A friend who works for Color of Change emailed me about this petition that they are sending to Governor PBJ and AG Caldwell (and current US AG Mukasey and incoming US AG Holder):
Dear Governor Jindal and Attorney General Caldwell,
I just learned that in the weeks following Hurricane Katrina, racist vigilantes in Algiers Point attacked, and according to their own accounts, killed Black men seeking refuge from the floodwaters. I'm outraged to hear that New Orleans law enforcement officials have consistently refused to investigate these crimes, and acted to cover up their own complicity in the violence.
Based on evidence recently presented by A.C. Thompson in The Nation, it appears that while at least 11 Black men were shot or shot at, none of the white vigilantes have been brought to justice. And there's damning evidence that police officers allowed a man to die, and then burned his body to cover it up.
Louisiana-style justice has once again failed to protect and serve the state's Black citizens. State officials such as yourselves must act immediately to change this. I urge you to push for the identification of victims of these crimes, prosecution of the perpetrators, full cooperation with any federal inquiries, and aggressive investigations into the role of local law enforcement officials in committing and suppressing the exploration of these crimes.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
While Color of Change purports to be a voice for Black America, I highly recommend that all Americans and Louisianans sign this petition, because anyone's suspicious death deserves to be investigated.
