Modern History: Documenting Katrina
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Volume XXVI, Number 3 Summer 2009 Modern History: Documenting Katrina The Historic New Orleans Collection Quarterly 1 Modern History: The Collection Continues to Document Katrina Department of Corrections Tactical Team gathers in prayer before entering Orleans Parish Prison to evacuate prisoners after Hurricane Katrina, photograph courtesy of Louisiana Department of Corrections or the past four years, of tactical units, bus drivers, medical staff, interior walls and were loose within the The Historic New probation and parole officers, and DOC prison. Fights, fires, and rioting ensued. Orleans Collection administrators from facilities in Kinder, OPCSO staff in that building retreated to has been engaged Cottonport, Jackson, Angola, Dequincy, a safe area and awaited help from DOC. in an extensive oral Pineville, Keithville, Angie, and St. In other buildings, prisoners stood in history initiative to Gabriel, as well as the Department of chest-deep water, while OPCSO staff did Fdocument Hurricane Katrina and its Corrections headquarters in Baton Rouge. what they could in such a desperate situ- immediate aftermath in Louisiana. To The storm experiences of these individu- ation. Later it was discovered that a num- date, nearly 600 first responders have als, as reported here, make an invaluable ber of inmates had escaped during the been interviewed. When fully transcribed contribution to the historical record being initial chaos before DOC arrived, but in and cataloged, these narratives lay the compiled by The Collection. the weeks and months that followed, each foundation for Katrina scholarship. Each Immediately following the storm, was apprehended. summer, the Quarterly has featured the DOC personnel from correctional facili- With the water still rising, the first experiences of one of the numerous local, ties around the state were dispatched priority for DOC was to move prisoners state, and federal agencies that have par- to New Orleans. The Orleans Parish to dry ground. Inmates with their hands ticipated in the project. In 2009 the Criminal Sheriff’s Office (OPCSO) had bound were transported by boat to a high- Louisiana Department of Corrections decided not to evacuate the parish pris- way overpass where they waited under the (DOC) granted The Collection access to ons before the storm. So, when the levees supervision of correctional and probation state corrections facilities. Pam Laborde, broke, more than 6,000 inmates housed and parole officers. For the most part, Michael Wynne, and Maurice Rabalais in a complex of prison buildings in down- the prisoners were relieved to be out of of DOC were instrumental in facilitating town New Orleans needed immediate the floodwater, but the sheer number of the agency’s participation in the project. evacuation. The buildings had lost power inmates on the overpass caused problems. Throughout the winter and spring, inter- when the floodwaters rose, leaving the inte- Fights broke out, and on several occasions views were conducted with more than 100 riors black as night and oppressively hot. officers used chemical agents and guard offenders, correctional officers, members In one building, prisoners broke through dogs to maintain control. 2 Volume XXVI, Number 3 — Summer 2009 Above and on cover: Inmates waiting for buses, photograph courtesy of Louisiana Department of Corrections Once the evacuation process was personnel and threw things at them. One under way, attention shifted to regaining officer recalled having to talk a man down control of the building that had been taken at gunpoint after the man charged him over by prisoners. Tactical teams (DOC with a hatchet. Non-lethal force had to be personnel trained to quell inmate distur- used on a few occasions to disperse civil- bances) entered the building. Non-lethal ians who disrupted the evacuation process. force, such as the use of beanbag guns, was Many DOC personnel chose to rescue the employed as the teams cleared the building most fragile civilians by bringing them floor by floor. The tactical teams regained along when they returned to Baton Rouge control of the building and subdued the in their state cars. One officer spoke of inmates without serious injury to anyone. picking up a paraplegic man sitting in a But interviewees reported that the impact bucket of his own urine and taking him of the beanbag and the sound of its fire to the field hospital at Louisiana State resembled that of a real gun and that many University. Another interviewee broke of the inmates may have initially thought down in tears when she recalled a mother that real ammunition was being used. pleading with her to take her child out of The interviews with DOC person- New Orleans. nel were often emotional. Many expressed The daunting task of evacuating the frustration that they could not do more to prisons was just the first of the depart- Inmates being transported help civilians who had sought high ground ment’s response efforts, the full story of out of New Orleans on buses, on the overpass where DOC was staging