Kriti Mehrotra
With ABC’s ‘Hurricane Katrina: 20 Years After the Storm with Robin Roberts’ living up to its title, we get a clear insight into some of the long-term effects of the devastating 2005 tragedy. It explores everything from local rebuilding efforts to the way communities came together to revive their culture, to the stories of those children who were left with nothing but trauma. Among the latter — often referred to as Hurricane Katrina Babies — was actually Jasmine Batiste, a now 29-year-old who vividly remembers almost everything she experienced back then.
Jasmine Batiste Endured an Immense Sense of Loss
Born on August 21, 1996, in New Orleans, Louisiana, to Janell Dandridge Batiste and Kevin Batiste, as the apple of their eye, Jasmine Batiste grew up surrounded by affection as well as support. She admittedly loved every aspect of not only her little family but also the local communities because it was evident to her that their vibrant music scene and traditions were significant. However, everything turned upside down just over a week after she celebrated her 9th birthday, as Hurricane Katrina struck, causing levees to break and essentially flooding most of the city.
Jasmine still remembers that the murky water was inside her home and at her feet within a few hours, driving her to innocently ask her mother if they were all going to be okay. It wasn’t until later that she realized they were stranded, which was unfortunately the case for a majority of families in the area, so they took to the water-filled streets or their roofs in the hopes of finding help. The Batiste family had chosen the second option, only to soon lose hope of rescue as federal helicopters kept flying by. That is, until three days after the storm, when they were finally able to wave one down.
Jasmine was carried to safety alongside her mother in a basket, with them holding onto one another for dear life due to their fear of heights as well as their view of the flooded city. “I’m holding onto my momma, and I’m (thinking) like, ‘I don’t want the basket to fall. We’re slinging over water and roofs right now,'” she recalled. “…I was just like, What’s next? What’s life after this?'” The then-9-year-old was actually displaced from her hometown for a short period before being able to return, but things obviously weren’t the same. Her life had changed, she was forced to grow up, the experience had given her perspective, and she even began wondering why her education was important after such trauma.
Jasmine Batiste Has Since Found Her Calling in Music
Jasmine wasn’t a bad kid by any means, but she did push back on wanting to go to school as well as engaging in other similar activities since it seemed as if she was being asked to pretend nothing had happened. She candidly stated in the aforementioned original, “I didn’t want to go to school. (I thought), ‘My house is not even there. Why do I need to come to school?’ I had no motivation.” It took some time, but she eventually discovered music through the free after-school program at the Trombone Shorty Foundation and Trombone Shorty Music Academy, which ended up becoming her “therapy.”
The feeling of pure solace Jasmine got from learning as well as playing music was indescribable, eventually making her wonder if she could facilitate this same sense of security for others. The fact that she was actually an incredible jazz musician definitely helped her along the way, driving her to participate in different competitions, be a part of various community events, and even join bands. In fact, when she attended the University of Southern Mississippi, she was not only a member of the Zeta Phi Beta sorority but also a Marching Band member who went on to be known as the “Human Jukebox.”
Since then, it appears as if Jasmine has returned to Louisiana to settle down in Baton Rouge, where she now serves as an educator at the East Baton Rouge Parish School System and St. Helena Parish School District. To be precise, she is an Elementary Music Teacher as well as the Assistant Band Director at Livingston Collegiate Academy, all the while also being involved with the Trombone Shorty Music Academy as a Program Instructor. The now 29-year-old also made history during Mardi Gras back in 2022 as the first-ever “Spy Queen,” a position she proudly maintains to this day. The title had always been “Spy Boy,” who is “the baddest of all the Indians,” within her tribe of Wild Magnolias, but she “took” this position because she knew she deserved it. In other words, despite her trauma, it appears as if Jasmine is perfectly content with where she stands today, thanks to her involvement with music and her tribe, which is all that matters in the long run.
Read More: Jeremy Tauriac: Where is the Hurricane Katrina Survivor Now?
