From Dr. Lance Hill, before the results came in:
So will race continue to play a role in elections? New Orleans remains one of the most racially polarized cities in the United States. At the heart of the distrust is the fear that many blacks have that whites have not relented in their plans to demolish black neighborhoods under the banner of protecting residents or reducing government costs. Indeed, while the debate on reducing the “footprint” of the city at the expense of black neighborhoods has largely been put to rest, some white leaders continue to float proposals to selectively “greenspace” poor neighborhoods into parks or retention ponds but this time through zoning laws or withholding public services and utilities.
This kind of talk does little to inspire trust and promote voting across racial lines; history tells us that when people feel threatened, they tend to coalesce along racial lines and block-vote to enhance their power and defend their group interests. In a political climate of fear and mistrust, every election can potentially be transformed into a symbolic contest of power in which voters end up supporting candidates as a show of racial solidarity, despite the candidate’s flaws.
The long-term solution to New Orleans’ racial polarization is to put an end to the divisive proposals that pit one neighborhood against another and that make income the measure of who has a right to return. If we want to be free of the politics of fear, we need to eliminate the threats that breed fear.
It is a testament to Bill Jefferson's diminished pulpit, and perhaps also to Cao's origins in New Orleans East, that 'greenspacegate' wasn't a central issue in this election.
Posts
