437
01:57:28,975 --> 01:57:31,544
"There was light
from time to time,
2438
01:57:31,611 --> 01:57:33,346
"but they broke away
and left us.
2439
01:57:34,380 --> 01:57:36,783
"My being together broke
2440
01:57:36,849 --> 01:57:39,352
"when I fell apart.
2441
01:57:39,419 --> 01:57:41,954
"The smell broke away
from my skin
2442
01:57:42,021 --> 01:57:43,790
"when I came
out of the waters.
2443
01:57:45,358 --> 01:57:48,227
"The waters
that came and stood,
2444
01:57:48,294 --> 01:57:50,863
"still with the bodies
of my people...
2445
01:57:52,331 --> 01:57:55,635
"the dogs, shit, piss,
2446
01:57:55,701 --> 01:57:59,806
"rats, snakes,
and 'herd of' alligators...
2447
01:58:01,140 --> 01:58:03,976
"The broken smiles,
the broken minds,
2448
01:58:04,043 --> 01:58:05,278
"the broken lives.
2449
01:58:06,479 --> 01:58:07,814
"And you know something?
2450
01:58:10,349 --> 01:58:12,652
"Out of all
of this brokenness,
2451
01:58:12,718 --> 01:58:14,387
"I have begun to mend.
2452
01:58:15,955 --> 01:58:16,989
"With God...
2453
01:58:18,024 --> 01:58:19,892
"and my deep, deep
commitment
2454
01:58:19,959 --> 01:58:21,627
"to infinite strength,
2455
01:58:22,628 --> 01:58:25,364
"to never give up,
I am mending.
2456
01:58:25,431 --> 01:58:27,099
"I am coming back,
2457
01:58:27,166 --> 01:58:29,702
"God willing,
for a long, long time.
2458
01:58:30,837 --> 01:58:32,538
"So when you see
the waters,
2459
01:58:32,605 --> 01:58:35,141
"when you see
the levees breaking,
2460
01:58:35,208 --> 01:58:38,411
know what they really broke
along with them."
2461
01:59:07,773 --> 01:59:10,076
♪ Oh, one glad morning ♪
2462
01:59:10,142 --> 01:59:12,378
♪ When this life is over ♪
2463
01:59:12,445 --> 01:59:16,215
♪ I'll fly away ♪
2464
01:59:16,282 --> 01:59:18,718
♪ Oh, when I die ♪
2465
01:59:18,784 --> 01:59:21,254
♪ Hallelujah,
by and by ♪
2466
01:59:21,320 --> 01:59:25,725
♪ Oh, I'll fly away... ♪
2467
01:59:25,791 --> 01:59:29,595
♪ Oh, I'll fly away ♪
2468
01:59:29,662 --> 01:59:34,534
♪ I'll fly away ♪
2469
01:59:34,600 --> 01:59:36,736
♪ Oh, when I die ♪
2470
01:59:36,802 --> 01:59:39,205
♪ Hallelujah,
by and by ♪
2471
01:59:39,272 --> 01:59:41,874
♪ I'll fly away... ♪
2472
01:59:43,509 --> 01:59:45,378
When you were born
in this
2473
01:59:45,444 --> 01:59:47,713
and your first breath
when the doctor slaps you
2474
01:59:47,780 --> 01:59:49,682
is tinted with
magnolia blossoms
2475
01:59:49,749 --> 01:59:53,419
and you drink
Mississippi River tap water
in your first formula,
2476
01:59:53,486 --> 01:59:55,588
it's a thing that you won't
find anywhere else.
2477
01:59:55,655 --> 01:59:57,023
And folks who had to evacuate
2478
01:59:57,089 --> 01:59:58,624
know you might
go somewhere
2479
01:59:58,691 --> 01:59:59,825
and you
might have
a good time,
2480
01:59:59,892 --> 02:00:01,260
but it's nothing
like home.
