20 Years After Katrina
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Yessenia Funes writes with heart and soul. Her immense passion and grit are felt in each thought. Possibilities is the quintessential gathering of important topics and teaches each reader to challenge the status quo, and most importantly: knowledge is power. She brings the heartbreaking truth of this world to us with new eyes and new questions with a commanding voice. She sings for those voices that are burdened by injustice, bringing light and inspiration for the change we all need.
LISTENING: to taylor swift on repeat
FEELING: anxious
SEEING: a mountain view from outside my hotel window
I just landed in Asheville, North Carolina, where I'm going to meet with immigrant families who are still recovering a year after Hurricane Helene pummeled the region. My visit coincides with the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, which shocked the world when the storm killed over a thousand people.
Southern states remain immensely vulnerable despite all the time that has passed. And with all that the president is doing, I worry how much resilience they'll be able to develop in the next 20 years.
Former President Joe Biden (while imperfect) invested in communities that the federal government has historically ignored. His administration did what hadn't been done before; they prioritized environmental and climate justice by injecting billions of dollars into a green economy. In Louisiana and beyond, organizations were hopeful they could finally start to build the foundation to weather the next storm. Donald Trump, however, pulled the rug out from under them.
“Any day, the next devastating storm could land on our radar," said Dr. Beverly Wright, founder and executive director of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice, in a press call. "We know how to prepare. We just don’t have the resources because they’re being illegally withheld by an administration that is completely indifferent to our communities.”
Now, Trump is ordering community groups to abandon undocumented immigrants or risk losing federal grants.
Remember how Kanye West said on national television that then-President George W. Bush didn't care about Black people? Well, the current president doesn't care about them, either. Or Latine people. Or Brown people. Or people without papers. Or anyone who isn't white or wealthy or both. How I wish the Kanye of 20 years ago still existed to call this shit out.
I've got my first interview in about an hour. I never feel prepared for the shock of talking to disaster victims. I know pain, and I know struggle. But I still don't know the fear of surviving catastrophe. I hope I never do, but if there's anything I know in the 20 years since Katrina opened the eyes of the world, it's that none of us are safe. Indeed, it's only a matter of time until we all have our own stories of floods and flames. 🌀
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