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Ron Jackson's Perspective
The Sunday Journal -
Think
Kankakee, Illinois
January 22, 2006
King would have
sent Ray Nagin packing |
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The first Monday after January 15 is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
To some it's a paid holiday, to some it is just another day, and to
others it is a day of celebration.
What was supposed to be a day of reflection turned into one
that made my skin crawl as I gritted my teeth.
All across the country, there were MLK Day events. Fortunately
for me, I attended none of them. Yet, I was totally blown away
by some of the words from a speech by New Orleans' Mayor Ray Nagin.
During his MLK speech, he said, "It's time for us to come
together. It's time for us to rebuild New Orleans, the one that
should be a chocolate New Orleans. It's the way God wants it. You
can't have New Orleans no other way. It wouldn't be New Orleans."
Call me stupid, but that goes against everything I understood
Martin Luther King espoused. Silly me. I thought King advocated
and fought for equal rights for all people. I assumed when King
came to Chicago in 1966 it was because he wanted blacks to have
affordable housing in a city that was predominately
white. I figured his battles in the South were to
end racial segregation. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe King wanted
black-only cities.
In June 1963 when then-governor of Alabama George
Wallace vowed the state university would always be white only by
proclaiming, "Segregation Now, segregation tomorrow, segregation
forever,"
he
was deemed a racist. When young white men carried signs that read
"Keep Alabama White," they were called hate-mongers.
Now 38 years after King's death, we are being told that it's
only right to have a city that is black, and furthermore, God wants
it that way. What is even more disturbing is that this comes from
the mouth of the man who didn't have the common sense to use
hundreds of school buses to move his constituents to safety.
Before New Orleans was destroyed by hurricanes Katrina and
Rita, its population was over 70 percent black. As the city works
toward rebuilding itself, analysis suggests New Orleans will never
return to its former demographic self. Many of the residents long
to return home, but cannot afford to move back.
New Orleans is a vital economical and cultural part of
America. It should be rebuilt to its former status. If 100 percent
of the blacks who were displaced by the hurricanes wish to return,
that should happen, but only if they choose to and can afford it.
To establish or re-establish a city primarily on racial grounds
should be unconstitutional. If it was wrong to have "Whiteville" 50
years ago, it is wrong to have "Chocolate City" today.
As I vaguely recall part of Dr. King's speech when he said,
"…little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with
little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and
brothers," I guess he wasn't thinking that would happen in New
Orleans.
Sounding like a recent graduate with honors from the Pat
Robertson School of Ignorance, Mayor Nagin went on
to add that God was angry at America for our involvement in Iraq and
that God was upset at Black America, too. "Surely God is mad at
America. He sent us hurricane after hurricane after hurricane, and
it's destroyed and put stress on this country," Nagin proclaimed.
I keep wondering. Why didn't God tell him to use those school
buses?
It may appear that Mother Nature has been more of a challenge
for us the last few years, but I don't think there is any
correlation between natural disasters and political disaster.
History has shown that we can rebuild and recover from natural
disasters in a matter of a few years. History has also taught us
that when political and influential disasters like Ray Nagin strike,
it sets us back generations.
When the new history books on racism, hatred, and stupidity are
printed, if they are accurate, right next to the pictures of white
hoods, burning crosses, nooses, Jim Crow, David Duke, and George
Wallace should be an 8x10 glossy of New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin. |
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