Lake Providence, LA

Feature | brendan, September 3rd, 2005

Drummer Ricky Caesar fled New Orleans with his extended family [Brendan Greeley]

I’m in Lake Providence, Louisiana. Lake Providence is three hours away from New Orleans, but already dealing with a flood of evacuees (Refugees? Are we allowed to have refugees in America?) that it doesn’t really have the resources to handle. It was the poorest town in America after the 1990 census, and it’s not doing too much better now. This is the case in many small towns in Northeastern Louisiana, a region about as well off as Appalachia. The only Red Cross shelter is in Monroe, and families have simply stopped where they ran out of gas or money and asked for help. A hundred people are in Providence Church; this is not because the town set aside the church as a refuge, but because people found a church, stopped and asked if they could stay.

There is no Red Cross or FEMA money in Lake Providence or Tallulah or any of the other small towns taking in hundreds of people each; they are just saying “Yes, stay here,” and trying to come up with the resources to help. Most immediately, the locals are trying to find money to move evacuees to Monroe, but medium-term, many families are likely to settle right where they are. They’ll need clothes and school supplies and, you know, everything.

My girlfriend grew up in Lake Providence, and her mother, a therapist, is helping counsel the evacuees in the shelter. We set up a site — lakeprovidencehelp.com — that explains all of this, but if you’re thinking about giving — and have the money to do so — think about giving to Lake Providence, to help one small but urgent need in an immediate way.

The Caesar Brothers

Drummer Ricky Caesar has played all the places you’ve heard about, but he loves Tipitina’s the best. “I can’t explain it,” he said, “but that stage is so small, and everyone has played on it, Professor Longhair…” He had just finished cutting an album of Indian music with his brother (Groups of elaborately costumed “Indians” parade on Mardi Gras to second-line music) before the hurricane, and was in the process of setting up a website. The CD was one of the essentials he brought with him along with his family; he gave me a copy, and post it under a creative commons license. If you want to think about the best parts of New Orleans for a bit, listen to the Caesar Brothers.

I Was Standing on the Corner

Wild Wild Indians

Big Chief Sor Night and Day