VIDEO: A new exhibit at the Gulfport Museum of History unveiled a collection entitled ‘Katrina Images Revisited.’
“This lady, Carmen, was just off Howard Avenue when I walked up and there was debris everywhere and she was sweeping and cleaning and she had this incredible positive attitude and she said ‘I am karate mamma and I will survive.” James Bates worked for the Sun Herald as a photographer during Hurricane Katrina. The photo he calls ‘Karate Mamma’ is one his favorites in the exhibit. For him, it captures the fighting spirit of people determined to rebuild what Katrina destroyed. “I think we’ve come back in a tremendous way. It’s a testament to our people, those who have stayed, those who have come back, those who moved here after the storm and joined in on the fight. We have a great community and we have come along way from a really incredible disaster.”