NEW ORLEANS — On the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, hundreds gathered at the levees in the Lower 9th Ward, one of the sites where floodwaters rushed in and devastated the community, to honor the lives lost, reflect on the city’s resilience, and call for lasting change. The ceremony was filled with the complexity of emotions about a day that remains etched in the city’s memory and the hearts of those who lived it.
“Our city, our families, our neighbors suffered a wound so deep it still aches,” speaker Tracie Washington said. “We remember the lives lost.”
Attendees came to grieve, to heal, and to bear witness. The ceremony included the pouring of libations in honor of those who did not survive, reflecting the immense human toll of the disaster. The day also held space for frustration over the failed infrastructure that caused devastation, death, and destruction…