Holding Out and Hanging On After Katrina: Photographs and Narratives

Figure 1.

Antoinette K-Doe, Mother-In-Law Lounge North Claiborne Avenue, New Orleans November 2, 2005
© Thomas Neff, 2005

When Antoinette returned to the famed Mother-in-Law Lounge, she found it moldy, rank, and utterly destroyed. Determined to rebuild it and honor the memory of her famous late husband, Ernie, she began the arduous task of gutting the ruined interior.

Her efforts gained momentum in the spring of 2006 when entertainer Usher and the Hands-On Foundation joined together to finish the job—considerably improving the structure and her upstairs apartment. On the anniversary of Katrina, the lounge reopened to a crowd of over 3,000 people in a celebration for New Orleans and its great musical heritage.

Figure 2.

Ashton O'Dwyer St. Charles Avenue, New Orleans September 20, 2005
© Thomas Neff, 2005

With steadfast resolve, Mr. O'Dwyer defended his property from the threat of looters by proclaiming to local and national television correspondents that if anyone crossed his property line without permission, there would be gunfire. With a mad twinkle in his eye, he further proclaimed that he was seceding from the State of Louisiana and the United States of America, and that his property was now a sovereign state, subject to its own laws and regulations . . . yet to be determined.

Figure 3.

Caroline Koch Mandeville Street, the Marigny, New Orleans October 20, 2005
© Thomas Neff, 2006

To a few young individuals in the Marigny neighborhood, this rooftop slogan represented the manifold dysfunction of local, state, and federal agencies during the rescue, relief, and recovery efforts after the storm. The sentiment was spawned by the neighbors' efforts to help one another as well as two hundred members of a Lower Ninth Ward church, who waded to the relative safety of a school across the street. Most were elderly who had fled without taking their life-saving medications. These young rescuers made a medication list, waded in darkness to a looted drugstore, and in two hours they filled the most crucial prescriptions.

Figure 4.

Joseph Glover Josephine Street, New Orleans
© Thomas Neff, 2005

During the storm, Joseph could not leave his pit bulls behind; they were, after all, his family. Afterwards he helped neighbors wade to the Superdome, later identified the dead, and worked tirelessly to clean his block after the waters receded. Despite a note he posted about the dogs, he came home one afternoon to a pool of blood. As the story was retold, "well-meaning" rescuers attempted to retrieve his yelping puppies, but the mother and the aggressive male would not allow entry, so the authorities were summoned, the adult animals shot, and the puppies removed.

After the outrage and shock had subsided, Joseph realized that after enduring the most abject experiences of his life, his staying behind "amounted to nothing."

Figure 5.

Marie Jones Magazine and Walnut Streets, New Orleans October 1, 2005
© Thomas Neff, 2005

The children of this uptown matron became quite distraught when she would not evacuate before Katrina hit. Fortunately, they were able to communicate by telephone and after the levees broke. Her son in California conjured up a rescue plan that involved his paddling a surf board straight across the river from the West Bank, rescuing her, and then taking her to his sister's house in Baton Rouge. In the end, Marie insisted that he stay put. She would not have him risk certain death on a surfboard, of all things, especially when she was doing just fine.

Figure 6.

Tommie Elton Mabry B. W. Cooper Public Housing Complex M. L. King Boulevard, Central City, New Orleans November 17, 2005
© Thomas Neff, 2005

From the outset, Tommie documented the events of each day by writing on the interior walls of his "project" apartment, and the daily entries...