NEW ORLEANS (AP)— Gulf Coast residents tried to put Hurricane Katrina behind them on Sunday, marking its fifth anniversary by casting wreaths into the water to remember the hundreds killed. But part of the catastrophe lives on, in abandoned homes still bearing spray-painted circles indicating they had been searched and whether bodies were found inside.

President Barack Obama joined those hailing the recovery made so far in New Orleans, which he said has become a “symbol of resilience and community.” In a neighborhood that has seen little of that recovery, the Lower 9th Ward, it was the failures that seemed more apparent to residents.

ANNIVERSARY—The Sons of Jazz Brass Band march in a second line parade through the Lower 9th Ward to commemorate the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, Aug. 29.

by Jessica Harper

(NNPA)—A 2009 study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) revealed that Black teens and young adults are more prone to violence than their White counterparts. Despite that alarming fact, mentoring and counseling groups like the District-based Evolutionary Elders (EE) continue to inspire African-American youths to excel personally and professionally.

Co-founder and author, Eugene Williams Sr., said the organization fights the odds by maintaining a positive outlook about the future of Black youths.

“We don’t want to be bothered with defeatist attitudes,” Williams, 68, said.

For the Week of September 2-8

September 2

1766—Post-Colonial era Black leader James Forten is born on this day in 1766. Little known today but during that period he was one of the most prominent Black men in America. Born free in Philadelphia, Pa., he became a fierce anti-slavery activist, an inventor and successful businessman. In fact, the sail-making company he found made him one of the wealthiest Black men in the nation. Forten and AME Church founder Richard Allen organized the First Convention of Color in 1817. He went back and forth on the issue of “re-Africanization” which called for the return of Blacks to Africa. He financially supported Paul Cuffee’s venture in the West African nation of Sierra Leone but he later turned against the American Colonization Society and its efforts to return free American Blacks to the West African nation of Liberia.

by Glen Johnson

VINEYARD HAVEN, Mass. (AP)—President Barack Obama had a simple task for his first morning on vacation: shoot over to a Martha’s Vineyard bookstore to fill out his daughters’ summer reading list and grab himself a novel.

Easier said than done.

BOOK SHOPPING—President Barack Obama, with daughters Malia and Sasha, leave the Bunch of Grapes book store in Vineyard Haven, Mass., Aug. 20, where the first family is vacationing on Martha’s Vineyard.

His SUV, part of a 20-vehicle motorcade, passed through a cordon of Massachusetts State Police motorcycle officers, in a protective cocoon of Secret Service agents. Tagging along for the quick trip Friday were White House communications trucks, an ambulance and two vans full of reporters and photographers.