A big sign that said “help” on the rooftop of a building in New Orleans after the devastating damages of Hurricane Katrina is a moment that most will never forget. It was a disaster that left some homeless and hopeless. While sporting and entertainment events in New Orleans have done well for the economy, not much has been shown about the heroes that survived the horrible event.
Fortunately, Thomas Warren a Howard University journalism student, had the initiative to travel back to the Ninth Ward of the city and tell the story of the people.
“All the pictures you see on TV don’t do it justice. Seeing people and the hard areas makes you realize that no matter how bad you think you have it, there is somebody worse off,” said Warren.
Warren is the recipient of the first ever CNN IReporter contest, in which hundreds of student journalists from six universities submitted material.
“The response from the students and the schools has been extraordinary, and their participation is an important part of this story,” said Scot Safon, executive vice president and chief marketing officer of CNN Worldwide.
Returning to New Orleans, Warren saw several damaged homes but his story took a delicate turn when he spotted a 61-year-old woman named Carrie Handy. Handy returned to a home with junk inside and trash out-side. A dark living room is where she demonstrates how she cooks her meals.
“It was a very humbling moment for me to see this woman struggling,” said Warren.
Like most, Carrie had nowhere else to go. Warren spotted her out the corner of his eye then approached the house through the rubble just to say hello. Two hours later after an in-depth interview more was discovered.
“I learned so much, and I just wanted to know how she was living in comparison to others,” said Warren.
Warren told the story of an elderly woman and used footage of the Ninth Ward to display the suffering and turmoil Handy lives in.
“I’m hungry I need something to eat, I need help,” said Handy with a saddened expression in one part of Warren’s documentary.
The film showed a woman living without water or electricity who said money from FEMA was barely enough to help.
CNN Worldwide’s marketing department launched the multi-city tour of six historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) including Howard University, Florida A&M University, North Carolina Central University, North Carolina A&T State University and Hampton University.
The Campus iReporter contest winners received a digital video camera and were able to submit additional footage from their Black in America campus stop to win the grand prize: a trip for two to the Essence Music Festival in New Orleans over the Fourth of July weekend. Each winner will gain an opportunity to be a part of CNN groundbreaking new documentary series “Black in America.”
“What does it mean to be Black in America? While many of us spend our day trying to find the meaning to that question, Carrie Handy spends her day trying to make it to next,” said Warren.
Odell Ruffin can be reached at urbanman12@yahoo.com.
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By Odell B. Ruffin