HILL Project

Rontherin Ratliff is a New Orleans native artist. His piece titled, “Things That Float,” was created after the flooding of New Orleans’ ninth ward. He took a raft through his grandmother’s neighborhood and saw the destruction to the houses firsthand done by the flooding, all he could recover were a few pictures and other things […]

After observing a lack of access to nutritious, affordable food, I pondered what do communities do beyond food gathering strategies? What happens if a community doesn’t have the option to bargain or can’t access food programs? In New Orleans, community gardening has emerged as a social and political response to disasters and social issues (Kato, […]

Before I arrived in New Orleans, I expected to make specific observations about environmental injustice. I anticipated looking into a lack of green spaces, the effects of climate events, and how housing disadvantages caused Black communities to experience them at a higher rate. Although I did observe that some communities are housed in areas that […]

The importance of gardening extends beyond producing fresh food for communities and strengthening connections. Gardening and farming has a historical and health significance to the Black community. Enslaved Black people were forced to farm on plantations for generations and they used their farming skills to grow food for themselves to supplement their diets (Tolliver-Jackson). Moreover, […]

By pushing and encouraging a private sector in relation to healthcare, dislocation and displacement of Black and low-income individuals was evident. Charity Hospital had previously been accustomed to the idea of closure and rebranding in the twentieth century. It is no surprise that for many years individuals had attempted to distinguish Charity Hospital’s focus on […]