MONDAY

• Home
• Video
• Podcasts/RSS 
• Local Showtimes
• Past Shows
• Blogs
• About the Show
• Tell Tavis
• Features
• Mobile

RELATED LINKS

• "New Orleans Worse Than I Could Have Imagined"
• About the Holy Cross community
• "Help Holy Cross"

E-mail a friend

"All the neighborhoods for New Orleanians are in shambles, still." (2:29)
 

Tavis: Jonathan Demme, here we are again. Night three, good to see you again.

Jonathan Demme: Good to see you again, too, Tavis.

Tavis: So it's night three of "Right to Return: New Home Movies from the Lower Ninth Ward." Meeting interesting people all week long. I must tell you, though, I'm really fascinated to see the person we're going to meet tonight because when we were in, when we got a chance to sit and talk to her, I was moved by her personally. So tell me about tonight's featured guest.

Demme: Well, in the summer, we met Carolyn for the first time in the spring, and we had a great visit. And we were walking down the street with our cameras and we bumped into a Catholic minister, a terrific guy named Father Joe Campion. And we told him what we were doing, he said, "Oh, you should see Mrs. Parker, she's a trip." (Laughter)

And I looked over and Carolyn was just then coming out on the porch. And I had the camera rolling and I aimed it at her and she beckoned me up.

Tavis: And we should mention, this is her home.

Demme: This is her home. And I came through the gate with my little camera and she said, "Hello, I'm Carolyn Parker. Would you like to come into my home?" And I just followed her inside and she was - there's all kinds of stuff going on.

Tavis: Stop. Stop right there, because we gotta go in her home tonight. (Laughter) She invited Jonathan in and we're going to go in this home. And you're going to meet a wonderful woman who I know you're going to be thrilled to engage in tonight's episode of "Right to Return: New Home Movies from the Lower Ninth Ward," courtesy of Academy Award winner Jonathan Demme. Let's meet Ms. Parker.

Carolyn Parker: I told my brother, who is residing with me and Alexander, because we found him in the Superdome after the flood, okay? And I hadn't seen Raymond in 10 years, my brother, right here. All right? And we decided to stay together, in Alexander. And I told him, I said, "Well, Raymond." And he said, "What?" I say, "I think it's time for me to go."

Alexander was not home. This is home. This is where I live, and this is where I wanted to be at. And I told my brother, "I'm going back." I said, "Are you coming with me? 'Cause I can go by myself." Yes, this is my brother Raymond.

Raymond: Go ahead, girl, (unintelligible).

Parker: See? (Laughter) (Unintelligible). Yeah. (unintelligible).

Raymond: What you pinching me for? (Laughter)

Parker: I'm not pinching you.

Raymond: I'm still alive. (Laughter) Thanks to the Lord, I'm still here. (Crosstalk)

Parker: When ya'll first came and interviewed us, we didn't have much of nothing. And the grass was high and everything, so now we've moved up. We have the weed whacker; the grass hole. Cut the grass, so that helps a lot. We're trying to get the neighbors, trying to get them to come back, so we can clear this up.

Now, my neighbor over there likes, they came back all right, but they still need to have somebody cut that grass. All right? So we've been working through the neighborhood trying to get them not only to do it one time, but you have to do it all the time, okay? 'Cause grass is not going to grow, like, every month. Grass is gonna grow every day.

Kyrah Julian: It doesn't matter how many times we rebuild, no matter how high the houses are off the ground, none of that matters. It doesn't matter how many hurricane-proof shelters we put on our houses. We're always gonna have floods if we don't do something about the wetlands.

We lost about 10 years' worth of wetlands in one year. A lot of people do not realize that. Without that wetlands sitting in the front of the coast for Louisiana, New Orleans is always going to be the first thing hit because we're the closest. And we're always gonna get all of the water that washes up from the hurricane.

Rashaan: I used to teach English to corporates, business corporates, over in Japan. So I did that for a couple of years, that was, of course, a lot of fun. I got a chance to travel and stuff, as well. So I just come back from San Diego, where I've been the last year and a half or so, wrapping up a master's degree. So now I have a master of arts in international relations.

The opportunities are few and far between, especially for those of us who are what they classify as young, urban professionals - especially young minorities. We are having great difficulty trying to find employment, really, that matches our qualifications. We're stuck between this invisible bridge that tells us that if we go back and get the old jobs, we're overqualified.

But if we try to get any management positions in most of these businesses that are still here, as well as around the country, we're told that we're underqualified. So we're the future of the city, and that's the only way they city's gonna get up is if they help us get up.

