My NPR News colleague Farai Chideya — who did some incredible reporting from New Orleans right after Katrina — says,
At NPR’s News and Notes with Ed Gordon , we’re airing stories we taped last week in New Orleans. The ones which ran today are evocative of both the challenges facing surviors, and the solutions possible in the region. Both are updates on stories we did when Katrina first hit. Here’s a link to a story about my recent visit with a survivor who, when we spoke to her during Katrina, was trapped with two seriously ill relatives. And this link will take you to a story by producer Christopher Johnson with a pioneering doctor running a free clinic for survivors near Baton Rouge (image above). Next Tuesday we’ll take a broad look at the future of rebuilding New Orleans. And next Wednesday we’ll catch up with “neo-griot” Kalamu Ya Salaam, who is recording oral histories of both displaced and current New Orleans residents.
Farai explains more about Kalamu Ya Salaam’s project:
He’s preserving the neighborhood culture of New Orleans–one which may never exist again–in an ongoing video oral history project. His touring around the country funds the project. Next stops: New York and Dallas. His website, kalamu.com, links to his various projects, including “Listen to the People” (the video-histories) and the wonderful music site Breath of Life.