Wednesday, February 9, 2011

New Orleans Loses Black Population

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New Orleans Loses Black Population



When a storm of biblical proportions washes away huge swaths of a major American city, should it be any surprise that people will be reluctant to return?

That simple reasoning is what is depopulating the great city of New Orleans, which has seen more than 100,000 black residents leave and not return in the past 10 years.

Whether black people chose not to return or wanted to go back but were denied aid to do so is an interesting question that lawmakers and community advocates will be sure to debate.

A good portion of the residents lived in public housing in the eastern part of the city, said William Rouselle, a New Orleans political consultant. He said that since several public housing complexes were razed after the storm, their communities no longer exist.

What is certain is that when Hurricane Katrina blitzed the Gulf Coast in August 2005, becoming one of the deadliest and costliest storms in American history, the storm caused a black exodus, with people settling in nearby cities in Texas and Georgia.

For now, it seems like many have put down new roots and won't be going back to New Orleans.

Can you blame them?

To watch your city nearly be washed off the map had to be a horrifying sight. And once a survivor finds a decent job, a network of support, friends and affordable housing in a new city, can they really be expected to return to the place that holds so many bad memories?

Sure, some folks drawn to the unique charm of New Orleans will never be able to get it out of their blood, but a new set of adventurers and young professional have decided to make New Orleans home in the wake of the storm. That's a good thing.

But if I were just holding on in New Orleans before the storm, Hurricane Katrina might have represented the boost needed to try to do better somewhere else.

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