Parker: Okay, and you see we have cabinets and everything in the bathroom, see? All right. But like I said, I don't - we received this on June - watch you don't trip. We received this on June the sixth, okay? So we've been staying in a house from February until June. I know, it's a long time, huh?

Demme: You bet.

Parker: But that was okay, because when they brought the trailer it was right on time, because if you notice the temperature started really getting up there in June. So (unintelligible).

Kyrah Julian: We have another brother, he's in Texas. And he's pretty much going to stay in Texas.

Raymond: Yeah, he's going to stay (unintelligible). (Crosstalk)

Kyrah Julian: Because he doesn't want to rebuild. Our sister-in-law, Tiffany, his wife, is from Beaumont, Texas. So her whole family is out there anyway, so he's just going to stay there, put our nephew through school over there, and his wife's a teacher over there. So it makes sense to stay.

Raymond: Right.

Parker: I said, we came a long way, all right? And we have a lot more to do, okay? But I have that confidence that when you put all your efforts and put them in order, there's nothing that you can't do, all right? First you have to want to do it, and then you can do it. And that's why I'm here, to show you that I wanted to come back. I wanted this done. And as you can see, my house is good; I'm just waiting for the roofer, I'm waiting for the electrician, and I'm waiting for the contractor. Come on.

Kyrah Julian: The French Quarter's up and running; uptown is up and running. This is where people go all the time. The people who aren't from New Orleans go here all the time. Every neighborhood, all the neighborhoods for New Orleanians are in shambles, still. It's like they took the tourism areas and fixed them up first, and now it's, like, we'll take our time with everybody else.

And it's not fair, and it's really insulting. And I blame that on our mayor, (laughs) 'cause it seems like the first thing he worried about was making more money instead of helping people. A lot of us, we're really in - we're very distraught right now, and people don't know where to go. Right now, a lot of people are, like, “Oh, I'm not going to come back to New Orleans,” and, “I want to wait until after hurricane season is over the year after Katrina before I decide to rebuild my house.”

And that's a good point. But we have people who want to rebuild now. You can't wait for other people to come around, and things like that. And that's one of the reasons why our neighborhoods are so bad now, and that's why the schools are so bad now, because people are waiting, and people are waiting too long. And to say we've done about a year, we've been through this for about a year, we've done about four months (laughs) of work, and we've only come up this much compared to this much we have to do.

And it's not fair. It's not fair to the people here, and it's not fair. So it's just not fair to the kids, for one, because they don't have schools to go to - good schools to go to - and a lot of the kids here in the Lower Ninth Ward are going to be suffering because the only good school we had here, they're moving across the canal. So, the only beacon of light that the little kids had is gone.

And I went to that elementary school and it set us up real well for college, and it's like, that school is gone now. And nobody understands that, but they always wonder why they wanted to call the Ninth Ward the ghetto. As soon as the Ninth Ward tries to build things up, they take it away. Always.

Rashaan: We're sick and tired of having to sit down here waiting for even the basic amenities that everyone else is enjoying. We're cut off -

Parker: Like cable.

Rashaan: - from the outside world. Why don't you come down here and stay here for a week, and I guarantee you, you will not be able to survive 18 hours the way we're living down here. And don't think because we're staying in a FEMA trailer that things have gotten a little bit more special. Just imagine living down here, and you'll see how those folks feel in those Third World countries.

Everybody who came back here has already developed with the planning, with all our planners. We now have a neighborhood plan, and we're ready to go. We've been ready to go with this since July 22nd.

Parker: All right. I think this one has the most stamina because the fact the floor, all right - this is the kitchen. This is one of the kitchens, because I had a kitchen from both sides. And this is all that I have left. All the other china and all the other china and crystal, all that's gone. It was all stolen. This china that I have is from 1969. And most of it is gone. This is all that I have left.

So, like I said, everything was vandalized. This is where - you see where they've just taken some of the stuff off the wall. This was the worst room. (Unintelligible.)

Kyrah Julian: That was my room.

Parker: Looked like it was hit more from this side. We had cabinets; we had closets; all right? This was also another kitchen here. See, I had a kitchen from both sides; they had, like, a fireplace here. All of that, like I said, all that's gone. This was another bedroom. And that's the famous stolen toilet (laughs). And that's my son Rashaan. He's sitting on the bed, enjoying the air conditioning.

Rashaan: That's true, that's true.

Parker: There's some people that hasn't come back, like I said, that hasn't even touched their house, hasn't even looked at their apartment. What about those houses? What about those people?

Demme: Well.

