Well, I'm here in DC on the eve of 10th anniversary of the Million Man March. I'm still not that into it but other events have piqued my interest, including forums at Howard University and the University of the District of Columbia, and the Black Family Conference entitled "Reparations, Healing and Hurricane Katrina" at Scripture Cathedral Church.
The UDC media forum will focus on the mainstream media lies and the breathless accounts of wanton lawlessness in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. As Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post wrote:
I got there [New Orleans] five days after the deluge, when the story, as the whole world understood it, was one of “Mad Max” depravity and violence. Hoodlums were raping and pillaging, I just "knew" -- even shooting at rescue helicopters trying to take hospital patients to safety. So it was a surprise when I rolled into the center of the city, with all my foreign-correspondent antennae bristling, and found the place as quiet as a tomb.
The media lies influenced the emergency response and stirred up opposition to survivors who were fleeing to higher ground.
This morning, Howard will host a summit of black leaders on “preserving and strengthening African American families collaboratively and holistically.” A job remains the best way to preserve and strengthen any family so I'm going to the summit to find out what’s the plan to address Mayor Ray Nagin’s concern: “How do I ensure that New Orleans is not overrun by Mexican workers?”
According to the Los Angeles Times: "Word has gotten out and each morning day laborers -- who come from Central America and Mexico by way of California, Texas and Arizona -- gather on street corners in the Kenner and Metairie neighborhoods on the western edge of the city."
With Minister Louis Farrakhan giving opening remarks, time may run out before I get an opening to ask: Where is the outrage?
