During a benefit concert for Hurricane Katrina relief on September 2, 2005, artist/producer Kanye West said
in his speech,
“I hate the way they portray us in the media. You see a black family, it says, 'They're looting.' You see a white family, it
says, 'They're looking for food.' And, you know, it's been five days [waiting for federal help] because most of the people
are black. And even for me to complain about it, I would be a hypocrite because I've tried to turn away from the teacher-
the TV because it's too hard to watch. I've even been shopping before even giving a donation, so now I'm calling my
business manager right now to see what is the biggest amount I can give, and just to imagine if I was down there, and
those are my people down there. So anybody out there that wants to do anything that we can help — with the way
America is set up to help the poor, the black people, the less well-off, as slow as possible. I mean, the Red Cross is doing
everything they can. We already realize a lot of people that could help are at war right now, fighting another way — and
they've given them permission to go down and shoot us!”
West’s controversial statement, “George Bush doesn’t care about black people” drew immediate attention from
the media.
New Orleans Mayor, Ray Nagin, and Louisiana Governor, Kathleen Blanco were criticized for failing to
implement a plan of evacuation for the city of New Orleans and for ordering residents to shelters of last
resort that had no provisions of food, water, sanitary conditions or security.
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