As a lifelong resident of the Lower 9th Ward, a fifth-generation homeowner, and the founder of Sankofa Community Development Corporation, I read your recent article on the lack of grocery access in our neighborhood with disappointment. This is not to say the topic isn't critical; it absolutely is, but it overlooks the real, ongoing work being done by the people who live here. It echoed the same tired narrative: that the Lower 9th Ward is still waiting for something to happen.

We're not waiting. We've been working.

For nearly two decades, Sankofa CDC has been responding to the legacy of food apartheid and systemic disinvestment in our neighborhood not with complaints, but with action. We've grown urban farms, removed tons of debris from blighted lots, partnered with local farmers and fishers, operated mobile markets, employed community members, launched a Main Street corridor, created a 40-acre wetland park and, just last year, opened the Fresh Start Market, the Lower 9th Ward's only green grocery store. That's not theory. That's boots on the ground. That's progress.

Have there been challenges? Absolutely. But despite limited resources and systemic obstacles, we've pushed forward because we are not just rebuilding after Katrina. We are reclaiming our community, on our terms.

The narrative that the Lower 9th Ward is "still behind" fails to see the people already doing the work. It disrespects the families who returned, rolled up their sleeves, and continue to build. As we approach the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, we call on the media to stop with surface-level parachute coverage and start showing up with intention, consistency and respect.

Our neighborhood is not a blank slate. It is a place of resilience, culture, history and power.

We're here. We never left. And we're not done yet.

RASHIDA FERDINAND

founder and CEO, Sankofa Community Development Corporation