2481
02:00:01,327 --> 02:00:03,896
And when you can
call New Orleans,
Louisiana, home,
2482
02:00:03,963 --> 02:00:05,264
baby, you know
what it means
2483
02:00:05,331 --> 02:00:06,566
to miss
New Orleans,
trust me.
2484
02:00:07,767 --> 02:00:11,237
♪ Fly away ♪
2485
02:00:11,304 --> 02:00:16,208
♪ Oh, when I die,
hallelujah ♪
2486
02:00:16,275 --> 02:00:21,113
♪ Well, I'll fly away ♪
2487
02:00:21,180 --> 02:00:23,716
♪ Fly away ♪
2488
02:00:23,783 --> 02:00:25,751
♪ Fly away ♪
2489
02:00:25,818 --> 02:00:30,189
♪ Said fly away ♪
2490
02:00:30,256 --> 02:00:34,427
♪ When I die,
hallelujah, by and by ♪
2491
02:00:34,493 --> 02:00:37,997
♪ New Orleans
will never go away. ♪
2492
02:00:45,538 --> 02:00:48,641
♪ ♪
2493
02:00:48,708 --> 02:00:52,745
Darleen Asevedo,
born in New Orleans, Louisiana.
2494
02:00:52,812 --> 02:00:56,215
Jay Asevedo, born
in New Orleans, Louisiana.
2495
02:00:56,282 --> 02:00:58,851
Shelton "Shakespear" Alexander,
2496
02:00:58,918 --> 02:01:02,321
Saint Bernard Parish,
Violet, Louisiana.
2497
02:01:02,388 --> 02:01:04,323
Lee Arnold,
tour manager
2498
02:01:04,390 --> 02:01:07,126
for New Orleans' own
Hot 8 Brass Band.
2499
02:01:07,193 --> 02:01:09,528
My name is
Gralen Bryant Banks,
2500
02:01:09,595 --> 02:01:12,798
born and raised in New Orleans,
Uptown in the 13th Ward.
2501
02:01:13,899 --> 02:01:16,035
I'm the Director
of Safety and Loss Prevention
2502
02:01:16,102 --> 02:01:18,337
at the Hyatt Regency,
New Orleans,
2503
02:01:18,404 --> 02:01:20,172
at Louisiana Superdome.
2504
02:01:20,239 --> 02:01:23,275
John Barry, author
of "
2505
02:01:23,342 --> 02:01:27,380
The Great
Mississippi Flood of 1927
and How It Changed America."
2506
02:01:27,446 --> 02:01:29,148
I'm Professor Robert Bea,
2507
02:01:29,215 --> 02:01:31,217
University of California,
Berkeley,
2508
02:01:31,283 --> 02:01:33,819
Department of Civil
and Environmental Engineering.
2509
02:01:33,886 --> 02:01:37,189
Actor-activist
Harry Belafonte.
2510
02:01:37,256 --> 02:01:40,726
I'm Wilhelmina Blanchard.
I'm Terence's mother.
2511
02:01:40,793 --> 02:01:45,164
And I'm Terence Blanchard,
and we're both born and raised
here in New Orleans, Louisiana.
2512
02:01:45,231 --> 02:01:47,099
I'm Kathleen Babineaux Blanco,
2513
02:01:47,166 --> 02:01:49,268
governor of the state
of Louisiana.
2514
02:01:49,335 --> 02:01:51,971
Douglas Brinkley,
American historian.
2515
02:01:52,038 --> 02:01:55,241
Joseph Bruno,
I live in a section
of the city called Carrollton,
2516
02:01:55,307 --> 02:01:57,109
and I'm a trial lawyer.
2517
02:01:57,176 --> 02:01:58,811
State Representative
Karen Carter,
2518
02:01:58,878 --> 02:02:01,113
District 93, New Orleans.
2519
02:02:01,180 --> 02:02:05,451
I'm Dr. Louis Cataldie.
I'm the state medical examiner
from the state of Louisiana.
2520
02:02:05,518 --> 02:02:08,054
Judith Morgan, Yscloskey,
2521
02:02:08,120 --> 02:02:10,256
Saint Bernard, Louisiana.
