So WTF is a "Chocolate New Orleans"?

[Average Joe]

Thanks for that ignorant comment, Mayor Nagin. The last time I checked, New Orleans is occupied by many races, not just black. Chocolate city...... http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/shout.gif http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/01/17/nagin.city/

[BGW]

AJ-
My follow up post in my Journal from my high school friend living in NOLA expresses her disdain for just this type of mentality (cho. city).


Hey! from NOLA (http://oakhurstforums.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/1791013111/m/5381023111/p/5)

Thanks for the post. The people along the Katrina path feel the rest of America has already forgotten about them.

[Average Joe]

Doesn't he realize that if New Orleans becomes the "chocolate city", first all those annoying oompa-loompas will move in, and then he will lose his job to Willy Wonka (who apparently, even as a fictional character, has more of a grip on reality than Nagin does!

[MadScot]

This guy has to go down as one of the worst public speakers in history. First I heard the chocolate New Orleans comment and thought what a jerk. Besides the racist overtone the choice of chocolate with its sexual inuendo was particularly stupid. Then he went on with the God stuff God sent storm after storm, it's the way God wants it to be. At which point I thought not another one, don't we have enough trouble with politicians who think God talks to them.

I always try and look beyond the obvious. It's easy to understand what he was saying with the chocolate comment from what he has said before. He wants his city to return to the state it was in before the storms. I don't know if his chocolate comment was accidental or designed to draw press coverage. Federal funds have been slow in coming this may have been an attempt to get a stage.

[BGW]

Originally posted by Average Joe:
Doesn't he realize that if New Orleans becomes the "chocolate city", first all those annoying oompa-loompas will move in, and then he will lose his job to Willy Wonka (who apparently, even as a fictional character, has more of a grip on reality than Nagin does!


I received the following as a reply to an email i sent to my friend in reguards to the 'chocolate' speech

That speech is going over like a Lead Zepplin....... (not the band) He's now pretty contrite about it.

Politically, Nagin may be feeling a bit lame duck. He will be facing some serious challengers in April. One of whom could be the Lt. Gov.... a white guy and a son of a former mayor.


Well...it is food for thought

[Average Joe]

<span class="ev_code_RED">This guy just doesn't seem to get it. </span> http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/no.gifNagin apologizes for MLK Day comments

03:40 PM CST on Tuesday, January 17, 2006
WWLTV.com



New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin apologized Tuesday for some of the comments that he made during a Martin Luther King Day Rally in the city Monday.


Nagin said that his intention was to comfort African-American residents, especially those feeling unwanted during the rebuilding process, but he said in doing so he inadvertently offended others.


“I apologize to any resident in this city that may have been offended,â€� he said. “That was not my intention. If I could take anything back, I thought the Uptown comment was inappropriate. If any people are working hard to rebuild this city, it’s the people Uptown.â€�


In his speech, Nagin had said that despite what some Uptown might be saying, that New Orleans would again be a majority African-American city.


Nagin also apologized for invoking God in his speech, saying that it was inappropriate.


Nagin’s speech included a statement that God wanted New Orleans to be majority African-American.


“Unfortunately, everything I say today is scrutinized to the nth degree,â€� he said. “It was Martin Luther King’s birthday. I thought it was appropriate to address some of the concerns and frustrations I’m hearing from the African-American community.â€�


Nagin has been trying harder to gain the trust of black residents, but in attempting to do so he may have offended much of the base that got him elected, said political analyst Ed Renwick.


"Obviously, blacks were the weaker portion of his victory margin, but some of the remarks he made Monday will possibly dampen enthusiasm among some whites," Renwick said. "It seemed to be another Nagin-being-Nagin. He has a penchant for just speaking off the cuff and not thinking it through."


The Associated Press contributed to this story

[There\'s Ointment For That]

I heard about this on GMA.

What the h*ll. Talk about being racist please...........

Do you think he really said it to get the "chocolate" votes?

[concerned]

I saw Mayor Nagin on the news last night and he explained what he meant by a chocolate city. He it like chocolate m ilk. You pour chocolate into a glass and their is your chocolate then you add milk which is white and there you have your chocolate and there you have your chocolate city, mixture of blsck and white.

[MadScot]

Where as it was a poor choice of words with racial overtones you can not say he is a racist without studing the circumstance in which it was said. Anyone who has been following the story has a pretty good idea why he said it.

In a post last week an old piece of trash wrongfully attributed to Andy Rooney was revisited. It had enough intrinsic truth mixed in with the racism to make it real trouble.

"When 70% of the people who get arrested are black, in cities where 70% of the population is black, that is not racial profiling, it is the Law of Probability"
This statement has definite racial overtones. Is it a racist statement? In of itself I'd have to say no. However preceding that were these lines.

