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This photo depicts Xavier University four days after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans. Khalefa King recalls that at the time of this photo, taken by her school, she was still stranded in her dorm without power. The young Freshman, along with her fellow students were not able to leave St. Catherine Drexel Hall until early afternoon of Friday September 2, 2005 (Katrina--August 29,2005). Ms.King recalls the flat boats driven by men in New Orleans police t-shirts that transported them to I-10 bridge, also known as the Carrollton Overpass, scraped the roofs of submerged vehicles as they escaped. The bridge was already occupied by released prisoners and stranded local residents when the students were dropped off. Here they awaited the arrival of the United States Army to transport them to the other side of the bridge where they were met by Greyhound buses. The Greyhound buses could not directly reach the refugees because of the height of the water. Army personnel,armed with M-16 assault rifles, guided only the students to the other side of the bridge. Those on the bridge who were not in school were forced to stay. The Greyhound buses then transported the students to Grambling or Southern University depending on each individual\'s refuge destination.

Citation

“[Untitled],” Hurricane Digital Memory Bank, accessed March 19, 2024, https://hurricanearchive.org/items/show/45297.