Community & World Issues

Hurricane Katrina brought with her a flood of Media attention journaling the tragedy of minorities and under privileged who lay stranded awaiting assistance from the United States Government. Americans glued to their televisions witnessed the death toll rise daily. Mothers were ill supplied with milk, food or water to feed their babies and our elders struggled to make it to the next day. Police were out numbered and those strong enough declared Martial Law in an attempt to protect their remnants. While the weak hid in the shadows, the young and wild terrorized Parishes like it was the return of the Cowboys and Indians. Darwin’s Theory was in full effect. Regrettably, Katrina only exposed what poverty stricken minorities’ deal with on a daily basis.

If that week could be re-lived and Hurricane Katrina never existed, all the other elements of her aftermath would prevail; senseless murders, gun toting children, intimidation of the weak, and blatant ignorance of the problem from our Government. Add to that failed education, scarce jobs, and an income that teeters families on the line of poverty, one would think Hurricane Katrina was not only a devastating storm but a social economic cleansing of New Orleans rooted problems.

New Orleans is the face of many cities in the United States where Americas’ low to middle class live in “war like” conditions on a daily basis. Cities such as Compton (CA), Baltimore (MD), Camden (NJ), Little Rock (Ark), Cleveland (OH), Oakland (CA), Flint (Mich.), St. Louis (MO), & Detroit (Mich.) regularly don the crown for highest murder rates per capita. Instead of placing attention on “pre”-vention and increasing funds for education or creating incentives for jobs paying higher than minimum wage, our Government’s solution is to build more prisons and create more Social welfare programs. We are still in need of a “hand up” not a “hand out” and social welfare programs do nothing but keep us living below or barely above poverty level. In light of everything I have said, I’m asking, what about the people living “everyday Katrina”? What about those communities in turmoil outside the media spotlight? The likely hood of a natural disaster hitting those cities and forcing a change is nil, but the likely hood of a child being murdered while simply walking home from school or a local community center is almost a guarantee. How many lives have to be taken and spirits broken before our Nations leaders roll up their sleeves and get dirty? And how long will we sit back and act like it’s not our problem?

If you live or have been exposed to what I’m saying, talk to me. I want to know what you think good or otherwise…Holla at ya Gyrl!

Godspeed ~ Latoya