News Roundup

Thousands Protest Rampant N.O. Crime

City Business
By Richard A. Webster Staff Writer
January 11, 2007

NEW ORLEANS — Thousands of New Orleans residents in three separate anti-crime marches converged on City Hall today to voice anger and frustration with the recent spate of deadly violence in the city.

The speakers took aim at the murderers and drug dealers responsible for the bloodshed but they saved the greater share of their rage for Mayor C. Ray Nagin, New Orleans Police Superintendent Warren Riley and District Attorney Eddie Jordan.

“There’s a movement afoot to recall our mayor, our police chief and the DA and I hope all three go in shame with their tales between their legs,” said Mary Shelton of Uptown.

The marches originated from downtown near the World Trade Center, in Mid-City and Central City. They all ended at the footsteps of City Hall and carried the same message — unless something is done to stop the senseless violence, it won’t matter if the levees are rebuilt or if anyone gets a dime in Road Home money.

As the Rev. John Raphael Jr. of New Hope Batist Church spoke to the thousands of marchers covering the grounds surrounding City Hall and across the street, Nagin stood silently behind him.

“Ours today is a delicate balancing act as we attempt to stabilize the weight of heartache against the counterbalance of hope, seeking to establish emotional equilibrium in our communities by voicing our complaints in the ears of government heads,” Raphael said. “We have come to lodge our complaints. We have come today to declare enough is enough. And although we have come to this place boiling by rage, ours is not a blind rage for our demands this day are made in duplicate.”

Following the parade of speakers the event organizers asked for a moment of silence to honor the dead. After 30 seconds, distant voices in the crowd shouted, “Where’s Nagin? What you got to say Ray?”

But the organizers said city officials were not invited to speak.

Benny Pete, leader of the Hot 8 Brass Band whose snare drummer Dinerral Shavers was murdered Dec. 28, said the people of New Orleans are sick and tired of not being able to walk through their neighborhoods without fear.

“Everybody out here works here and lives here and they need to be able to enjoy it but they can’t,” Pete said. “They got big timers coming from out of town and they enjoy themselves and then they go on back home. But we live here and we can’t enjoy ourselves because of crime. We’re scared every day something gonna happen to our young ones.”

French Quarter resident Bill Norris said he and his wife, Betty, were robbed at gunpoint at 6:30 p.m. Friday at the corner of Bourbon and Governor Nichols streets.

“All of a sudden you see a 9 mm automatic in your face and the guy’s nervous on the other end of it,” Norris said. “It’s traumatic. The point is there are people out there obviously hungry who are not part of the knowledge-based economy so they use what I call a pistol economy. When they want something, they don’t get smart and try to get a better job. They get a pistol, go to town and get it. That’s the world we live in here in New Orleans. And were ruining our chance for people to come and visit our great city.”

Glen Andrews, a lifelong resident of Treme, said he came out to the march to try to save all of the young African-Americans dying in the streets of a New Orleans.

“We’re out to let people know we don’t want the crime in the city,” Andrews said. “We don’t have nothing against nobody doing crime but we don’t want you here. But we got to come together. When you see something, we’re not calling it ratting, we’re calling it living. When you see something, say something and the politicians got to get out and to protect people more when they do testify. Let people know they do want you to help us. And get the DA and the police to stop bickering. Stop all that bickering and let’s get together.”