2522
02:02:10,322 --> 02:02:12,591
Cheryl Livaudais, Yscloskey,
2523
02:02:12,658 --> 02:02:14,293
Saint Bernard, Louisiana.
2524
02:02:14,360 --> 02:02:17,096
Will Chittenden,
born and raised
in New Orleans,
2525
02:02:17,163 --> 02:02:19,265
Lower Ninth,
Saint Bernard Parish.
2526
02:02:19,331 --> 02:02:21,600
Eddie Compass,
former superintendent
2527
02:02:21,667 --> 02:02:23,102
of New Orleans
Police Department.
2528
02:02:23,169 --> 02:02:25,371
How you doing?
I'm Harry "Swamp Thing" Cook,
2529
02:02:25,438 --> 02:02:27,773
and I'm the bass drummer
for the Hot 8 Brass Band.
2530
02:02:27,840 --> 02:02:30,543
Sarah Dean,
Saint Roch, New Orleans.
2531
02:02:30,609 --> 02:02:33,579
Petri Laurimaa,
Saint Roch, New Orleans.
2532
02:02:33,646 --> 02:02:36,048
Emil Dumesnil
from the Lower Ninth Ward,
2533
02:02:36,115 --> 02:02:37,817
New Orleans, Louisiana.
2534
02:02:37,883 --> 02:02:41,053
Michael Eric Dyson, author
of "
2535
02:02:41,120 --> 02:02:43,522
Hurricane Katrina
and the Color of Disaster,"
2536
02:02:43,589 --> 02:02:45,758
professor at the University
of Pennsylvania.
2537
02:02:45,825 --> 02:02:47,893
My name is Felton Earls.
I am the Professor
2538
02:02:47,960 --> 02:02:50,029
of Social Medicine
at Harvard Medical School
2539
02:02:50,096 --> 02:02:51,931
and Professor
of Human Behavior
and Development
2540
02:02:51,997 --> 02:02:53,833
at the Harvard School
of Public Health.
2541
02:02:53,899 --> 02:02:57,236
I'm Paris Ervin.
I'm a resident of New Orleans.
2542
02:02:57,303 --> 02:02:59,238
My name's Sylvester Francis.
2543
02:02:59,305 --> 02:03:02,541
I was born and raised
in New Orleans, Louisiana.
2544
02:03:02,608 --> 02:03:04,677
My name is
Herbert J. Freeman, Jr.
2545
02:03:04,744 --> 02:03:07,913
I was born
in New Orleans, Louisiana,
in the Garden District.
2546
02:03:07,980 --> 02:03:11,350
Dale Girard, Gentilly,
New Orleans, Louisiana.
2547
02:03:11,417 --> 02:03:12,985
My name is Louella Givens,
2548
02:03:13,052 --> 02:03:15,020
and I'm a lawyer
in Orleans Parish.
2549
02:03:15,087 --> 02:03:17,056
Vanita Gupta,
Assistant Counsel
2550
02:03:17,123 --> 02:03:20,126
at the NAACP Legal Defense
and Educational Fund.
2551
02:03:20,192 --> 02:03:21,360
My name is Glenn Hall,
2552
02:03:21,427 --> 02:03:23,429
I am 10 years old,
and I play the trumpet.
2553
02:03:23,496 --> 02:03:25,931
I'm Tanya Harris
from the Lower Ninth Ward.
2554
02:03:25,998 --> 02:03:28,501
I'm Josephine Butler
from Lower Ninth Ward.
2555
02:03:28,567 --> 02:03:32,204
Donald Harrison, jazz musician
from Uptown, New Orleans.
2556
02:03:32,271 --> 02:03:33,773
Darnnell Herrington,
2557
02:03:33,839 --> 02:03:35,975
born and raised
in New Orleans, Louisiana.
2558
02:03:36,041 --> 02:03:39,345
Dr. Corey Hebert, pediatrician,
New Orleans, Louisiana.
