Martin Luther King, Jr. once said he had a dream of an America where people were not judged on the basis of their skin color but on the quality of their character. Apparently, many Democratic leaders lost the vision of this dream in favor of demagoguery.
Their heads aren’t filled with dreams of children of all-nationalities holding hands. Instead, they dream of power. Winning at the ballot box is all that matters, even if it means fanning the flames of racial intolerance and division.
Thousands of people gathered across the country to remember the legacy of Dr. King. Unfortunately, some saw these gatherings as a chance to score political points and throw racially-charged bombs at opponents. Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) remembered the legacy of the civil rights leader by sharing the stage with the notorious race baiter Rev. Al Sharpton. Perhaps feeling the pressure to compete with Sharpton’s bombastic remarks, Clinton tore into the Bush administration as “the worst in history” and referred to the Republican-controlled House of Representatives as a “plantation.”
Clinton didn’t explain who the slaves are at this plantation, but we can only assume they are much better off than their counterparts who toiled in the plantations of the Confederate South.
The worst example of MLK Day race baiting occurred in Louisiana. After telling the crowd of his conversation with the long-dead Dr. King, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin explained to the all-black crowd that God desired for the hurricane devastated city to rebuild as a “chocolate city.”
“We ask black people: it’s time,” Nagin said. “It’s time for us to come together. It’s time for us to rebuild a New Orleans, the one that should be a chocolate New Orleans. And I don’t care what people are saying Uptown or wherever they are.
This city will be chocolate at the end of the day. This city will be a majority African-American city. It’s the way God wants it to be. You can’t have New Orleans no other way; it wouldn’t be New Orleans.”
Facing an uproar of criticism, Nagin later attempted to backpedal from his inherently racist statement, saying he was referring to the type of chocolate that is mixed with milk. Evidently, God has a liking for chocolate milk. In any event, Nagin’s statement is indefensible, and, maybe, unforgivable.
Besides the hypocrisy of using an event dedicated to remembering the man who fought for a colorblind society to call for the repopulation of New Orleans to be based upon the color of residents’ skin, Nagin’s speech further undermined the effort to rebuild the great city. He should be concentrating on uniting the city, not dividing it in hopes of boosting his slim chances at re-election.
As if two stupid statements in a day weren’t enough, Nagin scored a hat trick, making claims usually reserved for televangelists. Not only did God tell the mayor about his preference of milk, he also informed Nagin that the hurricanes in south Louisiana were punishment for the war in Iraq.
“Surely God is mad at America,” he said. “He sent us hurricane after hurricane after hurricane, and it’s destroyed and put stress on this country. Surely he doesn’t approve of us being in Iraq under false pretenses.”
While it’s feasible that the Almighty doesn’t approve of the Iraqi War, it is difficult to see the connection between the war and the destruction of south Louisiana. If Louisiana deserves punishment for anything, it is the election and the habitual re-election of corrupt, incompetent leaders. As we can all testify, we’ve been suffering those consequences for sometime. The hurricanes only put the spotlight on their incompetence.
Demagoguery can do nothing but divide and further weaken our battered state. Louisiana residents of all races must reject it and those who espouse it.
I hope the time for a political revolution in Louisiana is drawing nigh and the incompetent demagogues like Nagin will receive the award for their sins: electoral defeat.
 
Jason is a second year law student. Contact him at [email protected]