Today makes 20 years since Hurricane Katrina tore through New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. August 29, 2005 is a day we’ll never forget. The storm changed everything and it took too many lives. People were left stranded on rooftops, stuck inside the Superdome, or literally DYING at the New Orleans Convention Center.
If you were in the city back then, or even if you made it out and watched the news, you remember one man stepping into the chaos: Lieutenant General Russel Honoré. Born in Lakeland, Louisiana, he wasn’t some distant face behind a microphone. He came straight to the ground, to the flooded streets, to where the people were.
The General didn’t waste time. He looked around, saw the mess, and started moving supplies and bodies where they needed to go. One of the first things he did was tell soldiers and police to lower their weapons. Folks didn’t need rifles pointed at them, they needed water, food, and a plan. That moment stuck with people. It sent a message that help was finally here.
Honoré didn’t care about politics or looking good on camera. He spoke plain and didn’t hold back. When reporters started asking pointless questions, he shut them down with his now-famous line: “Don’t get stuck on stupid”. That wasn’t a soundbite—it was the truth. There was no time for excuses when people were hungry and dying.
Here’s the thing that made him different. While the media kept calling people looters, he called it what it was: survival. He saw families taking food and water because they had no choice. That shift mattered. In a city that was already hurting, he gave people their dignity back.
Katrina wasn’t just a natural disaster, it was a cultural turning point. During a live telethon, Kanye West blurted out “George Bush doesn’t care about Black people”. A lot of folks nodded because that’s what it looked like on TV—Black New Orleanians suffering with no help in sight. That moment, just like Honoré’s, is burned into memory 20 years later.
Even now, documentaries are being released to remind us of what went down. Nat Geo, Netflix, ABC, ESPN—all telling the stories again. Some highlight the failures, some the heroes, but they all circle back to the same truth: Katrina exposed the cracks in the system.
And Honoré? He’s still around, still talking about preparedness and resilience. He’s pushed for environmental safety with his GreenARMY, and he was even called on to review security after the January 6 attack in Washington. He hasn’t stopped serving, just in a different way. New Orleans remembers him as the Category 5 General. Not because of a catchphrase, but because he showed up when the city needed somebody to take charge. He reminded us that leadership means being on the ground, moving fast, and putting people first.
Twenty years later, we still carry those lessons. Move with urgency. Speak plain. Protect people before politics. That’s why General Russel Honoré is a Triple-OG in my opinion. Always will be.
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