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Hurricane Archive

Collecting and Preserving the Stories of Katrina and Rita

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The Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media (CHNM) at George Mason University and the University of New Orleans organized the Hurricane Digital Memory Bank (HDMB) in 2005 in partnership with many national and Gulf Coast area organizations and individuals. HDMB was awarded the Award of Merit for Leadership in History, and is the largest free public archive of Katrina and Rita with over 25,000 items in the collection. Read More.

Items (132 total)

Charcoal portrait of a Common Ground volunteer from Wesleyan University. She describes her sense of \"home\" and how it changed after working in New Orleans. She praises a New Orleanian named Delanzy who got Common…

Portrait & Narrative…

Charcoal portrait of Dar, a Common Ground volunteer who describes how she came to help build the health clinic.

Portrait & Narrative…

Common Ground volunteer describes her experiences. Text begins: \"In times of crisis, when people are displaced, it takes community and collective strength of individual wills to gather resources and repair. Last line:…

Charcoal portrait of ADH. Text begins: \"This, I, come/s from love...\" Narrative includes rap poem. \r\nPoem begins:\r\n\"You know we stormed through those flood gates thinking we could come here and save this…

Portrait & Narrative…

Charcoal portrait of Common Ground volunteer. Text begins: \"The endless cascade of miracles continues before me. Katrina brought me back to New Orleans in search of the good in man....\"

DC, a Common Ground volunteer, describes her experiences. Text begins: \"Before coming to New Orleans my world was this bubble where nothing really terrible happened and people were all treated fairly.\" Last line:…

Portrait & Narrative…

Charcoal portrait of Common Ground volunteer. Text begins: \"The city has become a broken mirrored image of itself. It reminds me of what I have a heart for....\" Describes seeing barge that smashed the Industrial Canal…

\"Portrait &…

Charcoal portrait of Common Ground volunteer. First line of text: \"What I have seen here has blown my mind...\" Talks about compassion, the need to question what is going on in the world.

\"Portrait &…

Charcoal portrait of young African American man who volunteered with Common Ground. In text he describes walking through the Ninth Ward to distribute CG newspaper, seeing desolate landscape but people with strength.

Portrait & Narrative…

Charcoal portrait of Common Ground volunteer Antonio K. Gonzalez drawn just before the Katrina one-year anniversary. Text describes his shock at lack of progress in rebuilding (no traffic lights, etc) and his respect and…

\"Portrait &…