Blacks in new Orleans don't want help from White people

Thursday on the Newshour they talked to people who have gone to New Orleans to help rebuild. they interviewed a young White woman who recently became a doctor and decided she would head to a place she was needed in. They spoke with a couple of teachers one Chinese-American and a Black man from New York, both said that New Orleaneans were so suspicious of them it was hard to function.

They talked with a young White man who had come to new Orleans with a non-profit group who was rebuilding peoples' homes. He had had enough of the racial animosity from Blacks after a year and was leaving in disgust. He said that people did not want his help because he was White.

" TOM BEARDEN: Nick Vilelle has been in New Orleans for an entire year, and he's seen quite a bit of that friction. He works for a non-profit organization that guts and rebuilds houses in the Central City area of New Orleans.
NICK VILELLE, Nonprofit Worker: How are you doing?
TOM BEARDEN: He says he loved getting to know homeowners like Miss Betty, who are clearly grateful for the assistance. But he says not everyone has been like that.
NICK VILELLE: New Orleans has some very unique racial issues I think here. And seeing some of that come in the way of getting progress done is really frustrating. The fact that our organization is a lot of white people in a predominantly African-American neighborhood and the fact that certain people don't want our help because we're white, it doesn't make sense to me. I can't compute that.
TOM BEARDEN: Vilelle says he's had enough of New Orleans, at least for now. He needs a break from the frustrations of dealing with government bureaucracy, which he says greatly slows down the rebuilding process. But he says he hopes others with the pioneering spirit continue to move to New Orleans. He just has one piece of advice.
NICK VILELLE: I would really say to try to tone down your ambitions. Just be realistic about what you can accomplish while you're here and to focus on the small scale. Don't let the entire city of New Orleans and the state it's in overwhelm you. But focus on Miss Betty's house, and focus on your interaction with Miss Betty, and get to know Miss Betty, and understand that she doesn't deserve any of this and that you can do a lot to help her get her life back in shape.



This week I processed a book on the people who opened their homes to strangers from New Orleans after Katrina. 99% of these kind people were White. There was one mixed race couple, she was White and he was Black. All of the refugees were Black.

After Katrina, none of the Blacks I knew gave any money to Katrina relief. One of the constant refrains from Blacks is that the money will be given to White people. It's the same with organ donation, Blacks do not donate organs because they think the organs will be given to White people. So there are not a lot of organs with genetic matches to Blacks available.

You can not simultaineously complain about not getting something when you are unwilling to give anything in return. If Whites refused to give money because they were afraid Blacks might get something instead of Whites, the world would come to a complete, fucking halt.