The Waters Stay Troubled: A Dialogue on Race, Education, Researcher Accountability and Black Political Struggle in the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina

Ten years after the (un)natural disaster and despondent response to Hurricane Katrina by the U.S. federal government, the educational landscape of New Orleans has permanently shifted to one deeply steeped in the current neoliberal turn in K–12 schooling. The New Orleans Recovery District (RSD) currently operates as a district of 43 independent charter networks, which currently include 107 schools. Because RSD is the first of its kind in the nation, venture capitalists, state and federal politicians along with school officials are supporting and monitoring it closely with hopes and visions for the “future” of public education.