N B P P Search Rescue Mission in New Orleans Print
Written by Robert ID1872   
Tuesday, 06 September 2005 09:20

On September 3rd the New Black Panther Party and its leader Attorney Malik Zulu Shabazz, under the banner of the Millions More Movement spearheaded a successful search and rescue mission into the core of New Orleans. Buses were chartered and equipped with hundreds of relief supplies allowing over 500 people to be rescued in various parts of the Gulf Region. They were then bused out to a safe-haven where they could seek refuge.

The New Black Panther Party encountering many obstacles, fearlessly went into the heart of the Gulf Region to provide aid to the black residents of New Orleans whom the government has chosen to neglect. Seven days after Hurricane Katrina, black people are still stranded in abandoned hotels and homes without adequate utilities; Bodies lay on benches, roadsides, and in murky waters while children and the elderly are without food.

The media has made it appear to the American public that aid is being sent; that thousands of people are being rescued, and that angry black residents are retaliating justifying the need for a "shoot to kill order" being issued. But Atty. Malik Zulu Shabazz gives a different account. Shabazz, who had spoken to army personnel states that "Wholesale police brutality is being waged against the victims of this natural disaster." The police (sniper units) are using tactics to provoke attacks by Black residents as to substantiate their reasons of opening fire on groups of black males randomly and indiscriminately. They (American government) are refusing to let people leave as if they were hostages or slaves. According to Shabazz, "this is more of a racist occupation of subjugation rather than a relief effort."

In analyzing the pre and post response of the Local, State and Federal government it can be concluded that race is the determining factor. According to government officials, it was known since the 1980s that the levies would fail if a scale four or five hurricane was to hit the Gulf Region. In 2005 a proposal of $17 million for flood control was rejected by the federal government because they believed it was not an adequate use of funds. It was also known by state officials that if a hurricane of this magnitude was to reach the New Orleans area which is 67 percent Black residents, that over 100,000 people would not be able to evacuate due to socio-economic status.

In a quote by Barbara Bush on the Keith Oberman Show, she stated, "the conditions in the Dome are sufficient enough for those people since they were underprivileged anyway." This very statement reflects the mentality of the systematic structure of white supremacy which determines its function as it relates to its non-white citizens. In a time of crisis, America rejected the gesture of Fidel Castro's to send 1,586 doctors carrying about 27 pounds of medicine each because they see him as an adversary. Evidence has shown that the system is design to keep non-white people in state of subjugation on all levels and they are viewed as expendable in order to protect the interest of the system.

The condition of the black community in New Orleans and other areas affected by this natural disaster exist as a microcosm of the condition of black people all over the world. Therefore, Millions More Movement has dedicated itself to ensuring that those members of the human family who need the most help and assistance will receive it. Hundreds of cities have begun to coordinate relief efforts for supplies to be shipped to Houston, TX and delivered to the victims in New Orleans and other areas. The vision of the Millions More Movement is to create a self- reliance and self-sustaining community as opposed to a community of victims who rely on those who cause oppression to aid and assist.

Please visit - http://www.newblackpanther.com/