TJMS: Former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin On The 5th Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina
Roland Martin talks with form New Orleans mayor, Ray Nagin about the five-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Roland asks Mayor Nagin what issues that stand out as the most important and urgent need for New Orleans. Nagin told Roland that there are a lot of issues, “we’re basically rebounding, it’s an incredible come back in effect right now but we still have a long, long way to go.”
Mayor Nagin went on to highlight the problems with the Road Home Fast Track Program and discrimination against certain neighborhoods in the city of New Orleans. Nagin said, “That’s probably the biggest challenge, to make sure that those citizens, all citizens get their fair share of the Road Home grants.”
Roland asks Mayor Nagin his detractors who feel enough was done and what did he think was a major accomplishment in the wake of Katrina. Nagin replied, that his detractors should look at the Brookins Institute report that points to the city being in recovering and described the city as being in transformation. He cited another report from the Kaiser Family Foundation, which stated 74 percent of the citizens in New Orleans think that the recovery is headed in the right direction.
Roland also asked Nagin in we have seen the dismantling of Black political power process in New Orleans in the wake of the hurricane. Nagin told Roland that he would not describe it crumbling as crumbling. Nagin said, “I think we are going through a transition.” He explained to Roland that many people were displaced by the hurricane and they are moving back. Prior to Katrina, New Orleans was about 67 percent black and right now they are at about 62 percent African-American.
Nagin addressed the conspiracy theory about African-Americans being forced out of New Orleans. He also commented on Mayor Landrieu calling in the Department of Justice to overturn what many describe as an absolute corrupt and out of control police department.
Listen to the entire interview with former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin.
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