There was a place in New Orleans
Called the Lower Ninth Ward

Black folks in public housing there

Were strong and proud, but poor

 

When Hurricane Katrina hit

Cars did not abound

But FEMA said it was their own fault

They didn’t get out of town

 

Katrina breached the levees,

And the floodwaters, in they came

The fate of the Lower Ninth Ward

Will be our eternal shame

 

Waiting on the rooftops

For help that never arrived

Abandoned by America

So many of them died

 

Those who got out safely

Want to return and rebuild their lives

But the powers that be have other ideas

With no room for the Lower Ninth

 

Destroy the public housing

Is what they’re going to do

Replace 4000 units with 800

Sounds crazy but it’s true

 

They had a public hearing

To make it all look OK

And welcomed their black neighbors with

Tasers and pepper spray

 

Ethnic cleansing of New Orleans

Is terribly crystal clear

Just like Darfur and Bosnia

Yes, it is happening here