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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