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Snapshots from New Orleans
"The kids’ stories of sleeping in the dark with no air conditioning, with bugs crawling all over them, are jaw dropping."
By Brandon McFarland
Youth Radio's Brandon McFarland visits New Orleans for the first time and blogs about his experiences: Including staying up late and going dumb to New Orleans' bounce music - a particular flavor of hip-hop that grew out of the Gulf Coast region... But Brandon also reflects on the connections between New Orleans and his hometown, Oakland, as he explores the city's religious communities and enters into the homes of Hurricane survivors.
It’s the end of my fifth day in New Orleans, and I’m still soaking up all of the culture. I still haven’t gotten the hang of kickin’ it all night and being ready to work as early as seven a.m. That’s what time I was supposed to wake up today.
I went to nine o’clock mass at a Catholic church. It was interesting, to say the least. There were a lot of rituals I didn’t understand and have never had to do before. What was more interesting was that this is a “African-American Catholic community” – with a white priest! I’ll be interviewing him, and some young parishioners on Wednesday, their youth night.
I also went to another church service in a rented building. It was missing a lot of its members. I interviewed a young lady, 17-year-old Tiffany, who basically said the church was a shadow of its former self. Most of the members are dispersed across Houston, Atlanta and Memphis. But, that church’s Sunday service felt more like home – same church mothers, same hats, same prayers, same spirit.
Some of the most powerful interviews I’ve done were with the Robinson family, who take pride in pulling together and saving their home in the 9th Ward after Katrina. For those who don’t know, before the hurricane, the 9th Ward was one of the roughest hoods in New Orleans. Now it’s become a ghost town and only a few homes are still habitable. Robert Sr., Angela - the mother - and their children, Angelica, Robert Jr., Chris, Raymond, and eight month old Baby Elijah opened their home up to me and another producer, Brett. The look and feel of the house was just like some of my family’s spots back in Oakland and made me feel right at home.
After the hurricane, the family stayed in their house until the National Guard pulled them out. The kids’ stories of sleeping in the dark with no air conditioning, with bugs crawling all over them, are jaw dropping. Their mom was seven months pregnant at the time. What was cool was that all the kids hailed their dad as the one who brought the family through. Nowadays, it’s rare to see complete family structures in the hood. Interviewing the kids made me think about just how important the father’s role is in a family.
Now, I’m about to go eat some fine cuisine, and go dumb to some “bounce” music.
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