Errol Laborde: Nagin Should Repudiate Blakely
By Errol Laborde
Nov 9, 2009 - 12:00 AM
If I were mayor of New Orleans, even if my very best friend said something publicly about the city that was hurtful, untrue and damaging to its reputation, I would denounce my best friend and stand up for the city.
Mayor Ray Nagin needs to stand up for his city.
After comments made by Nagin’s handpicked former “recovery czar,” Ed Blakely, were reported last week, Nagin should have been the first person to issue a statement rejecting Blakely’s statements.
Among Blakely’s utterances was that white people were waiting to be at the throats of blacks to regain political power and that would lead to race riots. He also proclaimed, while conceding that he was never very interested in his New Orleans job, that the city wouldn’t last another 100 years.
Nagin should have responded that Blakely's prediction of race riots was thoughtless. He might have mentioned that when Los Angeles had race riots in 1992 because of the Rodney King incident, New Orleanians of all races were dancing together at the Jazz Fest. Since the 1960s, Cleveland and Detroit have also had race riots but never New Orleans.
His Honor could have pointed out that he was first elected with the strong support of white voters and that even in his last election with his reputation already eroded, he received a sizeable Uptown white vote against a white opponent.
He might have added some historical context by observing that when the Louisiana Purchase was completed, New Orleans, the jewel of the purchase, was the first city in the country to have an ethnically diverse population.
Nagin could have explained that many cities, including Los Angeles, Chicago, Cleveland and New York, have in recent years had both black mayors and white mayors and all have done all right through coalition building.
He might have added that no white person will ever be elected mayor of New Orleans without getting substantial support from the black community, and that, in turn, empowers blacks.
He could have said that the black population in New Orleans is not a monolith but a culturally rich community that is diverse within itself including some from old families that trace back to the city’s early years. Voting attitudes differ as much among blacks as they do among whites.
Finally, the mayor might have conceded that, to his regret, Blakely spent too little time in this city to truly understand it.
Instead, Nagin has said nothing.
He might be embarrassed, reasoning that to criticize Blakely would be an admission that his selection of him was a mistake. But everybody already knows that Blakely was a disastrous choice. If Nagin really cared for New Orleans, he would sacrifice a bit of self pride to defend the city.
As for Blakely, he is nothing but a phony academic, one of those who hoped to get prestige from the Ph. D. mill without grasping that succeeding in life requires not a fancy degree but skill. He talks the jargon of rebuilding with expertise but lacks both the ability to manage and the integrity to avoid playing the race card as a subterfuge for his failures.
When Blakely’s selection was first announced, I hoped that there would one day be a statue of him in downtown New Orleans and a boulevard named after him to honor his success at rebuilding the city. Instead he will be remembered as one of the recovery’s hucksters. He didn’t accomplish much, defamed the city, spent little time here and took a paycheck for it.
If ever another area recovering from a disaster considers hiring Blakely, I hope someone makes a call to New Orleans for references. Ed Blakely will be remembered here for a long time, even as the city prospers 100 years from now.
Krewe: The Early New Orleans Carnival - Comus to Zulu by Errol Laborde is available at all area bookstores. Books can also be ordered via e- mail at gdkrewe@aol.com or (504) 895-2266.
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Errol Laborde holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of New Orleans and is the Editor in Chief of Renaissance Publishing. In that capacity he serves as Editor/Associate Publisher of New Orleans Magazine and Editor/ Publisher of Louisiana Life Magazine. 
Reader Comments:
Thank you, Mr. Laborde for defending our beautiful, culturally rich, enigmatic city. If only the current leaders would have the love and optimism for New Orleans that you do!
So, when are YOU running for mayor!!!!!!
Amen! It's a shame that the city's leaders don't have the same love of the city that NOLA's residents do. Thankfully, the residents outnumber the "leaders".
While much of Ed Blakely's comments can be easily dismissed, there is a kernel of truth, in that Hurricane Katrina was used to attempt to demographically alter New Orleans at the expense of African Americans. The attempted "green spacing" of neighborhoods (all but one were predominately African American), the closure and demolition of four public housing developments in the absence of their residents, the firing of 5000+ certified teachers (most of whom were African American women) all indicate that there was an attempt to use Hurricane Katrina to remake New Orleans a whiter, wealthier city at the expense of poor folks and its Black-majority population. There needs to be a 'Truth and Reconciliation' process on the order of what occurred in post-Apartheid South Africa in order for this one truthful observation of Blakely's not to stand. We then might all really recover from Hurricane Katrina.
