One of two historically African American communities that sprang up along the Mississippi Gulf Coast after emancipation, North Gulfport has always been a place where residents have had fewer civic resources than those extended to other outlying communities.

I'm from the gulf coast of Louisiana.

In the early 1970s in Atlanta, I attended what had formerly been an all-white school but had become a black school after integration and white flight. Perhaps because of this, the teachers created a curriculum that included a focus on African American literature and history year-round, not just in February.

My great-grandchildren will not be able to enjoy the Gulf Coast of Louisiana the way I have.

Thirty percent of the Nation's energy comes off the gulf coast.

The recovery of the Gulf Coast region will take years to complete.