The Lower Ninth Ward
Abby Bogomolny

I've struggled with how to express to others what we experienced as volunteers for Common Ground seven months after Katrina in NOLA (New Orleans, La.). Common Ground is a blessing. But how can I translate into words the institutionalized neglect of property owners in the Lower Ninth Ward?

When the French and Spanish first colonized the Louisiana Delta, the Lower Ninth Ward was a cypress swamp between Lake Ponchartrain and the Mississippi River, much like the west of New Orleans. In fact, the "Lower" in Lower Ninth refers to its location on the Mississippi River, not its altitude. The highest and safest land, running along the bank of the Mississippi, is the southernmost strip of the Lower Ninth Ward called "Holy Cross." This geography mirrors the rest of New Orleans, which is why the French Quarter, rimming the Mississippi, escaped severe flooding. So did much of Holy Cross.

During slavery times, the cypress swamp was drained to become a plantation. Today businesses in New Orleans still run tours of renovated plantations to keep the "good ol' plantation days" alive. Such nostalgic reenactments of plantation life keep the institutionalized neglect of the Lower Ninth Ward possible. The tourist shops still sell miniature Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ned thimbles, in addition to "comic" postcards of alligators eating little black children.
After emancipation, the Lower Ninth Ward was annexed by New Orleans, and around 1910, the Army Corps of Engineers completed the Industrial Canal, effectively separating what was to become the Lower Ninth Ward from the Bywater and the rest of the Ninth Ward.

Those who say the Lower Ninth should not be rebuilt because it sits on ecologically unstable land should rethink that premise. Why does CALTRANS rebuild Devil's Slide on Highway 1 south of San Francisco every other year? It will only fall back into the ocean again. Geologists tell us that the cause of the slide sits offshore and cannot be remedied.
Should San Francisco have rebuilt the Marina District after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake? It sits on drained, filled marshlands, known to sustain the most damage in an earthquake.

Why did the bankers reinvest in the homes destroyed by fires in the Oakland Hills? The East Bay Hills like much of the hill and canyon topography in California, is susceptible to annual grass fires. Much of the San Francisco financial district, parts of the Mission and China Basin also sit on fill. So do Milpitas and several parts of Western Santa Rosa near the Laguna portion of Green Valley Creek. Land that has not been filled floods regularly, like Guerneville. What massaged data and private sentiments support public and private decisions to rebuild a neighborhood?

If any of the above areas experience a natural disaster, do we say, "Sorry, property owners, too bad. We're not going to help you"? No, for the most part we respect individuals' rights and their lifetime investments. People of all political persuasions were outraged, for example, at the recent Supreme Court decision to allow government to take private property by eminent domain that it then gives to private developers.

However, when it comes to the Lower Ninth Ward, an area where 60 percent of Black families own their own homes, the city of New Orleans, state of Louisiana and the federal government pass the buck - in prevention before the storm, relief efforts during the storm and rebuilding assistance today.

Because we did not rent a car, I took many taxis during my stay in New Orleans. Several white taxi drivers, upon hearing that my destination was the Ninth Ward - not even the Lower Ninth Ward - said to me, thinking it was ok because they saw a white face, "Oh, you should have seen that place before Katrina. So much crime, killing and drugs. It was good thing for it to be washed away."

I am so sorry to report that these toxic stereotypes that stop us from thinking clearly are still popular. During my trip to New Orleans, I heard the old-fashioned form of chilling hatred that revels in nostalgic reminiscences of plantation life. Unfortunately, these raw sentiments are mirrored in the institutional decisions of bankers and the political decisions of elected representatives at the city, state and federal level.

If we tolerate such blatant disregard for the rights of citizens, the same thing can one day happen to any community in the U.S. We are talking about people who have bought homes, paid monthly mortgages, some for up to 25 years.

Most homeowners of the Lower Ninth Ward today, including those who have paid off their houses, are not eligible for new mortgages because their primary residences are worth nothing without a government commitment to rebuild the infrastructure of the neighborhood. These homes represent the assets, livelihoods and opportunities of these families.
It has been seven months since Katrina, and FEMA has not had the decency to find all of the human dead buried under the rubble in the Lower Ninth Ward. The dead were not left to rot in other parts of New Orleans.

Common Ground Relief provides essential assistance to the residents of the Ninth Ward. Support the efforts of Common Ground. 1415 Franklin Ave., New Orleans, LA 70117, (504) 218-6613, www.commongroundrelief.org.

Back Table of Contents: In Our Own Words

***

Back to BB Publications Home