Rising Tide

Sickly fascinating. First, the rain. Seems like it never ended. Has there been a flood like this since 1927? Then the people. The blatant grotesque racism - sharecroppers being charged money by their landlords for the Red Cross items given freely. Murders and rapes by the National Guard troops. The New Orleans upper crust blowing up levees in Saint Bernard and Plaquemines parishes to save their own city, swearing to rebuild (guess what - they didn't). Hoover's duplicity regarding the “colored.” (Beginning of the end of alignment of African Americans with Republican Party)

Subtitle “...and How It Changed America” - exodus of African-Americans north and west really picked up from this point - destruction wrought by the flood was so widespread that many sharecroppers just left, dispirited too by decline in race relations (Nat'l Guard had been used at times to FORCE sharecroppers to stay on the “plantations” where they farmed, white families who were displaced by flooding were free to go where they pleased of course...)

Also - Fed Gov't accepted responsibility for controlling the river in the future - first time such a sweeping project was undertaken by federal gov't, precursor to TVA New Deal etc? First “Big Government” project?