« West Point Professor Calls Anti-War Legal Scholars Fifth Column ThreatsEgypt’s War on Press Freedom »

Black New Orleans 10 Years Post-Katrina

September 2nd, 2015

by Stephen Lendman

August 29 marks the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. A personal note: Its devastation and ugly aftermath inspired this 70-year-old retiree at the time to begin writing about major world and national issues along with media work pro bono.

It bears repeating some what that first article said - calling Katrina less what nature wrought, more a conspiracy of federal, state and city government along with business interests against the area’s most vulnerable residents - mainly its poor Black population.

Over a million people were displaced. Over 1,000 died. Cashing in on disaster followed. Former Republican congressman/current lobbyist Richard Baker said at the time: “We finally cleaned up public housing in New Orleans. We couldn’t do it but God did.”

New Orleans developer Joseph Canizaro added: “I think we have a clean sheet to start again (and take advantage of) big opportunities.”

Their scheme: Erasing poor communities, replacing them with upscale development. Battered Gulf coast areas became a laboratory for disaster capitalism pioneered in Iraq.

Some of the same familiar names were involved - Halliburton, Bechtel and other profiteers aiming to cash in big. Plans were made in advance. Execution followed storm damage.

Davis-Bacon law guaranteeing prevailing wages on federally funded or assisted construction contracts was suspended - letting contractors employ undocumented workers at poverty wages and no benefits.

Blackwater USA and other paramilitaries were deployed straightaway - in full battle gear, patrolling streets in SUVs or unmarked cars with no license plates.

Army combat troops, National Guard forces, US Border Patrol operatives, and out-of-state police followed. Devastated New Orleans became a battleground.

In August 2013, Loyola University New Orleans Law Professor Bill Quigley wrote about conditions in New Orleans eight years post-Katrina.

Nearly 100,000 (largely Black) people “never got back,” he said. “(T)he city remains incredibly poor, jobs and income vary dramatically by race, rents are up, public transportation is down, traditional public housing is gone, life expectancy differs dramatically by race and place, and most public education has been converted into charter schools.”

Quigley explained city population declined from 455,000 pre-Katrina to about 369,000 in 2013. Nearly half of working-age Black men were unemployed.

Area African-American households earn half as much as white ones. Jobs continue shifting to urban areas. New Orleans public housing is gone. Poverty is double the national average.

Public transportation is woefully poor. Public education changed dramatically - to 80% quasi-public charter schools, an interim step toward likely privatization.

Imprisonment rates are four times higher that the national average. Quigley called New Orleans losing 948 square miles of coastal wetlands from 1932 to 2010 “the biggest crime of all.”

On August 27, he commented on New Orleans 10 years post-Katrina, saying tens of thousands of the city’s “sickest, oldest, poorest, youngest, people with disabilities and the like” were left behind.

Plans were to eliminate all unwanted residents. “Well, you can’t leave if you’re in a hospital. You can’t leave if you’re a nurse.”

“You can’t leave if you are a patient. You can’t leave if you’re in a nursing home. You can’t leave if you don’t have a car. All these things.”

“They didn’t…plan for that. And so, we’re talking about somewhere in the neighborhood, I think, of 100,000 (unwanted) people probably (remaining) in the metropolitan New Orleans area.”

When Katrina struck, lots of nursing home and hospital deaths occurred, Quigley explained. “The jail was full, 7,000 or so prisoners there without electricity, water, everything…(P)eople (were) stranded on house tops…”

Mandatory evacuation was ordered, but there were no buses, no trains. Anyone without transportation had no way out.

Tourist, business and other areas important to New Orleans largely recovered - “100,000 of our sisters and brothers in the African-American community never made it back, ever,” Quigley explained.

And returning poor people are worse off than ever. “Recovery has been a tale of two cities.” Privileged residents are well served. Blacks, the elderly, disabled and other disadvantaged ones were left out.