Brad
Errol:
I agree with you 100%.
The problem with Mayor Nagin is that he agrees with his old pal Blakely. I honestly believe that Nagin initially came into office from Cox Communications an honest man. I personally feel that he somewhere along the way, (probably durning Katrina) somehow lost it and now has a vendetta against this city and everyone in it. He should have resigned a long time ago and saved us a lot of trouble.
And, while we do have some lazy people here in New Orleans, we have many, many more fabulous, upstanding citizens who love and deeply care about our city. Many of whom, continue to pay out of their own pockets to help clean up this city and rebuild it.
shame on you Mayor!!
There are two qualities Nagin lacks: Tact & Diplomacy.
Though I clearly understand what Blakely said and meant,and even agree on some points, I found it rather appauling that Nagin would stand silently by and not address his [Blakely's] rather noxious statements about our hometown.
The statement that he "was never interested in his New Orleans job" says much for his integrity; no doubt, he turned down none of the paychecks associated with a job within the city for which he apparently had more disdain that appreciation.
New Orleaninas, near and afar, myself being one... love our city dearly. Thorns and all. I will indeed be pleased to see the day when Nagin finally steps down.
~R~
Thanks Errol! I agree 100%.
Somewhere along the way Nagin has completely lost his mind. He apparently must agree with Blakely if he remains silent. I wish he would just resign so we can get this city rolling. Enough of his indifference and arrogance. it's time to roll up our sleeves and work as a team. If our mayor won't stand up for our city, then he does not deserve to even be in our city. bye, bye Nagin...go to Dallas where u really want to be.
Icy
Who thought it would be a good idea to move the "worker bees" to another garden? By relocating NOLA's aforementioned former residents, we are left with no one to do the daily chores of a city our size.
And how would we have them return and to what? Their housing areas are destroyed, and now if they want to rent an apartment, show me where a family of four can live in NOLA for $22,500 per year, please?
Who will pay the relocation fees, arrange the move and secure the deposits. Are the Mayor and Government so far removed from the daily struggle they can't recognize that a person earning that wage, certainly can't save $3,000 in a year to facilitate a move home.
Who can fix this?
We felt so fortunate to have Mr.Blakely rebuild our beautiful city but never knew how wrong he was for the task. The frequent trips out of town and only working part time was only a small clue as to his future betrayal. Unfortunately, we were not given equal time for a rebuttal and it was the ultimate betrayal by him. He could not have been more wrong about how whites and blacks work together in our city and only want the best.
I am white but it ripped my heart out to see the displacement of all our citizens and the tragedy that fell upon all of us. Skin color does not matter in N.O., Mr. Blakely. I feel sorry for him because he is the racist person, who referred to us a buffons. And yes, once again Mr. Nagin kept his mouth shut at the wrong time. Thank goodness for others, Mitch Landrieu, and the N.O. city council for letting him know the contempt we feel for Mr. Blakely. Please do not list N.O. as a reference!
Sorry to burst your bubble, but New Orleans is rife with racism unseen in other areas of the world. I'm a native New Orleanian and thank the high heavens I was fortunate to leave and explore the world. My view isn't as myopic b/c of my travels, however there is a twinge of sadness which resonates within me every time I read your local newspaper online. The views of your citenzry defy logic and reason. On a daily basis these people hurl racial slurs, genralizations and insults as though they were Mardi Gras beads. How sad that an independent view point has been marred by your inability to admit the truth of what is being played out daily through these peoples' views.
Nothing more entertaining than watching liars lie to themselves.
What has the city gotten since black politicians have taken over? Murder capital of the USA, corruption from beginning to end, and a complete stand still on progress of ANY kind. The destruction of the housing projects in New Orleans was one of the only good things that came out of Katrina. They were filled with people who did NOTHING to contribute to the well being of the city or to society for that matter. Nagin is the most inept politicians in New Orleans history. But the people voted for him, so they got what they settled for. This Blakely garbage is just one more example of Nagin's inability to lead. Racism is the same old word being tossed around by those white self loathing Southerners and Blacks who contribute NOTHING to the recovery of New Orleans and blame all the ills of their lives on everyone else. The facts speak for themselves.