by Glen Ford, originally published in the Black Agenda Report, August 29/07

Katrina laid bare the racism of the class that rules the United States. Their goal is to eliminate Black power in the great cities, to sweep the urban landscape clean for white habitation. The hurricane was a godsend for the corporate nation-planners, and they jumped to the opportunity to exile hundreds of thousands, and create the conditions that made return to New Orleans impossible. Apologists claim the fault lies in "incompetence." Bullshit. The Diaspora exists, so the killers of New Orleans have accomplished their goal. We have been collectively betrayed by assumed allies and a Black misleadership that is afraid to tackle capital. They want money, more than freedom.