Waking up this morning in my lovely room at the Westin New Orleans Canal Palace, looking out over the glorious Mississippi River, I listened to locals from New Orleans on the black talk radio show 'The Real Talk.' The host, Wayne on Q93 Jams, was playing an amazing game with his listeners: "Who wants to be the mayor?"

Mayor Ray Nagin is currently in his second term and cannot be re-elected. And you may or may not know that the local and national perception of his performance is definitely controversial and mixed. So this topic was a hot one with listeners, who called in to talk about what really needs to be changed in the city and how black residents can improve their lives four years after Katrina. What a unique way to commemorate the memory of the devastation -- by looking forward.

I was really happy to hear the desire expressed by residents to focus on self-responsibility, rather than blame or government support. One male "mayor" said that he wants to bring in water and amusement parks with nice hotels and golf courses outside the city but still nearby to attract another type of traveler. A female mayor said owners of the blighted homes should be forced to sell them to low-income locals so that the renters displaced by Hurricane Katrina can move back to the city center. This would solve both the blighted home problem and the displaced renters issue that my fellow blogger Carmen Dixon mentioned in her post. With 60,000 blighted homes in the city, this idea is great. Talk about a brilliant woman.


Right now, I am listening to an impassioned listener who wants public housing residents to have to enter a self-improvement program before they are allowed to move back into the vastly improved units that are being built. She is saying: "These places are not meant for you to live in forever. What are you doing this year to get yourself back on your feet? Before they move back in, make sure they have a plan to get a better job and get out. We can't have people living there for decades again." Tough love. Genius!

Radio host Wayne also implored residents to recognize that right now is an excellent time for entrepreneurs in New Orleans. He said: "It's not going to be fast, it's not going to be easy, but there is a lot of opportunity if you take it." A caller concurred: "Start a grass-cutting business, open a corner store. Do something."

This hardly sounds like a city of victims or lazy people to me -- which is how the national media has often represented the black residents affected by Katrina. I am seeing positive people who love their city, love their communities and are ready and willing to think and act creatively to see it improve.

What would you do if you were the mayor?

More BV Katrina Anniversary Coverage
+Habitat for Humanity Dedicates 100th Home in 9th Ward's Musicians' Village
+Katrina Four Years Later: See Inside Brad Pitt's Make It Right Homes
+New Orleans: Four Years Later, Coming Back to Vibrant Black Life
+The Ladies of Louisiana Spirit Minister to Katrina Sufferers
+Mayor Nagin Commemorates Katrina Anniversary at Make It Right Foundation New Homes Site