On the second anniversary of Katrina, I attended a candlelight vigil held on the Haynes Boulevard Levee in New Orleans East. It was well attended by city officials, community leaders and regular citizens that came out that night to honor the dead and renew their commitment to bringing New Orleans East back as a viable and vibrant part of New Orleans.As we stood on "the levee that did not fail," Cynthia Willard-Lewis, New Orleans council member from District E, urged us to:
continue to talk about what we have seen and what we have heard. For two years we have seen great confusion and a sense of abandonment. And so we continue to tell the stories that hope beyond hope drives the people of Eastern New Orleans.
So in that spirit follow me below the fold to meet Pearl and Margie, two unbelievable survivors making it work in the city they love and still call home.