which cannot be recounted in this short photograph courtesy of Louisiana the inmate evacuation. Many civilians article. Some personnel remained in New Department of Corrections resented that they remained stranded while Orleans for months after the storm. They inmates from the parish prisons were being established and operated a temporary jail rescued. Some verbally assaulted DOC at the Greyhound/Amtrak station and The Historic New Orleans Collection Quarterly 3 of Katrina as an opportunity to sever ties with incarcerated relatives. Prison social workers spoke of the emotional impact that this had on inmates. The most poignant memories revealed in THNOC interviews with DOC per- sonnel relate to the discovery of deceased storm victims. Interviewees teared up when they described seeing the body of a man whom civilians said had been mur- dered and thrown off the overpass. Others spoke of finding the body of another man who had been shot in the head in a nearby neighborhood. These images haunt not only the original witnesses but also those of us who share in the memories through oral history interviews. Remembering Katrina is often difficult, but it is only by Above and below: Inmates waiting to be evacuated, photographs courtesy of Louisiana Department of remembering that we acknowledge the Corrections significance of every human life. We are provided additional security for local agen- alongside individuals who had been unlikely to find justice and resolution for cies. Correctional facilities in every corner arrested for public drunkenness the week- all that happened after the storm, but it of the state scrambled to find room for the end prior to Katrina. It took months to is our obligation to learn and remember. approximately 6,000 displaced inmates. verify identities. DOC personnel worked The Historic New Orleans Collection Most of the New Orleans inmate records to locate the families of inmates and continues to do so by documenting the were destroyed, so DOC staff had no way helped reestablish contact. Some families, storm and its aftermath. of identifying prisoners. Murderers arrived however, took the chaos and confusion —Mark Cave 4 Volume XXVI, Number 3 — Summer 2009 Mark Your Calendar Fifteenth Annual Williams Research Center Symposium Between Colony and State Louisiana from 1803 to 1812 From the January 2010 Director his summer The Historic New TOrleans Collection will submit documentary materials in anticipation of becoming accredited by the Ameri- can Association of Museums for the fourth time. AAM’s accreditation is a rigorous program of institutional self- examination that includes a site visit by peer reviewers. The process promotes Have You Considered the standards and best practices attained by the museum profession. a Planned Gift? AAM has provided this program for museums of all types for almost 40 To better serve the community, The Historic New Orleans Collection is pleased years. The Historic New Orleans Col- to offer the following planned giving materials free of charge: lection was first accredited in 1978 and again in 1988 and 2000. Interestingly, • Giving Through Life Insurance the southeastern region has the high- • Giving Through Charitable Remainder Trusts est percentage of accredited museums • Giving Through Your Will in the United States. The Hermann- • Giving Securities Grima/Gallier Historic Houses, New • Giving Real Estate Orleans Museum of Art, Louisiana State • Giving Through Retirement Plans Museum, and The Collection are all due • Giving Through Gift Annuities for accreditation renewal within several months of one another. In fact, several To receive materials or for more information about planned giving, please call the other New Orleans museums and many Development Office at (504) 598-7109. statewide are on the accredited list. They are among the best of the best when it All inquiries are held in the strictest confidence and without obligation. The comes to standards for operation, care Historic New Orleans Collection does not offer legal or tax advice. We encour- of collections, citizenship in the com- age you to consult your legal and financial advisors for structuring a gift plan that munity, and ethical procedure. achieves your giving intentions and meets your particular financial circumstances. We are proud to be in the company of colleagues and fellow institutions who care about the same ideals of stew- ardship, community service, and educa- tion. You, our guests, volunteers, and supporters, are an integral part of that CORRECTION combination. A caption on the back cover of the spring issue misidentified the individual —Priscilla Lawrence pictured with symposium speaker Carl Brasseaux as Claire Bettag. The woman pictured is Alison Peña, anthropologist, Jean Lafitte National Historic Park. The Historic New Orleans Collection Quarterly 5 Detail of New Orleans Sängerfest letterhead (97-5-L) J. Hanno Deiler, German Orleanian ne hundred years ago, on July part owner of the German Gazette Pub- 20, 1909, John Hanno Deiler, lishing Company and a regular contributor Othe standard-bearer of culture for to its daily Deutsche Zeitung.