New Orleans - February 19, 2018

Our group with John and Walter Taylor

Monday, February 19, 2018

Last night, Sunday night, our first night in Lacombe was a success. After a quick basketball game in the driveway, we headed in for some salad and shepherd’s pie. Students were scattered throughout the house, sleeping on couches, beds and air mattresses, but were up and out of the house by 8:30 this morning for our first adventure, a driving tour of New Orleans. The previous day, we had explored the French Quarter and Bourbon Street, seeing the tourist attractions in the city, but not the poverty and misfortune that also happen to be present. The driving tour allowed us to see the city’s hardships, and also some historical sites. We drove through the 9th Ward and into the Lower 9th Ward, a neighborhood that had been hit hard by Katrina and some smaller hurricanes that followed. The Lower 9th is beneath sea level, and was subject to major flooding when the levees breached during Katrina. The damage it took was evident by the abundant houses and empty lots, yet to be rebuilt or moved back into. Lower 9th Ward also held, in my opinion, the best and most interesting stop of the tour, the bayou. Students were given a chance to get out of the car, stretch their legs, enjoy the scenery, and talk with John Taylor, a New Orleans native and self proclaimed “Swamp Guy.” He spoke with us about the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet and the effects it had on the bayou, as it introduced both salt water and new animals that endangered native New Orleans plants and animals.

Bayou Bienvenue

We were also fortunate enough to see the spot where Homer Adolph Plessy was arrested. This sparked the Plessy vs. Ferguson case, and foreshadowed the civil rights movement.

After finishing the driving tour, we gathered as a group with our Needham friends and talked about the idea of race. At first, it was a bit awkward to talk openly with them because we have never met them before. Luckily, we played ice breakers to be more comfortable talking and laughing with them. Expressing our own opinions about what race personally means to us was a very enlightening experience. Many had ideas from all sides of the race spectrum giving everyone a complete idea of the topic.

After we finished our discussion, we hopped in our Grand Caravans and headed toward a church to join a group called Justice and Beyond for a potluck supper. There, we would talk about the issues of community organizing in modern New Orleans society. As we stepped into the air-conditioned church, the aroma of grilled chicken swirled around our noses causing a jolting sensation of hunger. Once we introduced ourselves to our hosts, we sat down next to our Needham friends and waited to be called up to the food line. After receiving food, we sat back down and listened to the proceedings. The first presentation was about how the New Orleans government wants to integrate a gas plant in an eastern district to ensure an efficient and reliable electrical grid. The presenters started by making excellent points about how the location of the gas plant would be a public safety issue and how it would be prone to flooding. The next presentation was focused on the juvenile judicial system and how they incarcerate children. Topics of trauma, parental concern, and rising arrest rates were touched upon. After the presentations, there were also plenty of insightful questions that gave the audience a new perspective on the ideas. Once the event concluded, we said goodbye to our hosts and our Needham friends, and started a trek back up to the Northshore. As we headed back, we nagged Mr. McGonagle and Mrs. Myers for some authentic Popeye’s Chicken and they budged! We feasted like kings! Monday, February 19th was a day of learning, discussing, and most importantly, fun.

Jerry and Chet