2559
02:03:39,411 --> 02:03:41,547
Damon Hewitt,
Assistant Counsel,
2560
02:03:41,614 --> 02:03:44,116
NAACP Legal Defense
and Educational Fund,
2561
02:03:44,183 --> 02:03:45,651
and a native of New Orleans.
2562
02:03:45,718 --> 02:03:48,254
Freddy Hicks,
New Orleans, Louisiana.
2563
02:03:48,320 --> 02:03:50,222
I'm Justin Hite,
Berkeley, California,
2564
02:03:50,289 --> 02:03:51,957
Common Ground
in the Lower Ninth Ward.
2565
02:03:52,024 --> 02:03:55,194
Fred Johnson,
born in New Orleans, Louisiana.
2566
02:03:55,261 --> 02:03:56,328
I'm Michael Katz,
2567
02:03:56,395 --> 02:03:58,097
Walter H. Annenberg
Professor of History
2568
02:03:58,164 --> 02:04:00,032
at the University
of Pennsylvania.
2569
02:04:00,099 --> 02:04:02,134
Michael Knight,
Lower Ninth Ward.
2570
02:04:02,201 --> 02:04:05,104
Mitch Landrieu,
Lieutenant Governor,
state of Louisiana.
2571
02:04:05,171 --> 02:04:08,140
My name is
Mrs. Phyllis Montana LeBlanc,
2572
02:04:08,207 --> 02:04:10,876
born and raised
in New Orleans.
2573
02:04:10,943 --> 02:04:12,344
Trymaine Lee, staff writer,
2574
02:04:12,411 --> 02:04:14,647
New Orleans "Times-Picayune,"
from South Jefferson.
2575
02:04:14,713 --> 02:04:19,084
Brendan Loy, blogger
and hurricane buff.
IrishTrojan.com.
2576
02:04:19,151 --> 02:04:24,056
Dr. Calvin Mackie, Professor
of Mechanical Engineering
at Tulane University,
2577
02:04:24,123 --> 02:04:26,525
member of the Louisiana
Recovery Authority,
2578
02:04:26,592 --> 02:04:29,361
born in the Seventh Ward
in New Orleans, Louisiana.
2579
02:04:29,428 --> 02:04:32,665
I'm Dr. Ben Marble.
I am an emergency room physician
2580
02:04:32,731 --> 02:04:34,133
along the Mississippi
Gulf Coast,
2581
02:04:34,200 --> 02:04:36,268
and I live
in Long Beach, Mississippi.
2582
02:04:36,335 --> 02:04:39,338
Wynton Marsalis, Pigeon Town,
New Orleans, Louisiana.
2583
02:04:39,405 --> 02:04:42,942
Kevin A. Martin, Pumping
and Power Plant Operator,
2584
02:04:43,008 --> 02:04:46,579
Melpomene Pumping
Station Number 1,
New Orleans, Louisiana.
2585
02:04:46,645 --> 02:04:49,949
My name is Hassan Mashriqui.
I'm an Assistant Professor
2586
02:04:50,015 --> 02:04:53,485
at Louisiana State University
Hurricane Center.
2587
02:04:53,552 --> 02:04:56,088
I'm Mother Audrey Mason,
from New Orleans,
2588
02:04:56,155 --> 02:04:58,490
born and raised 63 years.
2589
02:04:58,557 --> 02:05:01,760
Betty McHale...
And Charles McHale,
2590
02:05:01,827 --> 02:05:04,830
3 Park Island,
City of New Orleans.
2591
02:05:04,897 --> 02:05:06,232
I'm David Meeks,
city editor
2592
02:05:06,298 --> 02:05:07,800
of the "Times-Picayune"
in New Orleans.
2593
02:05:07,867 --> 02:05:11,270
Yes, my name is Joseph Melancon,
from New Orleans, Louisiana.
2594
02:05:11,337 --> 02:05:12,805
I'm from the Third Ward,
2595
02:05:12,872 --> 02:05:15,140
which is called
the Magnolia Project.
