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GUEST: Eric Mann, author of “Katrina’s Legacy: White Racism and Black Reconstruction in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast,” director of Labor-Community Strategy Center

A doctor and two nurses have been charged with murdering 34 hospital patients in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina hit last year. Prosecutors have investigated claims of negligence and euthanasia. This August 29th will be the first anniversary of the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina which devastated the city of New Orleans and much of the Gulf Coast. In all, more than 970 people are known to have died in Louisiana and more than 200 in neighbouring Mississippi. The majority Black city of New Orleans was the worst hit, with more than 200,000 residents still scattered throughout the United States. Katrina marked a turning point in American consciousness, bringing to the surface rampant poverty and institutional racism. Eric Mann, Director of the Labor/Community Strategy Center, has just written a new book called “Katrina’s Legacy: White Racism and Black Reconstruction in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.” Glen Ford of the Black Commentator says Eric Mann’s book, “places the Gulf catastrophe in the historical context of racist capitalist rule in the US at a critical time when the ‘cracks in the ruling class levees’ are visible for all to see. Mann’s book provides political leadership, the outlines of a plan for action, and calls us to our battle stations.”

The book can be ordered via phone at 213-387-2800, or online at www.frontlinespress.com.

The West Coast book release will be on Thursday August 3rd at 7 pm at Immanuel Presbyterian Church, 3300 Wilshire Blvd. Books will be available for purchase. Eric Mann will be present for a discussion and book signing.