A boarded up building. A dance school. Boarded up, empty, with a for sale sign in front, for a developer to absorb and turn into a tourist paradise.
But, on the boarded up windows, spray painted words: "We will dance." A smiley face. A phone number.
Life in Mississippi is going on. It will go on. It has to go on. Amid the boarded up buildings -- a coffee shop, a cafe, a drug store.
Things in Mississippi are still terrible. Very little is rebuilt, except for the casinos. The residents who have remained face many challenges in rebuilding their shattered lives, even years later. But life has to go on. And it will go on. Our responsibility, as a nation, is to not forget Mississippi, and to make sure that the lives that do go on in Mississippi are the best possible. No formaldehyde poisoning, no contractor fraud.
Life is going on. We just need to be sure that the life that does go on is the best possible life -- free of the scars of Katrina, free of the scars of poverty and injustice. Two and a half years later, the lives of Mississippians should not be burdened with the raw remains of Katrina.
There is still plenty of work left to do.
But, on the boarded up windows, spray painted words: "We will dance." A smiley face. A phone number.
Life in Mississippi is going on. It will go on. It has to go on. Amid the boarded up buildings -- a coffee shop, a cafe, a drug store.
Things in Mississippi are still terrible. Very little is rebuilt, except for the casinos. The residents who have remained face many challenges in rebuilding their shattered lives, even years later. But life has to go on. And it will go on. Our responsibility, as a nation, is to not forget Mississippi, and to make sure that the lives that do go on in Mississippi are the best possible. No formaldehyde poisoning, no contractor fraud.
Life is going on. We just need to be sure that the life that does go on is the best possible life -- free of the scars of Katrina, free of the scars of poverty and injustice. Two and a half years later, the lives of Mississippians should not be burdened with the raw remains of Katrina.
There is still plenty of work left to do.
