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11/04/2005:

"Rep. Cynthia McKinney: An Occurrence at Gretna Bridge"

CNN.com reports that as the heart of a hurricane-ravaged New Orleans filled with sewage-tainted floodwaters and corpses, Mayor Ray Nagin urged people to cross a bridge leading to the dry lands of the city's suburban west bank.

And there begins the story of what might become the worst American civil rights episode ushering in the 21st Century.

The lead actors in this two-bit replay of the Bloody Sunday attempted crossing of the Edmund Pettus Bridge 40 years ago by blacks demanding the right to vote, are a police chief and a sheriff who are now as famous as Bull Connor. But sadly, share some of his attributes, too.

It is reported that during the 1980s, Jefferson Parish Sheriff Harry Lee ordered special scrutiny for any black people traveling in white sections of the parish. He is quoted by the New Orleans Gambit as having said, "It's obvious that two young blacks driving a rinky-dink car in a predominantly white neighborhood . . . They'll be stopped."

In 1994, the Gambit reports Sheriff Lee withdrew his officers from a predominantly black neighborhood after protests erupted when two black men died while in his care. He is reported to have said, "To hell with them, I haven't heard one word of support from one black person."

In April of this year, blacks complained that Jefferson Parish officers were using a caricature of a black man for target practice.
Sheriff Lee laughed when presented the charges and is reported to have commented, "I've looked at it, I don't find it offensive, and I have no interest in correcting it."

In May of this year, a 16-year old joy rider in a stolen car was murdered when 110 shots were fired into the stolen truck, striking the 16-year old and injuring two other teenaged passengers. In response to criticism from black ministers over the incident, Sheriff Lee is reported to have responded, "They can kiss my ass."
counterpunch.org