2596
02:05:15,207 --> 02:05:17,743
Gina Montana, Mid-City,
2597
02:05:17,810 --> 02:05:19,712
New Orleans, Louisiana.
2598
02:05:19,778 --> 02:05:22,748
Henry Morgan,
Saint Bernard, Louisiana.
2599
02:05:22,815 --> 02:05:26,919
I'm Marc Morial,
former mayor of New Orleans,
a son of New Orleans,
2600
02:05:26,986 --> 02:05:29,855
and now the president
of the National Urban League.
2601
02:05:29,922 --> 02:05:32,191
My name is
Cynthia Hedge-Morrell,
2602
02:05:32,258 --> 02:05:35,094
I'm the newly-elected
councilperson from District D,
2603
02:05:35,160 --> 02:05:37,897
New Orleans, Louisiana,
born and raised.
2604
02:05:37,963 --> 02:05:40,566
I am Arthur Morrell,
State Representative,
2605
02:05:40,633 --> 02:05:45,771
from District 97
in New Orleans, Louisiana.
2606
02:05:45,838 --> 02:05:47,339
My name is
Joycelyn Moses.
2607
02:05:47,406 --> 02:05:48,741
My name is
Anthony Dunn.
2608
02:05:48,807 --> 02:05:50,743
And we both are residents
of New Orleans,
2609
02:05:50,809 --> 02:05:52,745
been here all our life.
2610
02:05:52,811 --> 02:05:55,714
Ray Nagin,
mayor of the city
of New Orleans.
2611
02:05:55,781 --> 02:05:59,184
My name is Linda Novak,
and I live in Holy Cross,
Lower Ninth Ward.
2612
02:05:59,251 --> 02:06:02,588
Soledad O'Brien, co-anchor,
CNN, "American Morning."
2613
02:06:02,655 --> 02:06:03,923
Sean Penn.
2614
02:06:03,989 --> 02:06:05,925
My name is Bennie Pete,
and I'm a tuba player
2615
02:06:05,991 --> 02:06:07,559
for the Hot 8 Brass Band.
2616
02:06:07,626 --> 02:06:12,264
Wendell Pierce,
born in Pontchartrain Park,
New Orleans.
2617
02:06:12,331 --> 02:06:15,501
Kimberly Polk, I lived
in the Bywater community
2618
02:06:15,567 --> 02:06:17,670
of New Orleans, Louisiana.
2619
02:06:17,736 --> 02:06:20,306
Pastor James Pullings, Jr.,
of the Leviticus Church
2620
02:06:20,372 --> 02:06:22,408
of God in Christ,
Queens, New York.
2621
02:06:22,474 --> 02:06:26,845
Garland Robinette, WWL Radio,
New Orleans, Louisiana.
2622
02:06:26,912 --> 02:06:31,317
Robert Rocque, born and raised
in New Orleans, Louisiana.
2623
02:06:31,383 --> 02:06:34,653
Junior Rodriguez,
Saint Bernard Parish President.
2624
02:06:34,720 --> 02:06:39,925
Daina Saulny, born and raised
New Orleans, Louisiana.
Seventh Ward.
2625
02:06:39,992 --> 02:06:41,694
Michael Scott Schlacter,
2626
02:06:41,760 --> 02:06:43,929
I am the founder
and chief meteorologist
2627
02:06:43,996 --> 02:06:46,432
of Weather 2000
in New York City.
2628
02:06:46,498 --> 02:06:50,336
Jeffrey David Schultz,
Chief Climatologist
at Weather 2000.
2629
02:06:50,402 --> 02:06:52,871
Jay Scully,
Long Beach, Mississippi.
2630
02:06:52,938 --> 02:06:55,774
Mike Seelig,
Uptown, New Orleans.
2631
02:06:55,841 --> 02:06:58,544
I'm Colonel Lewis Setliff,
Commander, Task Force Guardian,
2632
02:06:58,610 --> 02:07:01,780
US Army Corps of Engineers,
here in New Orleans, Louisiana.
