Katrina Coverage

The NYT article "Panel on New Orleans' Rebirth Is Named, and Gets to Work" discusses the "Bring New Orleans Back" commission convened by Mayor Ray Nagin to help rebuild that city. It has 17 members; only the are listed in the article:

~ Scott Cowen (Pres., Tulane University)
~ Joseph C. Canizaro (Businessman; close ties to White House)
~ Donald T. Bollinger Jr. (ditto)
~ David White (business executive; often described as the mayor's closest confidant)
~ Wynton Marsalis (yes, a musician)
~ Barbara Major (much more below)
~ Daniel F. Packer (chief executive of the now-bankrupt New Orleans subsidiary of the Entergy Corporation)
~ Alden J. McDonald Jr. (who for 33 years has run the Liberty Bank and Trust Company)
~ Maurice L. Lagarde (New Orleans native, who runs the Delta region for the hospital giant HCA)

Regarding Major, she's already complaining that the panel was split evenly - by design - between black and white instead of, say, 70% black:

"I think some people don't understand that an equal number of black and white isn't the same as equity," said Barbara Major, who was named one of the commission's two co-chairs. "But I tell you what, I give them credit - at least it's 50-50."

Ms. Major is the executive director of St. Thomas Health Services, a medical clinic in New Orleans that served city residents regardless of an ability to pay.

"We need the white business community at the table," said Ms. Major, who is black and wondered aloud if she were more scared than honored by her selection…

…Though Ms. Major said she was displeased that the commission did not accurately reflect the racial makeup of New Orleans, she also said that now was not the time to debate its composition. "The question is what happens to the city while we're busy fighting over the makeup of this commission," she said. "With what everyone's been through, I'm not going to be assuming anything about anyone until we start working together."

Her resume is here. She helps communities "de-institutionalize racism". She "formerly served as the chair of the community driven St. Thomas/Irish Channel Consortium, a nationally acclaimed model for holistic community and institutional transformation." And, she teaches "anti-racism".

(Via this)

UPDATE: The full list is here. It points out that Mel Lagarde and Barbara Major are co-Chairs. The names not mentioned above are:

# Kim Boyle
# Cesar Burgos
# Archbishop Alfred Hughes
# Reverend Fred Luter
# Anthony Patton
# Jimmy Reiss
# Gary Solomon
# Oliver Thomas

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