Ironton, LA
Iron Sharpens Iron
Directed by filmmaker John Richie and produced by the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, “Iron Sharpens Iron” chronicles Ironton’s fight against the development of the Plaquemines Liquids Terminal (PLT) atop their ancestral burial grounds, as well as the destruction wrought by Hurricane Ida. Every structure in the community, which is outside of the levee protection system, was damaged in the storm. The film is part of the LEH initiative “Coastal Impacts: An Integrated Approach for Community Adaptation, Understanding and Planning,” which assists local communities in building intergenerational coastal literacy through community conversations around books, film and exhibitions, fostering greater understanding of and support for coastal restoration projects.
‘They want us gone’: Black Louisianans fight to rebuild a year after Ida

A year after Hurricane Ida brought eight to 15 feet of floodwater to Plaquemines Parish—a coastal parish in Southeast Louisiana—historic Black communities Ironton and West Point a la Hache are still fighting for a just recovery. Slow-moving action from federal agencies like HUD and FEMA, a massive shortage in affordable housing, and inadequate flood protection have left residents facing a difficult decision: leave behind neighbors, traditional lifeways, and ancestral lands to migrate in search of housing, or fight to rebuild, elevate homes and make the coast more resilient to intense storms. Please click here to read more of the story by Michael Esealuka for Southerly Magazine.