2633
02:07:01,847 --> 02:07:05,718
I'm Reverend Al Sharpton,
president of National
Action Network.
2634
02:07:05,784 --> 02:07:08,420
Brian Thevenot, staff writer
at the "Times-Picayune."
2635
02:07:08,487 --> 02:07:10,456
I live in Uptown,
New Orleans, Louisiana.
2636
02:07:10,522 --> 02:07:12,624
Charlie Varley,
photojournalist,
2637
02:07:12,691 --> 02:07:15,361
citizen of the world,
New Orleans, Louisiana.
2638
02:07:15,427 --> 02:07:18,097
Ivor van Heerden,
Deputy Director
2639
02:07:18,163 --> 02:07:21,834
of the Louisiana State
University Hurricane Center.
2640
02:07:21,900 --> 02:07:23,936
My name is
Elder William Walker, Jr.,
2641
02:07:24,003 --> 02:07:26,438
pastor of the Noah's Ark
Missionary Baptist Church,
2642
02:07:26,505 --> 02:07:29,708
located in Central City,
New Orleans, Louisiana.
2643
02:07:29,775 --> 02:07:31,510
Rhonda Washington,
registered nurse,
2644
02:07:31,577 --> 02:07:34,046
- high-risk OB/
- GYN, University Hospital.
2645
02:07:34,113 --> 02:07:36,448
Kanye West, artist.
2646
02:07:36,515 --> 02:07:40,285
Roy Williams, Director,
Louis Armstrong New Orleans
International Airport.
2647
02:07:46,091 --> 02:07:49,995
♪ This time I'm walkin'
to New Orleans ♪
2648
02:07:53,265 --> 02:07:56,301
♪ I'm walkin'
to New Orleans ♪
2649
02:07:58,203 --> 02:08:01,407
♪ I'm gonna need
two pair of shoes ♪
2650
02:08:01,473 --> 02:08:04,209
♪ When I get through
walkin' these blues ♪
2651
02:08:04,276 --> 02:08:08,313
♪ When I get back
to New Orleans ♪
2652
02:08:10,049 --> 02:08:14,119
♪ I've got
my suitcase
in my hand ♪
2653
02:08:16,655 --> 02:08:19,391
♪ Now ain't that
a shame? ♪
2654
02:08:22,661 --> 02:08:25,064
♪ I'm leavin'
here today ♪
2655
02:08:25,130 --> 02:08:27,866
♪ Yes, I'm goin'
back home
to stay ♪
2656
02:08:27,933 --> 02:08:31,870
♪ Yes, I'm walkin'
to New Orleans ♪
2657
02:08:34,540 --> 02:08:37,342
♪ You used to be
my honey ♪
2658
02:08:40,512 --> 02:08:43,215
♪ Till you spent
all my money ♪
2659
02:08:46,385 --> 02:08:49,088
♪ No use for you
to cry ♪
2660
02:08:49,154 --> 02:08:51,590
♪ I'll see you
by and by ♪
2661
02:08:51,657 --> 02:08:55,461
♪ 'Cause I'm walkin'
to New Orleans ♪
2662
02:08:58,097 --> 02:09:01,166
♪ I've got no time
for talkin' ♪
2663
02:09:04,169 --> 02:09:07,172
♪ I've got to keep
a-walkin' ♪
2664
02:09:10,109 --> 02:09:12,544
♪ New Orleans is
my home ♪
2665
02:09:12,611 --> 02:09:15,481
♪ That's the reason
why I'm goin' ♪
2666
02:09:15,547 --> 02:09:19,284
♪ Yes, I'm walkin'
to New Orleans ♪
2667
02:09:21,954 --> 02:09:25,257
♪ I'm walkin'
to New Orleans ♪
2668
02:09:27,793 --> 02:09:31,163
♪ I'm walkin'
to New Orleans ♪
2669
02:09:33,632 --> 02:09:37,069
♪ I'm walkin'
to New Orleans ♪
2670
02:09:39,404 --> 02:09:40,472
♪ I'm walkin' ♪