Bush and Obama administrations did nothing to help - serving rich and powerful interests exclusively, ignoring others most in need.

On August 27, Obama visited New Orleans for the first time as president, ignoring needs of its most disadvantaged throughout his tenure.

He lied claiming “(m)y administration is going to stand with you and fight alongside you until the job is done, until (the city) is all the way back. All the way.”

Promises made throughout his tenure were systematically broken. America’s most disadvantaged in New Orleans and nationwide are more on their own unaided by all levels of government since pre-Great Depression days. Nothing in prospect suggests change.

New Orleans remains a window on America’s future. Survival increasingly depends on the ability to pay. Those unable are neglected, abandoned, ignored and forgotten.

-###-

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks World War III".

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.

Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network.

It airs three times weekly: live on Sundays at 1PM Central time plus two prerecorded archived programs

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.

Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network.

It airs three times weekly: live on Sundays at 1PM Central time plus two prerecorded archived programs.

No feedback yet

Voices

Voices

  • Paul Craig Roberts Jobs Offshoring and Work Visas Are Means of Enriching Corporate Executives with “Performance bonuses” for Replacing American Labor with Lower Paid Foreign Labor, thus Reducing Aggregate Demand in the US From The Failure of Laissez…
  • By David Swanson Wouldn’t it be nice if the war in Ukraine were entirely one side’s fault, if the U.S. had one political party that did everything perfectly, if USAID had only ever caused either benefit or harm, and if all the self-contradictory…
  • Janet Campbell Image: Freepik When you care deeply about a cause, it’s natural to want to make an impact. But taking meaningful action in your community isn’t just about passion—it’s about strategy, persistence, and connection. Whether you’re advocating…
  • Paul Craig Roberts and Larry Sparano Discuss the Fight Ahead This is my interview by Larry Sparano of a few days ago prior to my learning, as I posted yesterday, that the temporary injunctions that judges are issuing against Trump and Musk’s activities…
  • Andrew Korybko Andrew Korybko's Newsletter The US could move its nascent “New Détente” with Russia further along by either forcing the G7 and UNGA Resolution sponsors to change their language about “Russian aggression” or refusing to attach its name to…
  • Paul Craig Roberts If there is gold in Ft. Knox, whose is it? Many bullion dealers believe that any gold in Ft. Knox is not ours. Over the decades the gold was “leased” to bullion dealers who sold it into the gold market, thereby protecting the value of…
  • Dr. Vladislav B. Sotirovic “Dresden was known as a city that was overcrowded by up to 500,000 German refugees from the east.” The Three Men of Slashing        It was in May/September 1945 when WWII ended – the bloodiest and most horrible war ever fought…
  • Robert David The so-called ‘free market’ was never free—it’s a stage-managed spectacle where financial elites dictate the rules, rig the system, and ensure that true competition never sees the light of day. What if the so-called 'free market' was never…
  • Chris Spencer Discover the powerful herbs and vitamins that support neurogenesis and neuroprotection, promoting brain health and resilience against cognitive decline. Key players like Bacopa Monnieri, Ashwagandha, Omega-3s, and Vitamin D provide…
  • Tracy Turner Discover how pro-Zionist media outlets shape narratives around the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This article explores tactics such as framing and selective omission, which often portray Israel as a victim while overlooking Palestinian…
February 2025
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
 << <   > >>
            1
2 3 4 5 6 7 8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15
16 17 18 19 20 21 22
23 24 25 26 27 28  

  XML Feeds

CMS software
FAIR USE NOTICE: This site contains copyrighted articles and information about environmental, political, human rights, economic, democratic, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. This news and information is displayed without profit for educational purposes, in accordance with, Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107 of the US Copyright Law. Thepeoplesvoice.org is a non-advocacy internet web site, edited by non-affiliated U.S. citizens. editor
ozlu Sozler GereksizGercek Hava Durumu Firma Rehberi Hava Durumu Firma Rehberi E-okul Veli Firma Rehberi