Estimates suggest that anywhere from 100,000 to 300,000 evacuees initially came to Houston after Hurricane Katrina. While the exact number who permanently settled is harder to determine, reports indicate that around 30,000 to 60,000 people from New Orleans became permanent residents in the Houston area.
Many residents of New Orleans were asking the same question. They went from finding temporary homes in Houston and other Texas cities to settling down for the long-term.
Twenty years later, they’ve changed Houston.
According to Elliott, it’s difficult to put an exact figure on how many evacuees came to Houston. He said the number could range from 100,000 to 300,000.
Those who came changed the culture.
“We have an incredibly diverse city, so what the New Orleanians did, I suspect, is they entered into this sort of gumbo, if you will, and began to add a little bit of this and a little bit of that,” Elliott said.
It’s also hard to say how many Katrina evacuees are still in Houston 20 years later.
But their cultural contribution is undeniable — from Cajun flavors at crawfish boils to the widely popular White Linen Night block parties in the Houston Heights neighborhood.
Not only did they change Houston culturally, but they also reinvigorated a fading political power. The Black community has significant political influence, particularly in Houston, due to the addition of tens of thousands of new Black Voters.
Seven out of sixteen council members are Black. How did they manage that? In the same way, the Republicans did with the recent redistricting. They find non-voting Hispanics and pack them in a district with about 25% Black voters. District J is a perfect example. There are other forces at work, but that will be discussed in another post.
Houston is a highly diverse city, with Hispanic residents forming the largest ethnic group at over 44%, followed by White (Non-Hispanic) at about 23%, and Black or African American (Non-Hispanic) at approximately 22%. The Asian population is also significant, around 7%, while smaller percentages identify as Two or More Races, Native American, or Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander.
