17 Jan 2006 Project 21 Press Release: Black Cleric Derides New Orleans Mayor’s “God is Mad at America” Assertion as “Plantation Politics”

A clergyman affiliated with the black leadership network Project 21 is questioning the sincerity of New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin in light of comments Nagin made during a city observance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday.

During the January 16 event, Mayor Nagin said: “Surely God is mad at America.  He sent us hurricane after hurricane, and it’s destroyed and put stress on our country.”

“Mayor Nagin is a politician who rightly came under fire for numerous missteps surrounding Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath.  Now he is practicing plantation politics in an attempt to keep his job,” said Project 21 member Council Nedd.  Nedd is a bishop of the Anglican Church Worldwide.

Mimicking Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-MD), who charged during a September 2, 2005 press conference that God “cannot be pleased” with the Bush Administration with regard to hurricane aid efforts, Mayor Nagin sought to politicized God by adding, “Surely He doesn’t approve of us being in Iraq under false pretenses.”

Nagin found blame with the black community as well, saying, “But surely he is upset at black America also.  We’re not taking care of ourselves.”

Nedd commented: “As a priest and a bishop, I am very interested in hearing when people get a word from the Lord.  So when Mayor Nagin said God is mad at America, it intrigued me because, in the book of Genesis, God says he will never again destroy the earth by flood.”

Nedd further questioned Mayor Nagin’s message that God also wants a “chocolate New Orleans,” referring to the city’s predominantly-black makeup prior to Katrina.  Demographic predictions suggest the rebuilt city will be smaller and more racially diverse.

“I’m sure that I do not have to tell Mayor Nagin this, but the true beauty of New Orleans is that it has always existed as a blend of people and cultures,” said Nedd.  “I will even go as far as to say that it was probably the first city in America approximating a true melting pot.  Why mess with this success?”

For more information, contact David Almasi at (202) 507-6398 x11 or [email protected], or visit Project 21’s website at http://www.project21.org/P21Index.html. New Visions Commentaries can be found at https://nationalcenter.org/P21NewVisions.html.