This week on Behind The Lens, with the Super Bowl approaching, when the eyes of the world would once again be on New Orleans, Governor Jeff Landry tasked a committee, dubbed “The Super Gras Subcommittee” with beautifying and prepping the city for the massive attention it would be receiving.

The subcommittee focused on the major tourist areas, but also did a drive through of the Lower 9th Ward, the area hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Though the majority-Black neighborhood has come a long way since then, it is, in many ways, the poster child of the inequitable recovery that followed Katrina. At the meeting last summer, one slide of a presentation said the visit to the Lower 9th was to “anticipate any features of the neighborhood which could be used by media to substantiate Katrina narrative.”

At The Lens, our entire team spent the better part of a month reporting on The Katrina Narrative.

Guests this week include Lens reporters Nick Chrastil, Delaney Dryfoos, La’Shance Perry, Mizani Ball, Marta Jewson, and managing editor Katy Reckdahl.

Theme music by Podington Bear. Additional music Beachhead by Podington Bear soundofpicture.com. 

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