A recent photo spread in W Magazine entitled ‘Come Down to Nawlins‘, and photographed by Bruce Webber, got me thinking about the situation in New Orleans since Katrina, an issue I have always been interested in, something I am extremely passionate about.
Here’s my chosen photo from the spread:

Now unless you have been living under a rock, you know about the disaster that was hurricane Katrina, the effect it had along the gulf coast of the North America, the hundreds and hundreds of people who died (reportedly less than a thousand, but I believe more), and the thousands who lost their homes, belongings, lives… Memories. And of course, you also probably know about the delayed goverment reaction when it came to relief efforts for the victims, during the storm, the flooding of the streets of New Orleans, and even after the aftermath. This also exposed the huge major ethnic divide in the states, a discrimination that has always existed, but had never been so blatantly flaunted.

YOU CAN READ MORE ABOUT THIS ON THE BBC NEWS WEBSITE.

A good number of charities have been set up to help and support the victims, help rebuild homes, and generally bring back warmth, life and happiness to the city that was always full of love, music and spirit. A number of celebrities, most notably, Oprah, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, have spent a lot of time in New Orleans, getting dirty, and helping out from the ground up, and I suppose this has brought a lot more worldwide attention to the fact that, bluntly put, a lot of people are still homeless!

A couple of my friends Jac Currie and Brian Amanpour-LaRue, set up a company called Defend New Orleans.
They originally started as a project, a t shirt company by a bunch of guys who have always been obsessed with cool t shirts (so am I!), they used their creative and graphic skills to produce unique shirts, donating proceeds to charities which existed purely to benefit the rebirth of New Orleans. Word got around, and next thing you know, Lenny Kravitz was down as one of the first celebrities to consistently wear DNO, the brand grew, new shirt designs, accessories, and a brand spanking new website, with documentaries made by the guys and their friends, showcasing their lives after Katrina.

Please visit their website WWW.DEFENDNEWORLEANS.COM, check out their BLOG, and get a goddamn tee shirt!

For information regarding Defend New Orleans merchandise in the UK, for stocking in shops or wearing to event purposes, please contact me via email.