The battle of right to return

Corporate cronies led by real estate executive and George Bush fundraiser Joseph Canizaro continue to push their gentrification plans for the city of New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Under the euphemistically titled “Bring New Orleans Back Commission,” Canizaro along with New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin proposed a plan on Jan. 11 that would halt rebuilding in the most devastated areas of New Orleans for four months, after which development decisions would be made based on an assessment of “critical mass” i.e., if enough people are planning to return and rebuild. If it is determined that such critical mass is not reached, the land would be seized and turned into wetlands.

Plans like this by the filthy rich, which attempts to encourage relocation through a halt in rebuilding, and then completely ignore the resources necessary for evacuees of New Orleans to return, consistently underestimate the intelligence and resolve of Katrina survivors.

Harvey Bender, a resident of the Lower Ninth Ward, told the packed audience at the Jan. 11 meeting, “I don’t know you but Mr. Canizaro, I hate you. You’ve been in the background scheming to take our land.” Another resident, Caroline Parker, said, “I donthink it’s right that you take our properties. Over my dead body. I didn’t die with Katrina.” (blackcommentator.com)

Before Hurricane Katrina hit, the Lower Ninth Ward in particular was an impoverished area in a city where 27 percent of people lived below the poverty line, most of them Black. Louisiana itself has one of the lowest per-capita incomes in the country, ranking 42nd.

After the hurricane, the local ruling class salivated, basking in the devastation of Hurricane Katrina and the criminal neglect of local, state and federal officials.

Millions around the world saw the effects of classism and racism, as the city displayed its lack of planning for the thousands who had to face the brunt of the storm. The capitalist media showed not only indifference, but aired reports of chaos that could not be substantiated. These racist reports were found to be untrue as no evidence of mass murder or rape ever surfaced. What footage does exist shows great heroism on the part of New Orleanians.

The local ruling class in New Orleans revealed their plans shortly after the devastating hurricane. The mainly white ruling elite, many of whom brought in security firms to guard their property, envision a new New Orleans. “Those who want to see this city rebuilt want to see it done in a completely different way: demographically, geographically and politically,” said James Reiss, one of the rich, who is the chair of the Regional Transportation Authority.

Reiss further points out, “I’m not just speaking for myself here. The way we’ve been living is not going to happen again, or we’re out.”

Many find it unconscionable that local, state and federal authorities would allow the rebuilding of New Orleans to exclude the inhabitants that made up the major ity of the city and gave rise to the culture that New Orleans is known for. It is not that anyone is fooled and doesn’t see the criminal neglect, or doesn’t recognize the effects of racism and class. However, many find it hard to believe that after the world was awakened to the truth of life in North American society, that it would be a hard task to continue to perpetrate such a crime in New Orleans.

But as hurricane Katrina revealed the anarchy that exists under capitalism, where there is scant if any social planning, the plans being laid for New Orleans reveal the disdain of the U.S. ruling class for workers and people of color and how cut-throat the ruling class is. Plans are laid, but many New Orleanians can’t even return home. Utility services have been cut or never restored, rents are being jacked up and jobs in the area are not being offered to local inhabitants. The construction firms are super-exploiting immigrant labor, putting them in dangerous conditions at little pay and the local populous is being denied jobs.

Officials at every level would like to steal the peoples’ land and develop a playground for the rich. They want to use the culture of New Orleans as a draw, a culture forged through struggle, most notably from the Black inhabitants who made up nearly 70 percent of the population of the city. When tourists visited the city—whether from the United States or as far away as Japan—many came for the culture, of which Black-created jazz was a major part.

Yet with each passing day, resistance increases. Mtangulizi Sanyika of the African American Leadership Project told the Black Commentator, “Struggle on the ground has intensified enormously. A number of groups are in motion.... Increasing numbers of people are coming back into the city. You can feel the political rhythm.”