Faith in the flood: Katrina exposed injustice, fortified Black church 

U.S. COAST GUARD PETTY OFFICER 2ND CLASS KYLE NIEMI

New Orleans, Louisiana in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina along Interstate 10 at West End Boulevard, looking towards Lake Pontchartrain.

The writers are students at Johnson C. Smith University.

When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, it didn’t just destroy homes.

It exposed deep cracks in America’s systems of race, class and government response. 

For many Black residents, the storm showed how unprepared and unresponsive public institutions were to their needs. But it also highlighted the power of faith. Black churches, long known as centers of strength and leadership, became lifelines in a time of crisis.

In our interview with Dr. Kendal Mobley, professor of religion at Johnson C. Smith University, we asked about the history of the Black church, and how systems failed residents during this treacherous event. In his expert opinion, systems that residents relied upon were very inadequate, thus making it nearly impossible for citizens to evaluate in a timely and equitable manner. Notwithstanding, before one can truly understand that perspective, it is best to understand the standing of the Black church held in many communities, including New Orleans.

The Black church has always been a central part of Black life, especially during slavery, Reconstruction and the civil rights movement, but its role has changed over time. What used to be the unquestioned heart of the community has become more neutralized in some spaces as younger generations move away from traditional church structures, or look for support in schools, nonprofits or online communities instead. Even with that shift, the Black church still holds a long history of being a place where people found protection, leadership and a voice when they had nowhere else to turn, and Katrina made that history matter all over again.

One of the clearest points that came up in our conversations was how the Black church has always been more than a religious space. It has historically been a site of emotional support, political organizing and mutual aid, something that Katrina made even more visible.

In our interview with Dr. Tyler Bunzey, a cultural studies professor at JCSU, he explained that natural disasters don’t discriminate on their own, but expose inequalities already built into society. He reminded us that “racism is baked into our very structures” and that Katrina put pressure “on the cracks of the multicultural story” America was telling at the time.

Buzney also talked about how the country was trying to present a united front during the early 2000s, pointing to national leaders like Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice as proof that America was moving forward on race. Katrina, he said, shattered that illusion.

Bunzey also helped us understand how the storm revealed the complicated role of churches in New Orleans. He explained that New Orleans is not like other cities, because Black religious life there includes not only the traditional Black church but also Catholic parishes, Creole spirituality, Hoodoo traditions and community-based rituals that shape everyday life.

He noted that while some churches helped immediately, others acted through respectability politics or limited who they supported. He pointed out that the Black church has always had this dual reality: some parts deeply connected to the community and others more focused on who is “worthy” of help. According to him, Katrina exposed those differences.

Another important point he made was the difference between mutual aid and philanthropy. He shared that the Black church at its best operates through mutual aid, where people help each other because they understand shared struggle. But he said many modern churches act more like philanthropic institutions, helping only when people fit certain expectations or are part of the congregation. Katrina showed the limits of that shift, because real survival required open-handed community care, not selective assistance.

Mobley’s comments connect directly to what historian Donald E. DeVore discusses in his article “Water in Sacred Places: Rebuilding New Orleans Black Churches as Sites of Community Empowerment.” DeVore writes that faith-based organizations and churches were “a godsend for the metro area… showing an ability to organize, mobilize and get things done that has frequently eclipsed the public sector.” In other words, churches helped people faster and more effectively than the government did. Later in our conversation, Mobley explained what Hurricane Katrina revealed about race and class in America. 

“It revealed what I think a lot of people knew was true all along in that, if one is poor and especially if one is Black and poor in America, then, you know, the institutions that our society depends on to a very great extent are not necessarily built for poor people, for Black people, and are not responsive to their needs,” he said. “

That is true in terms of education in America. That is true in terms of good policing and law enforcement in America. That is true in terms of jobs and job training, and employment opportunities in America. It is true all across the board, and it was true in Hurricane Katrina when we saw this sort of clueless response, telling people to evacuate when they neither had the means to evacuate nor any place to go and could not evacuate. And so, we're just; we're just trapped there. And then, once they were trapped, it took so much time, days and days and days to rescue people and relieve them from their suffering. And Katrina revealed that vividly.”

DeVore’s research and Mobley’s reflection show how the Black church stood firm when systems failed. Franklin Avenue Baptist Church lost its entire building, but members continued to worship while displaced.

Bethany United Methodist Church had 11 feet of water inside but reopened with the motto “We Are Coming Back! Blessed, Bigger, better.” St. Augustine Catholic Church fought to stay open when officials tried to close it. 

Each church proved that even when everything around them was gone, faith and community stayed strong. Mobley also reminded us of the spiritual strength that comes from suffering. 

“The embodiment of Christ, both in Christ’s suffering and in the resurrection, I think is an important theme in Black preaching and teaching,” he said. 

In the end, both DeVore’s article and Mobley’s words remind us that the story of Hurricane Katrina isn’t just about destruction; it’s also about resilience. The Black church showed that even when buildings were flooded and systems collapsed, faith and community remained unbreakable.

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