|
Tuesday, August 29th, 2006 One Year After Katrina, New Orleans Public Housing Projects Remain Closed Listen to Segment || Download Show mp3 Watch 128k stream Watch 256k stream Help Printer-friendly version Email to a friend Purchase Video/CD New Orleans activists and residents have condemned the federal government's refusal to re-open the city's public housing projects and point out that while tourist areas are being developed, affordable housing is not being built. Many of those who have been unable to return home are poor and African American. We speak with lifelong New Orleans resident and civil rights lawyer, Tracie Washington. A year after Hurricane Katrina hit, barely half of New Orleans' population of 450,000 has returned. Many of those unable to come back are poor and African-American. In the ravaged, mostly black neighborhood of the Lower Ninth Ward - only 1,000 of the 20,000 people who lived there before Katrina have returned. This has drastically altered the demographics of a city that used to be two-thirds black. Activists and residents have condemned the government's refusal to re-open the city's public housing projects and point out that while tourist areas are being developed, affordable housing is not being built. That all seemed to change yesterday in what appeared to be a surprise announcement form the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Speaking before a thousand construction-industry members at a privately-organized conference in Louisiana, Governor Kathleen Blanco and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin both introduced what appeared to be a HUD official.
The prank was just the latest in a series pulled off by the Yes Men who have recently masqueraded as representatives of McDonald"s, Halliburton and Dow Chemical. Soon after Bichlbaum's announcement, HUD confirmed that he wasn't part of their agency. HUD spokesperson Donna White called the hoax "sick" and "twisted." But not everyone felt that way. One New Orleans contractor said, "I'm not angry at them for pulling this joke, I'm angry that it is not for real." For more on the issue of public housing on this Katrina anniversary we turn to New Orleans resident and a civil rights attorney, Tracie Washington.
To purchase an audio or video copy of this entire program, click here for our new online ordering or call 1 (888) 999-3877. |
