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America Magazine, August 29, 2015
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<p>Sean Salai, S.J. | Aug 29 2015 | America Magazine </p>
<p>Fred Kammer, S.J., is a lawyer who directs the Jesuit Social Research Institute at Loyola University New Orleans. A New Orleans native and former Jesuit provincial superior in that city when Hurricane Katrina struck, Father Kammer holds a J.D. from Yale University, an M.Div from Loyola University Chicago, and B.A. from Spring Hill College. From 1992 to 2001, he was the President and CEO of Catholic Charities USA, the nation's largest voluntary social services provider. He also served as a policy adviser on health and welfare issues to the U.S. Catholic bishops from 1990 to 1992.</p>
<p>Father Kammer is author of “Doing Faithjustice: An Introduction to Catholic Social Thought” (Paulist Press; third printing, 2005), “Salted with Fire: Spirituality for the Faithjustice Journey” (Paulist Press, 1995), and “Faith. Works. Wonders.—An Insider's Guide to Catholic Charities” (2009, Wipf and Stock Publishers) in addition to the research and writing he does as a Catholic lobbyist on social issues. He also works as a retreat director and sits on the board of the Ignatian Solidarity Network.</p>
<p>Today, Aug. 29, is the tenth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. On Aug. 28, I interviewed Father Kammer by telephone about his perspective on how the city has fared in these past ten years. The following transcript has been edited for content and length.</p>
<p><strong>What has changed in New Orleans over the past ten years since Hurricane Katrina devastated the city?</strong></p>
<p>There have been improvements in the criminal justice system. There’s an enormous experiment going on in public schools, with almost all of our public school students now in charter schools. There has been a major change in public housing, where we’ve torn down major housing projects which were there for decades and put back mixed-use housing complexes in their place. In the process, of course, we’ve destroyed more available housing for low-income families.</p>
<p>Demographically, the city is a hundred thousand people smaller. There has been a major investment in rebuilding the levees and rebuilding them better. A number of entrepreneurs have come to the city to do new things; for example, there are more restaurants in New Orleans than there were before Katrina, if you can believe it. There have been a whole array of public prosecutions of politicians which really started before Katrina. Over the last 15 years there have been a number of prosecutions of politicians—both black and white, state and local—who have been indicted, convicted, or pleaded guilty. We’ve had an enormous influx of Latino workers who came to rebuild the city and stayed, doubling our Hispanic population. And right now, in fact, there is construction occurring on many of the major cross-streets because there is still a couple billion dollars of infrastructure money that has not been spent yet. On Aug. 1, we opened a new hospital—the University Medical Center of New Orleans—to replace the old Charity Hospital that served the poor from the 1930s until it was destroyed in the storm.</p>
<p>Also, an enormous amount of private houses have been rebuilt and there’s much less available rental housing. Katrina destroyed about one-half of the available rental housing in New Orleans. Those are just some of the changes.</p>
<p><strong>What has stayed the same in New Orleans?</strong></p>
<p>While the numbers have changed, the percentages in terms of poverty have changed and even worsened. The number of children living in poverty before Katrina was 38 percent and that’s now 39 percent. And the income gap between white families and black families has widened. I would say that the racial perceptions of how things are going, between the white community and the black community, were different before Katrina and have remained different. According to various surveys, these perceptions of the city’s well-being diverge over the future of youth and the status of public schools. So the perceptions among the white and black population continue to be starkly different.</p>
<p>And the state of Louisiana has still failed to make a significant investment in wetlands. We continue to lose an enormous amount of our wetlands every day and every year, which is eroding away the city’s protection against future storms.</p>
<p><strong>What can you tell us about poverty and jobs in the city right now?</strong></p>
<p>The median household income between white and black has continued to grow in difference. Over the years since Katrina, white household income has grown by 22 percent and black household income has grown about 7 percent. And that continues the divide between white and black households, judging by median family income, and that’s despite the fact that we’ve spent an enormous amount of money statewide on Katrina recovery.</p>