"I don't think being a minority makes you a victim of anything except numbers. The only things I can think of that are truly discriminatory are things like the United Negro College Fund, Jet Magazine, Black Entertainment Television, and Miss Black America.

Try to have things like the United Caucasian College Fund, Cloud Magazine, White entertainment Television, or Miss White America and see what happens. Jesse Jackson will be knocking down your door."

There is no intrinsic truth here this is nothing but hateful racist dribble.

New Orleans was 67% black the mayor thinks when it is repopulated it should remain 67% black. Did he choose a poor way of expressing that? Without a doubt yes. Do I think one poorly worded statment makes him a racist? No.

If you want to kick out of office all politicians who claim to know what God wants I'm with you all the way. Let's start at the top.

[BGW]

I would tend to agree with you. However, the word I am getting from my friend that lives there is that Nagin's choice not an exception but the rule.

From how she has explained to me and from what I have seen on the news, I think it is almost a form of denial for Nagin.

CNN reported last night statistics for Pre-K (the local slang term for before Katrina) and now. Yes, New Orleans was 67% black. Due to the fact that the neighborhoods hit hardest by Katrina were predominately black the black population has dropped to 40%.

The fastest growing segment of the population is Hispanic both legal and illeagal. The jobs in clean up and rebuild have fueled this growth; 3% Pre- K to 20% now.

What CNN did not report is that the Vietnamese Population is is also rapidly on the rise.

As is pointed out in my journal, my friend is catching flack for pointing these stats out and asking why they aren't being addressed or included in any new equations.

And, even though it is a shame that the Major has made such unfortunate statement, I feel he or any other political official with any pull what so ever should be concerning themselves with getting the city safe for rehabititaion for whom ever chooses to live in New Orleans and not concern themselves with the color of whom ever choose to live in New Orleans.

Like the famous line from the movie Field of Dreams, "If you build it they will come."

[MadScot]

I agree that should be the goal. I really don't know enough of the details of what's been going on to speak with any certainty. I do think there was a lot of disturbing rhetoric that the Mayor was/is fighting. The talk of building a better New Orleans makes for great sound bites but on another level is disturbing. It implies that something was wrong with the city to begin with. There are racial overtones in both the "better New Orleans" and "chocolate city".

Imagine you have a classic 1928 Mercedes-Benz destroyed in the hurricane. The insurance company says they will replace it. They show up at your door with a brand new 2006 Mercedes-Benz. Would you be happy or would you say no way. No doubt they are offering you a great car but it has no history it's not special there's 100,000 just like it.

I don't know enough about this man to make a judgment as to whether he is a racist. I don't know what good or bad he has done since becoming Mayor. I'm sure your friend is a better judge of that than I can be. I would hope when elections are held this is what the voters base their vote on. I can as I did originally make a judgment on his aptitude for public speaking. Unfortunatly politicans are elected on what they say more than what they do. One of the reasons I wish we would have major reform in election spending.
To get my vote this man would have had to of done a great deal of good.

I really hate the pandering to the religious that's what bothered me most about his speech. As a true liberal I'm not going to rule out the possibility there is a God I can't prove otherwise. If you claim to believe in the Bible, isn't it hypocritical to suggest you know what God thinks or why God did something. To suggest God was punishing New Orleans for the Iraqi war was as over the top as was Bush's assertion that God told him to invade Iraq. For starters God has always given the rightous a chance to leave before he brought down his wrath. Secondly God doesn't do a half a## job when destroying something you know the great flood, Sodom and Gamurrah.

[Keith]

New Orleans will not become a chocolate town again for the simple reason all the poor blacks are waiting for our government to clean-up and re-build then they can go in and live off their state welfare checks and food stamps. There use to not doing anything, Look how they trashed every place that was opened up to them for relief, they have no dignatiy, nor do they have any respect for themselves or others. The Black leaders won't go because there is no money or votes to obtain.

I don't see any of the homeless blacks lining up asking to work and rebuild their old homes, instead the illegal aliens are showing up and ready to work and re-build.
As far as I'm concerned the New Orleans people will be speaking Spanish, French and English but no more Ebonics.

Signed , White Milk with Dark Chocolate Added.. http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/rolleyes2.gif

[MadScot]

If 40% is black now I think that is going to make them the majority ethnic group as it is.

[BGW]

CNN did a follow up Nagin on Nagin interview this past Friday. He was given a chance to redeem himself. Well....Mayor Nagin sticks by the phrase "Chocolate City". However, he does say where he went over the line was with saying that God wanted a Chocolate City. Nagin didn't exactly apologize but he did say he should not have gone the God route. Hmmmmm......