Monday, September 12, 2005

Blacks fault lack of local leadership

Blacks fault lack of local leadership - Nation/Politics - The Washington Times, America's Newspaper: "Some in the black community are beginning to question what happened to the black leadership during the Hurricane Katrina disaster, especially in the city of New Orleans.
While a few black leaders, including the Rev. Jesse Jackson, the Rev. Al Sharpton and the Congressional Black Caucus, have singled out the president for blame, others say Mayor C. Ray Nagin, who is black, is responsible for the dismal response to the flooding that stranded thousands in the city's poorest sections.
'Mayor Nagin has blamed everyone else except himself,' said the Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson, founder and president of the Brotherhood Organization of a New Destiny.
'The mayor failed in his duty to evacuate and protect the people of New Orleans. ... The truth is, black people died not because of President Bush or racism, they died because of their unhealthy dependence on the government and the incompetence of Mayor Ray Nagin and Governor Kathleen Blanco,' he said. "

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Not having enough money to own a car and so needing rescue after one of the worst natural disasters in American history constitutes an "unhealthy dependence on the government"? Seems a little harsh.

Ryan said...

Andy,
I think your taking his words out of context. He didn't seem to be talking about your specific example. Frankly I'm not in a position to say in detail all that he was talking about. I just posted it because these statements are jarring in their uniqueness. It is rare in my experience to read or hear (in the MSM) any black American criticizing black "leaders". Whether their frequency is representative of the black community is another question entirely.

Anonymous said...

fair enough. jarring indeed. And did I really post that at 5:06 am?!?!? I don't feel tired...

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