I am Rebecca Klagholz and have chosen to research how the ninth ward was negatively impacted during Hurricane Katrina. This topic piqued my interest because I have family who was affected by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and saw the impact first hand. I am very familiar with the New Orleans area and the depth of damage that was done by the hurricane. Some even claimed Hurricane Katrina to be the worst thing to happen to America since the Civil War. The ninth ward is a lower-income section of New Orleans that is primarily black. This section happened to be where the levee broke and underdown the most damage. As the ninth ward was in poverty, many of the primarily black residents did not have the resources to leave before the hurricane, leading to more deaths and many could not afford to rebuild. There is a history in the south, that has continued since slavery, where blacks continue to have less opportunity to lift themselves out of poverty and tragic events have more of an impact on their community; the negative consequences felt for years. In 2005, 9th ward residents lived in extreme poverty compared to other sections of New Orleans. I plan to argue discriminatory evidence was unveiled during Hurricane Katrina and the harmful conditions that still exist within the South. 

The importance of sisterhood in The Color Purple

I’m Caitlin Holliday, and for this project, I am researching the film The Color Purple, directed by Steven Spielberg. The story, originally published by Alice Walker, spans forty years, following the life of Celie, an African American woman who survives years of physical and sexual abuse at the hands of her father and husband Albert (Mister) Johnson. Despite her violent environment, Celie confides in other African American women, specifically Shug Avery, who allows her to come to terms with her sexuality. Although the South is stereotypically less progressive in terms of same-sex relationships, this realization becomes a turning point in the film, allowing Celie to find selfhood and independence, helping her escape years of abuse. I plan to argue that the film refutes gender and sexual stereotypes about the South. I decided to research this topic after reading excerpts from the novel in my Adverse Childhood Experiences class last year. Although the book is different from the film in a few ways, especially when it comes to Celie and Shug’s relationship, I was always very interested in watching the film adaptation. Some information that I already know that I hope to discuss in my paper includes the history of gender inequality in the South. This inequality perpetuated abuse, causing many African American women to suffer abuse in similar ways to Celie.  

My name is Abby Elmore, and I have chosen to research the Charleston Single House. I decided to pick this topic because the Charleston Single House is not only an integral piece of architecture in the Charleston area but also an authentic representation of Southern history and culture. Mannerisms unique to the South were developed because of the Charleston Single House. Concepts such as “Northside Manners”, a respect for privacy, and hosting/spending time on the porch arose in Southern life with the rise in popularity of the Charleston Single House. Similar to the origination of many Southern mannerisms and culture, the “piazza” of the Single House was thought to have originated in the West Indies, with Afro-Caribbean origins. An interesting fact about the Single House design was that it was constructed to prevent fires! The Charleston Single House exemplifies the resourcefulness of Charlestonians in response to the subtropical climate and narrow but deep house lots in the area. The Charleston Single House also has ties to Antebellum culture. The Single House would often act as the “Big House” for slave owning Charlestonians, with it being surrounded by servant/slave buildings. The simple architectural style of the Charleston Single House has deeply rooted ties to the Southern way of life.

While the Charleston Single House differs from both Rebecca and Caitlin’s, the overall collection of our topics can add to a reader’s understanding of the South. Each of our topics provides insights to the different aspects of the South.

Racial discrimination in the South connects both research topics. While The Color Purple focuses on gender inequalities throughout the story, the ninth ward during Hurricane Katrina displays the poverty and fewer opportunities the African American community faces. Although the primary focus of both papers is different, race plays a major role in the treatment of the characters in the film and those affected by Hurricane Katrina. In both instances, Black individuals had fewer opportunities to advance in society. For example, the Black women in The Color Purple worked primarily as housekeepers, with little opportunity to advance due to societal gender and racial norms. In terms of Hurricane Katrina, victims had less opportunity to pull themselves out of tragedy due to similar norms. In both instances, intersectionality plays a big role in the societal position of the characters in The Color Purple and the victims of Katrina. Both of these topics beg the question of whether these societal norms still exist in the contemporary South.