Letters to the Editor
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That's My Polling Place
Just for the record, the photo showing the polling place that is supposedly wheelchair-inaccessible is my polling place. What's not mentioned in the article (perhaps no one bothered to tell Salon this) is that the actual polling location within this residence in NOT up the "zigzagging set of 15 stairs"--it's in the basement apartment. (Look behind the guy holding the sign in the photo, and you'll see an alleyway to the right of the stairs--the alley leads to the polling place.) I've waited in line to vote at this spot before with wheelchair-bound voters, and they all seemed to be able to navigate the space without any problems.
New Orleans has many problems, but I agree with other posters here that this article seems to be trying to create yet another negative story about New Orleans. This city is in no way lily-white now, and those of us who live here are getting a bit tired of being portrayed as racists who want to turn New Orleans into Disneyworld. As a white person who lost her home, I hope that ALL residents of New Orleans, regardless of their race, are able to return if they so choose. (But as a person paying more for an apartment now than my previous monthly mortgage, I also know that's still impossible for many.) Regardless, we are making progress toward regaining our pre-Katrina culture--a recent study performed regarding the racial makeup of New Orleans post-Katrina puts the African-American population at 53%:
http://www.louisianaweekly.com/weekly/news/articlegate.pl?20060320b
How about some positive articles showing how New Orleanians are helping themselves, rather than sitting around waiting for the local, state and federal governments to save us?