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The mysterious boundaries of District A cause its council member a pang of white guilt.
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Moved to tears over accusations of racism as the City Council debated whether to establish an office of Inspector General to oversee city government operations, New Orleans City Council member Shelley Midura apologized for the way District A is mapped.
“It’s not my fault that I was born white,” Midura wept to a hostile crowd of protestors, who feel as if the office of Inspector General will unfairly target African-American public officials. “And if the fact that my district, which carves a curious swath across seemingly every neighborhood in the city that features a density of white voters, incongruously covering both the Garden District and Lakeview, seems designed to ensure white representation on the council, well, that’s not my fault either.”
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"[If it] seems designed to ensure white representation... that's not my fault either."
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Though the ordinance passed 7-0 to establish the office, Midura said she was “heartbroken” that one of the amendments, which would give the council temporary power to review the “guidelines and procedures” of the new office, passed 4-3 along racial lines, where black council members hold a slim majority.
“I had hoped this issue would bring us together,” Midura said, “or at least as close as the rigid boundaries of our carefully drawn districts will allow.”
