Katrina’s America: 20 Years Since the Storm

Katrina’s America will bring together speakers from a range of disciplines to explore America’s past and examine the present and future post-Katrina. Throughout the day, interludes of art and music will highlight New Orleans’ enduring cultural vibrancy, complementing a series of thought-provoking panel discussions.

Two decades ago, Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast and the city of New Orleans, in the process revealing fault lines in the country's infrastructure, governance, and media, and also highlighting stubborn racial and economic disparities. The disaster and its fallout announced a new era in America and dramatically changed life for hundreds of thousands of victims in the Gulf.

Today, the fundamental questions that Katrina raised about America are at the center of policy and culture. Climate change is amplifying hurricanes, floods, fires, and droughts, and sending waves of people moving across the country and globe. A new racial awareness brought on in part by Katrina has been met with political backlash. And in New Orleans and the Gulf, trauma and displacement still rebound among victims and their families.

What have we learned in the 20 years since Katrina? How exactly has America changed since then, and what exactly is the legacy of that disaster?

Join New America, as commentators, experts, and artists convene to consider the last two decades in policy, media, and culture.