Parker: A lot of these people are all over the world. That's the reason why I went to the Sheraton I said that if you can't bring the people to New Orleans, use cable and bring New Orleans to the people. And just put a number down there at the bottom where they can contact the city and let the city know that yes, I'm interested, or no, I'm not interested.

Kyrah Julian: And it shouldn't have taken a whole year, either.

Parker: Right, it shouldn't have taken a whole year. I think they should have gave them so many months to come up (unintelligible) -

Kyrah Julian: For me, I feel like this.

Parker: Yes, you're coming, or no, you're not.

Kyrah Julian: We helped somebody who was - how old was she? Eighty, 86?

Parker: Eighty-nine and -

Kyrah Julian: Eighty-nine.

Parker: - and 90 years old.

Kyrah Julian: Eight-nine years old, this lady is in her house gutting her own house out, by herself. If she can do it -

Parker: And when we seen it, we had to go and help her.

Kyrah Julian: - definitely somebody my age could get down here. And most of them my age have cars and everything else. There's no such thing as, "Oh, well, I can't get down here." If a 90-year-old woman could get down here and take care of her house herself - and we were so proud of her that we actually started helping her. Because -

Parker: And if a 60-year-old woman can help her gut it out -

Kyrah Julian: - she made the initiative.

Parker: Come on, she's 90, I'm 60, we had shovels, and we're bashing walls.

Kyrah Julian: Exactly. If they can do it, anybody can.

Parker: What excuse do you have, if you're younger? There's no excuse.

Kyrah Julian: And to say they have a lot of 40- and 30-year-old people who said, "Well, I can't get home right now, I don't have the money to get home right now, I don't have the transportation to get home." Yes, you do. You have two legs, use them, okay?

Parker: And then there's a shuttle bus that's right there from Baton Rouge that bring you right to New Orleans.

Kyrah Julian: You have to do something about it. You can't sit here and complain, "Oh, well, they not doing this and they're not doing that." Get up and help. Make a difference. You want something to be changed? Help make the change.

Parker: And we are not going to wait forever, waiting for you. (Laughter) I want to go on. I would love to be in my house for Christmas. Not in a trailer. In my home for Christmas. With lights on it. That's what my intentions were. That's why I came back in February. To be in my house; 1001 Jordan Avenue, for Christmas.

I didn't care if I didn't have furniture. I'll just have lights on my house and lay on the floor. I didn't care, as long as I'm in my house for Christmas, okay?

I said, "I need to go back to New Orleans because this is not working." I said, "What do you all do for livelihood here?" They said they go to the park. They say they go to little functions that they have.

I said, "But your functions are over at 6:00? What type of function is that?" They said, "But that's what it is." See, look. Now, I have that, too. Now, that's my mailman, see? I started that, because we didn't have mail service. Hi, Wayne. (Laughter)

Wayne: How you doing, Ms. Parker? (Unintelligible.)

Parker: I'm telling about that service we didn't have.

Wayne: That ya'll didn't have. Oh, now that -

Parker: That we didn't have.

Wayne: Didn't have, but now you have it.

Parker: Right, now I have it, see?

Wayne: Oh. Isn't that something, huh?

Parker: Thank you.

Wayne: Good service, huh?

Parker: It's late, but thank you.

Wayne: But that's all right. That's all right.

Parker: (Laughs) But it's here.

Wayne: That's right. You gonna beat it; you gonna beat it. (Laughter) All right, Ms. Parker, you have a nice one.

Parker: Okay, darling, all right.

Wayne: Now you behave, now.

Parker: You're on camera.

Wayne: You say nice stuff about us, all right? (Laughter)

Parker: Okay.

Wayne: How ya'll doing today? (Crosstalk) Have a nice one, now.

Parker: Okay.

Wayne: All right.

Parker: Don't forget next week's "TV Guide."

Wayne: You bet, Ms. Parker. You had no problems last week, huh, Ms. Parker?

Parker: (Unintelligible.) That's how I can tell when service is good. When I receive next week's "TV Guide" this week.

Wayne: When you get that "TV Guide," huh?

Parker: That's right.

Wayne: Yeah.

Parker: I have to receive next week's "TV Guide" this week, then you're on.

Wayne: Okay, well, (unintelligible).

Parker: If I receive it next week, you're late.

Wayne: Behave, Ms. Parker.

Parker: I will.

Kyrah Julian: All of a sudden, water comes in and washes everything away. It was, like, everything I worked for, I have nothing to show for it. And that's not a good feeling. This is just like everything you accomplished no longer exists. It's ridiculous. That's something nobody should ever have to experience. 'Cause it's just like your life beforehand, before this hurricane, it's like you never existed.

