After Katrina: The Rainbow in the Crescent

By now millions of words have been written about the causes and consequences of Hurricane Katrina; the Category 4 storm which destroyed much of the City of New Orleans along with the nearby Gulf coasts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Though I could write chapters about the usual subjects - New Orleans’s perilous location below sea level; its largely poor, African-American population; and the Bush’s Administration disastrous response to the calamity - I will limit my comments to Katrina’s impact on the Crescent City’s “People of the Rainbow.” We do not know how many lesbians, gay men and boys, bisexuals or transgendered people lost their homes, their livelihoods, or their lives to this killer storm. On the day that Katrina struck, gay New Orleans was getting ready for Southern Decadence, the Labor Day weekend festival that usually draws thousands of us to the Big Easy. Two days later Southern Decadence 2005 was officially canceled; though it continued to be used as a symbol by both sides of the culture war.

For years Southern Decadence has been the target of religious extremists who railed against its open displays of male nudity and gay sexuality. Some of them were quick to blame Katrina’s destructiveness on New Orleans’s willingness to host such an event: “Although the loss of lives is deeply saddening, this act of God destroyed a wicked city,” opined Michael Marcavage, director of the group Repent America. “From ‘Girls Gone Wild’ to ‘Southern Decadence,’ New Orleans was a city that had its doors wide open to the public celebration of sin. May it never be the same.” Marcavage ignored the fact that Katrina also struck the Gulf coasts of Mississippi and Alabama - nobody’s idea of a “gay Mecca;” that New Orleans’s “gay” French Quarter was spared much of the flood and destruction that struck other parts of that city; and that thousands of queer lives were spared by the fact that Katrina came along a week too soon for Marcavage’s purposes.

Though Southern Decadence 2005 was canceled, some of us were determined to keep its spirit alive. On Labor Day Sunday a small group of marchers, defying the city’s order to evacuate, held aloft a tattered rainbow flag as they paraded down Bourbon Street. Meanwhile, in Lafayette, Louisiana several hundred people, all refugees from New Orleans, held an “Unofficial Southern Decadence in Exile 2005" parade. Led by fierce female impersonator Stephanie Stevens, the refugees marched from one Lafayette gay bar to another; in memory and anticipation of better days.

Many people expressed shock at the gays’ determination to enjoy life in the midst of so much destruction; and religious extremists tried to make the most out of it. “The shocking callousness of New Orleans’ gay activists towards the severe suffering of its fellow citizens cannot be adequately articulated in a news report,” screamed James Hartline, a so-called “former homosexual,” to the religious right rag WorldNetDaily.com. “The idea that human beings are continuing to party while hundreds of thousands of fellow citizens are starving, dying and suffering from a multitude of sicknesses brings into focus the real lack of judgment that these constant advocates of special rights demonstrate in a time of crisis.”

Hartline complains too much. What New Orleans’s GLBT community did in its time of trial was to join forces, think positively and celebrate what Katrina could not take away: our lives, our communities, and our capacity to enjoy and celebrate life in spite of all that’s thrown in our direction. Rather than being attacked for having too much fun, those who keep the spirit of Southern Decadence alive should be praised. Of course, happy homosexuals are the last thing that Repent America and others like it want to see.

Far from being selfish hedonists, the world’s GLBT community have been very generous in helping the victims of hurricane Katrina. Many of the so-called “circuit boys” who would have gone to Southern Decadence are donating the money that they would have spent in New Orleans to the Red Cross. (The same Red Cross that refuses to accept gay male blood.) Lambda Legal has opened a toll-free hotline to provide legal assistance to GLBT survivors; while other groups are addressing the needs of NOLA refugees who live with HIV or AIDS. In addition to the usual charities, many of us have contributed to the Rainbow World Fund (RainbowFund.org), “a gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and supportive humanitarian service agency.” Endorsed by the Human Rights Campaign, the “Rainbow World Fund’s mission is to promote LGBT philanthropy in the area of world humanitarian relief.” Moneys raised by the Rainbow World Fund “will go to America’s Second Harvest (ASH), the nation’s food bank network.” As of September 15, RWF has raised over $250,000 for much-needed hurricane relief. Take that, Repent America.