About Us

Record. Respond. Reflect.

Alive in Truth records life histories of people from New Orleans, Louisiana and nearby areas who were affected by Hurricane Katrina. Our mission is to document individual lives, restore community bonds, and to uphold the voices, culture, rights, and history of New Orleanians.

Abe Louise Young, Director

Abe Louise Young is a poet, activist, and oral historian. A native of New Orleans' Uptown and Mid-City neighborhoods, she graduated from the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, as well as Smith College, Northwestern University, and the University of Texas at Austin. She is editor of the anthology Hip Deep: Opinion, Essays, and Vision from American Teenagers. Abe Louise founded Alive in Truth from her home in Austin, TX.

Interviewers, Social Workers, and Transcribers

Katy Adams * Dr. Kris Hogan * Ginny Agnew * Wayne Wiley * Sari Albornoz * Cindy Austin * Liz Belile * Carolyn Blankenship * Tim Catts * Catherine Cogburn * Jessie Cohen * Ann Connell * Sarah Cross * Mollie Fischer * Maya Katz * Pat Louis * Krissy Mahan * Melissa McKanna * Melissa Metry * Courtney Morris * Marti Pomputius * Pedro Reynoso * Brigid Shea * Rebecca Solnit * Jess Weida * Merry Winslow * Sarah Yahm * Pilar Castrejon * Jordan Erdos * Jennifer Margulies * Jodi Relyea * Carolyn Walls * Meg Daly * Zanne deJanvier * D'Arcy Randall * Kate X Messer * Lisa Martin * Matthew Wheeland * Riza Falk * Roxanne Mitchell * Allyson Murphy * Dr. D'Ann Penner * Melanie Cofield * Kris Bronstad * Paul Aumer-Ryan

In the News

• "An admirable, all-volunteer effort to document the lives and experiences of New Orleans evacuees…Alive in Truth is a thorough, big-picture exploration of the toll of one of America's worst natural disasters through the eyes of its victims - an invaluable historical tool." —The Austin Chronicle
  
  
• The Austin Chronicle Best of Austin Award, 2005
  
  
• The Daily Texan
  Exhibit tells survivors' stories in their words
  Group strives to bring together Austin, New Orleans


• The Daily Texan
  Poet keeps truth alive after Katrina
  Local creates oral project for evacuees to tell their stories
  
  
• The Texas Journalist
  Alive In Truth Project to archive victims' experiences
  
  
• The Texas Observer
  A Universe of Stories
  
  
• News 8 Austin
  Photography exhibit documents Hurricane Katrina experience
  Video interview by reporter Amy Hadley
  
  
• KOOP Radio: Inner Views with Abigail Lipson
  Interviews with Alive in Truth founder Abe Louise Young

Special Thanks to Our Supporters:

Austin Community Foundation * Austin History Center * Benjamin Hooks Institute for Social Change * University of Texas at Austin School of Information * Publishing Resources * ConnectNC * Foundation Communities * Corners of the Mouth Food Store * Mason-Martin Group * Dale Cotton * Edward and Veronica Young * Patricia Shea * Betsy Harries