At least 11 African-American men were shot by white men in the riotous days following Hurricane Katrina. Donnell Herrington, Marcel Alexander and Chris Collins have been the only three to come forward with their story. While on their way to an evacuation zone, the three men were ambushed and assaulted with shotguns by a militia composed of white men from the nearby Algiers Point community. The wealthy white enclave formed its own militia to deter potential looters, but seemed more concerned with instigating violence than preventing it. One resident, Wayne Jarnak, commented, “It was great! It was like pheasant season in South Dakota. If it moved, you shot it.” Although Herrington reported the incident to his local police station after returning to New Orleans, no investigation has been made into any of the shootings.

 

Katrina’s Hidden Race War (by A.C. Thompson, The Nation)