Through the camera lens of Christine “Cfreedom” Brown we explore some of the many locations where people in New Orleans and Bulbancha live on or around levees. Putting a boat in water, going for a jog or bike ride, looking for birds, making music, building community, and seeking spiritual sustenance -- these are just some of the ways in which New Orleanians cross over manmade barriers in order to connect with the waters that surround us.
Red lines indicate the alignment of the levees and floodwalls that encircle the city.
1. Bucktown Harbor Living Shoreline: Recently completed breakwaters, wetland, boardwalk, and learning pavilion.
2. West End Marina: Boaters embark on explorations of Lake Pontchartrain and beyond from these berths.
3. Lincoln Beach: Community activists are leading a push to reopen Lincoln Beach (left of the railroad tracks), which served Black people across southeast Louisiana during segregation.
4. Riverbend Batture Houses: A few residents maintain homes outside of the river levee (foreground); New Orleans drinking water intake visible farther down the levee.
5. MAAFA at the River: The annual procession ends at the riverfront and commemorates the tragedy of the Middle Passage.
6. Sunset at Algier’s Point: A sunset stroll on the river leee, with the Crescent City Connection in the background.
