15 years ago, Hurricane Katrina impacted my life as it did for so many countless others. My story is more positive than many, whereas I was not in Louisiana when the storm hit. But as a child of Caribbean parents and a native resident of Florida I was watching intently as the storm formed, grew, and hit New Orleans (while it could have hit any place that I lived or cared about - hurricane season is always stressful). And as a Black American, I watched in horror as thousands of Black Americans died… As a city was wiped out… As a mayor was misled and then further misled… As a governor and President just sat on the sidelines… As people clung to roofs… As people suffered on the bridge… As people wept in an overpacked Superdome… As the loss of life, culture, and the property was incalculable…
At the time, I was a sophomore at Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, Florida which is an HBCU with a student population that included residents from New Orleans. I also was serving in the Student Government Association. After watching the devastation, and Kayne’s remarks about it, an article came out in the local newspaper praising the local traditional university regarding their recycling efforts while noting that my school, full of Black students, did not have an equivalent program in place. I was furious. Here the next generation of Black leaders, at one of the leading institutions of the nation, was noted to be not contributing (or even leading) to the solution that will help lessen the impacts of another Katrina. See I understood that Katrina, and future storms like it, were going to continue unless we did something about climate change and one of the most impactful things you can do regarding climate change is recycle. The more we reuse, the less we create, and the less that sits in landfills or (worse) appears in oceans.
So I went into action. I took the article to the President of the Student Government and asked him what were we going to do about the disparity? And he informed me that I could be appointed to a newly formed FAMU Green Coalition which was comprised of faculty, staff, and students who wanted to work on the University’s green efforts. So I went to work with the Green Coalition. And we did great work! We increased awareness, had events, and even gave out Compact Florescent lightbulbs to replace fluorescent lightbulbs to local citizens. I loved making an impact on the local community and student body regarding the impact of climate change on minority communities.
My care of the environment has been something I was raised with as a child. The sensitive ecological system of South Florida and the Caribbean islands my family came from was always something I considered. And when I saw Greta Thunberg’s student-led protests about climate change, I remembered how much fire I had about climate change as a young person. It’s so important that the next generation sees beyond the gridlock that our current leaders are in with their unwillingness to honestly address and create real action regarding climate change. We only have one planet and it’s all connected. Each ecosystem, each ocean, each life. What are we going to do about what type of planet we are leaving our children? What can money give you if you do not have access to clean water or air? And worse what about those who cannot afford to purchase clean water or move to clean air?
While at FAMU I realized that minorities and low-income populations will be the ones most impacted by climate change and have the least amount of resources to deal with the consequences. The people of New Orleans lived in a low laying area. They did not have the resources or insights to evacuate. They did not have the resources to survive the aftermath of such devastation nor to rebuild. There’s a theory that we need to fight climate change before we hit a critical tipping point if no return. I do not believe that. I believe we are already suffering from the impacts of climate change and that it will only get worse. And the people who will be impacted are not the ones who are in control of the decisions.
P.S. I do have one positive note about Hurricane Katrina. My cat Lilo was born during/after the storm and was rescued from New Orleans after the storm by her previous caregivers. I adopted Lilo after they had to move and we’ve been together ever since undergrad. She’s such a sweetie and a great reminder that great things can come from horrible situations.