Nothing you ever did ever happened. It's, like, it's no longer a part of your life. It's like you have to start all over, so everything after I turned 18 is all I have. It's like everything I worked for before that is gone. Everything that brought me to where I am today no longer exists.

Parker: So that's my reason why I had to come back. To start - to give a new beginning. To show people that you can have a new beginning. You may not have what you had before. But it could only get better after Katrina. You can't get worse, you can get better. And I don't think no one can imagine what we've gone through unless you've really gone through it.

Kyrah Julian: People were calling me saying, "You need to call the insurance company because your mama's in the newspaper. She's dead." 'Cause they had, like, the list in the newspaper of everybody who died in the hurricane after a little while, and all the people were still missing? And pretty much if you were still missing after September, after the, like, second half of September, if you were still missing, you were probably dead.

And she was still missing. And everybody's like, “Your mama's name is in the newspaper, you better get a funeral together.” And I'm, like, "Excuse me?" And all of my friends are calling, "Oh, I'm gonna miss your mama; she was so nice; she cooked some good food," and all this stuff. And I'm, like, "Okay."

Parker: All right. But this is what Kyrah's problem is. Imagine you have scuffled to go through high school. Imagine you've gotten to be the prom queen; you're the top. Now imagine you done took your ACT tests, you scored a 24/26. Now, I want you to also imagine how happy you are that you have accomplished so much, and you're from New Orleans, Louisiana, from the Lower Ninth Ward.

Kyrah Julian: Yeah, where they said none of us would make it.

Parker: Which is supposed to be - where they said that the chances of you making it -

Kyrah Julian: Are very, very slim.

Parker: - was, like, 10 to none, okay? Now, imagine you have made it thus far, and imagine the only source of income that you had, the only person that you had left because your daddy was murdered in 1999, all you have is your mother. Now, imagine just leaving out, and you're gone less than a week, but you're happy because you've made it, and you've gone to New York. You've gone to Syracuse University. Your dream has come true. Okay?

Now, imagine if you just close your eyes, imagine all that's gone in less than a week. Imagine everything that was about you just disappear.

But as far as us leaving, as far as us abandoning our homes, abandoning our neighborhoods, no, I'm a pioneer for the Lower Ninth Ward, for New Orleans, Louisiana. I've been staying here all my life. And it takes more than Katrina to make me leave it.

[Audio clip of Parker's speech to urban planning panel]

Good evening. My name is Carolyn S. Parker. I live at 1001 Jordan Avenue in the Lower Ninth Ward. I came to this meeting to find out what your vision for the Lower Ninth Ward and not surprised, because the vision is not too clear. I'm speaking for the people that's out there that's dispersed all over the United States that cannot get back.

If you have Cox Cable, use a channel and show them what they have or what their houses look like. You can't get the people here? Then bring it to the people. So I'm asking you, all of you, the whole panel, because I heard nothing, really, for the Lower Ninth Ward. Those are my family, my friends, my neighbors. I've been down there, yes, I'm telling my age, 59 years. And I know who been here, I know who came, I know who went.

So I'm asking you, you named every part of New Orleans, but you never named anything really for the Lower Ninth Ward. So I'm here for those persons who could not get back.

Demme: Carolyn, this is Tavis Smiley.

Tavis: Hello there. I'm Tavis Smiley.

Parker: Hi.

Tavis: Nice to meet you.

Parker: How you doing?

Tavis: How you doing?

Parker: I'm fine.

Demme: This is Dr. Cornel West.

Tavis: That's Dr. Cornel West.

Parker: How you doing?

Dr. Cornel West: Carolyn, how are you? (Crosstalk).

Demme: Carolyn Parker.

West: Good to meet you; you're looking wonderful.

Parker: Just fine.

Tavis: How you holding up?

Parker: In spite of my new knees?

Tavis: You had new knee surgery? (Laughter) Both of them?

Parker: Both of them. I'm a bold woman. I have a new house, I have new knees, and I have a new attitude. (Laughter) I'm very thankful.

Tavis: Nothing wrong with that.

Parker: Okay?

Tavis: How's the house project coming along?

Parker: To me, it's rather slow.

Tavis: Right.

Parker: Because I figured by this time, they should have had something done, especially for me and for the Lower Ninth Ward. My journey for the Lower Ninth Ward is not just for me. It's for my children. It's for my nieces and my nephews, my family. The people in the Lower Ninth Ward is my family.

Tavis: So that's our show for tonight. Tomorrow night, another installment of our week-long series with filmmaker Jonathan Demme and the story of two ministers here in the Lower Ninth Ward who are leading the spiritual rebirth of this committee.