mithun
19 August 2006, 04:11
New Orleans mayor blames racism for slow Katrina recovery
- Indianapolis: New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin has blamed racism and government bureaucracy for hamstringing his city's ability to weather Hurricane Katrina and recover from the disaster that struck the Gulf Coast nearly a year ago. In remarks to the annual meeting of the National Association of Black Journalists, Nagin said the hurricane "exposed the soft underbelly of America as it relates to dealing with race and class."
"And I, to this day, believe that if that would have happened in Orange County, California, if that would have happened in South Beach, Miami, it would have been a different response," Nagin said. New Orleans was 60 per cent black before Katrina struck August 29. Early this year the mayor called on fellow blacks to again make New Orleans a "chocolate" city, but he later apologised.
Nagin condemned federal regulations that discourage rebuilding in the largely black and low-lying Ninth Ward neighborhood. While tens of billions of dollars in federal aid have flowed to Louisiana and other states devastated by Katrina, much of it has gone to developers and contractors, Nagin said. "Very little of those dollars have gotten to the local governments or to the people themselves," Nagin said. Katrina dispersed three-quarters of New Orleans' pre-hurricane population of about 460,000 people, and today it's a city of about 250,000. Nagin suggested that Louisiana and federal officials would prefer the city remain smaller.
- Indianapolis: New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin has blamed racism and government bureaucracy for hamstringing his city's ability to weather Hurricane Katrina and recover from the disaster that struck the Gulf Coast nearly a year ago. In remarks to the annual meeting of the National Association of Black Journalists, Nagin said the hurricane "exposed the soft underbelly of America as it relates to dealing with race and class."
"And I, to this day, believe that if that would have happened in Orange County, California, if that would have happened in South Beach, Miami, it would have been a different response," Nagin said. New Orleans was 60 per cent black before Katrina struck August 29. Early this year the mayor called on fellow blacks to again make New Orleans a "chocolate" city, but he later apologised.
Nagin condemned federal regulations that discourage rebuilding in the largely black and low-lying Ninth Ward neighborhood. While tens of billions of dollars in federal aid have flowed to Louisiana and other states devastated by Katrina, much of it has gone to developers and contractors, Nagin said. "Very little of those dollars have gotten to the local governments or to the people themselves," Nagin said. Katrina dispersed three-quarters of New Orleans' pre-hurricane population of about 460,000 people, and today it's a city of about 250,000. Nagin suggested that Louisiana and federal officials would prefer the city remain smaller.