At least that is what the media would have you believe. And while Mayor Nagin has made some comments and decisions that have pointed to his own internalized racism against other Black people, this is not exactly what the media is talking about.

Tim Wise has recently published a great commentary call “Ray Nagin, White Rage and the Manufacturing of “Reverse” Racism“.  He sums it up pretty nicely in the beginning:

If you’re looking to understand why discussions between blacks and whites about racism are often so difficult in this country, you need only know this: when the subject is race and racism, whites and blacks are often not talking about the same thing.

The comment that has put Ray Nagin in the hot seat was one claiming that New Orleans would once again be a “chocolate city”.  The argument is that if a White mayor had said that his city should remain a “vanilla” city then it would obviously be racist, so therefore Nagin’s comment is racist.  Not quite.

While the hypothetical White mayor’s comments would be about perpetuating policies that have kept people of color out of the city, Nagin’s comments are about fighting the proposed whitewashing/gentrification of what has traditionally been a Black city.  In fact, some White folks in positions of power are suggesting wiping out entire Black neighborhoods that were hit hard by Katrina.  Nagin has never suggested keeping White folks out of New Orleans, he has simply argued to allow Black folks back in to their own homes.

A recent study from Brown University showed that 80 percent of New Orlean’s Black population may not return because “their neighborhoods would not be rebuilt, they would be unable to afford the relocation costs, or they would put down roots in other cities.”  75 percent of the residents from neighborhoods with serious damage were Black.  If 80 percent of those residents don’t return you have a complete switch in demographics, which, as Wise contents, would destroy New Orleans as we knew it.

[tags]Nagin, racism, New Orleans[/tags]