Oak trees: Beautiful yet blemished

When I walked past the massive live oak trees around the New Orleans area, I used to think of nothing but beauty and awe. Lush greenery pairs easily with sunny days and makes for a perfect picnic under the shady oaks. These trees are considered part of the “Southern charm” of the city of New Orleans. But underneath the leafy canopies of Audubon Park, dark histories of white supremacy and slavery reside. The same dazzling oak trees that are appreciated today are the ones that were used for lynchings of African-Americans in the relatively recent past. 

The Live Oak Society is an organization dedicated to promoting the culture, distribution, and preservation of Southern Live Oaks. On their website, the trees are described as “majestic,” and symbols for “strength and stability”. Yet, from 1882 to 1936, over 389 lynchings occurred in Louisiana alone, which ranks as the fourth highest lynching rate in the country for that time period. The same trees African-American people were murdered under are the same trees that tourists and locals alike use for rope swings and relaxation. This figure also fails to take into account the amount of unreported lynchings, which will most likely always remain unknown. On this organization’s website, almost all members pictured are older white women. Occasionally there is a man, but there lacks any diversity whatsoever. This society thrives off of keeping white people in power so that the narrative of tragedy stays undiscussed. 

Weaponizing nature doesn’t necessarily have to be explicit. The personification of natural disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina, minimizes its catastrophic impact in the minds of those unaffected. Of those living in poverty when Katrina hit, nearly 70% were African-American. Studies also found that the rate at which African Americans returned to their houses post-hurricane was much slower than their white counterparts. A block-by-block analysis of census data found that about half of New Orleans’ white residents experienced flooding, while three quarters of the African-American population experienced the same. This is due to the fact that over 80% of the flooded neighborhoods were communities of color. After Katrina passed through, data found that while 51% of deaths recorded were African-American, only 42% were white. Since Katrina was catastrophic, it is commonly used as comparison to evaluate other natural disasters. This improper use of Katrina glosses over the devastating effects it had on families and communities. It also fails to encapsulate the contrasting aftermath for varying racial groups. Post Katrina, tourism fell drastically, as the city began heavy repairs. However, by 2014, tourism spending in New Orleans hit a record high, with 9.5 million visitors and 6.8 billion dollars spent within the economy. But most of these tourists are white, and have the money to spend for luxurious tours and hotels. When the touristy Bourbon Street turns off its lights, vacationers return to their cozy beds and complimentary breakfasts while many employees of the performative tourism industry return to the “wrong part” of Rampart Street.

Works Cited

Allen, Troy. “Katrina: Race, Class, and Poverty: Reflections and Analysis.” Jstor, Sage Publications Inc., Mar. 2007, www.jstor.org/stable/40034317?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents.

Blakemore, Erin. “The Grisly Story of America’s Largest Lynching.” HISTORY, 1 Sept. 2018, www.history.com/news/the-grisly-story-of-americas-largest-lynching.

City of New Orleans. “Live Oaks of City Park.” New Orleans City Park, 2005, neworleanscitypark.com/live-oaks-of-city-park.

Finley, Keith. “Lynching.” 64 Parishes, 18 Jan. 2021, 64parishes.org/entry/lynching.

Fussell, Elizabeth, et al. “Race, Socioeconomic Status, and Return Migration to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.” US National Library of Medicine, 31 Jan. 2010, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2862006.

“Live Oak Society.” Louisiana Garden Club Federation, Inc., 2019, www.lgcfinc.org/live-oak-society.html.

Zhang, Esther. “Plantations – To Their Roots.” DukeEngage, 17 July 2019, dukeengage.duke.edu/plantations-to-their-roots/#:%7E:text=The%20live%20oak%20was%20a,t%20look%20so%20beautiful%20anymore.

Hartnell, Anna. “Katrina Tourism and a Tale of Two Cities: Visualizing Race and Class in New Orleans.” JSTOR, Sept. 2009, www.jstor.org/stable/27735016?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents. 

This piece was edited by Chandler Welch as part of Professor Kelley Crawford’s Digital Civic Engagement course at Tulane University.