"On that day, at 8:29 am-precisely when, in 2005, the Industrial Canal's concrete floodwall broke, letting loose the torrent that inundated the Lower Ninth Ward-a small group gathered for the annual wreath-laying ceremony at Charity Hospital Cemetery No. 1. Standing in the middle of the Hurricane Katrina Memorial, in front of three mausoleums that hold the remains of 86 unclaimed or unidentified flood victims, Michael White raised his clarinet."
"Behind him was a black marble tablet inscribed with white letters hailing "the indomitable spirit of New Orleans." White, a celebrated musician and cultural historian who began playing at funerals and parades as a member of brass bands led by the trumpeter Ernest "Doc" Paulin and the banjoist-guitarist Danny Barker, performed a solo rendition of the hymn "We'll Understand It Better, By and By." He leaned into a gently swinging rhythm, bending notes and alternating between sweet and wailing tones."
On August 29, 2025, New Orleans observed the twentieth anniversary of the levee failures and floods triggered by Hurricane Katrina, which submerged 80 percent of the city, killed more than 1,400 people, and displaced hundreds of thousands. At Charity Hospital Cemetery No. 1, a small group gathered at 8:29 a.m. for a wreath-laying at the Hurricane Katrina Memorial; Michael White performed a solo clarinet rendition of "We'll Understand It Better, By and By." Cultural workers and musicians continue to embody resilience, preserving funerary and parade traditions that distill meaning and truth through traditional jazz. The city's singular culture remains central amid ongoing struggles over renewal, loss, and political decisions.
Read at The Nation
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