<p><a href="http://americamagazine.org/content/all-things/new-orleans-10-years-after-katrina-interview-fred-kammer-sj">MORE>></a></p>
<p>Fred Kammer, S.J., is a lawyer who directs the Jesuit Social Research Institute at Loyola University New Orleans. A New Orleans native and former Jesuit provincial superior in that city when Hurricane Katrina struck, Father Kammer holds a J.D. from Yale University, an M.Div from Loyola University Chicago, and B.A. from Spring Hill College. From 1992 to 2001, he was the President and CEO of Catholic Charities USA, the nation's largest voluntary social services provider. He also served as a policy adviser on health and welfare issues to the U.S. Catholic bishops from 1990 to 1992.</p>
<p>Father Kammer is author of “Doing Faithjustice: An Introduction to Catholic Social Thought” (Paulist Press; third printing, 2005), “Salted with Fire: Spirituality for the Faithjustice Journey” (Paulist Press, 1995), and “Faith. Works. Wonders.—An Insider's Guide to Catholic Charities” (2009, Wipf and Stock Publishers) in addition to the research and writing he does as a Catholic lobbyist on social issues. He also works as a retreat director and sits on the board of the Ignatian Solidarity Network.</p>
<p>Today, Aug. 29, is the tenth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. On Aug. 28, I interviewed Father Kammer by telephone about his perspective on how the city has fared in these past ten years. The following transcript has been edited for content and length.</p>
<p><strong>What has changed in New Orleans over the past ten years since Hurricane Katrina devastated the city?</strong></p>
<p>There have been improvements in the criminal justice system. There’s an enormous experiment going on in public schools, with almost all of our public school students now in charter schools. There has been a major change in public housing, where we’ve torn down major housing projects which were there for decades and put back mixed-use housing complexes in their place. In the process, of course, we’ve destroyed more available housing for low-income families.</p>
<p>Demographically, the city is a hundred thousand people smaller. There has been a major investment in rebuilding the levees and rebuilding them better. A number of entrepreneurs have come to the city to do new things; for example, there are more restaurants in New Orleans than there were before Katrina, if you can believe it. There have been a whole array of public prosecutions of politicians which really started before Katrina. Over the last 15 years there have been a number of prosecutions of politicians—both black and white, state and local—who have been indicted, convicted, or pleaded guilty. We’ve had an enormous influx of Latino workers who came to rebuild the city and stayed, doubling our Hispanic population. And right now, in fact, there is construction occurring on many of the major cross-streets because there is still a couple billion dollars of infrastructure money that has not been spent yet. On Aug. 1, we opened a new hospital—the University Medical Center of New Orleans—to replace the old Charity Hospital that served the poor from the 1930s until it was destroyed in the storm.</p>
<p>Also, an enormous amount of private houses have been rebuilt and there’s much less available rental housing. Katrina destroyed about one-half of the available rental housing in New Orleans. Those are just some of the changes.</p>
<p><strong>What has stayed the same in New Orleans?</strong></p>
<p>While the numbers have changed, the percentages in terms of poverty have changed and even worsened. The number of children living in poverty before Katrina was 38 percent and that’s now 39 percent. And the income gap between white families and black families has widened. I would say that the racial perceptions of how things are going, between the white community and the black community, were different before Katrina and have remained different. According to various surveys, these perceptions of the city’s well-being diverge over the future of youth and the status of public schools. So the perceptions among the white and black population continue to be starkly different.</p>
<p>And the state of Louisiana has still failed to make a significant investment in wetlands. We continue to lose an enormous amount of our wetlands every day and every year, which is eroding away the city’s protection against future storms.</p>
<p><strong>What can you tell us about poverty and jobs in the city right now?</strong></p>
<p>The median household income between white and black has continued to grow in difference. Over the years since Katrina, white household income has grown by 22 percent and black household income has grown about 7 percent. And that continues the divide between white and black households, judging by median family income, and that’s despite the fact that we’ve spent an enormous amount of money statewide on Katrina recovery.</p>
<p><a href="http://americamagazine.org/content/all-things/new-orleans-10-years-after-katrina-interview-fred-kammer-sj">MORE>></a></p>