Episcopal Press and News

LOUISIANA: Bishop joins other clergy in New Orleans anti-crime march

Episcopal News Service. January 12, 2007 [011207-04]

Mary Frances Schjonberg

Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana Bishop Charles Jenkins and other diocesan clergy were among the thousands of people who marched in New Orleans January 11 to show their anger and sorrow over recent killings, and what many said is an inadequate response from local officials.

"It was a great day for the people of New Orleans," Jenkins said. "We care deeply about our city and we are praying and working to find an end to the violence."

Police estimated that 5,000 people converged on the plaza outside the New Orleans City Hall.

On January 16, Trinity Episcopal Church in New Orleans plans a Noonday Prayer service devoted to praying for an end to the violence, according to the diocese's website.

At least eight people have been killed thus far in 2007, with six murders reported in less than 24 hours. New Orleans recorded 162 murders in 2006.

"On a per-capita basis, however, even the most optimistic projection of the post-Katrina city's drastically shrunken population makes that figure an increase from previous years -- a marked increase, depending on how shifting population figures are taken into account," the New Orleans Times-Picayune newspaper reported.

The New York Times reported January 11 that the protest showed the city's "deep divisions."

"Nearly all the demonstrators were white, even though New Orleans is mostly black, the victims of the violence have mostly been black, and perpetrators are believed to have been black, too," Adam Nossiter reported in a January 11 article.

The New York Times reported that the Rev. John Raphael, pastor of New Hope Baptist Church, said the black community in New Orleans feels hopeless and thinks that to protest makes one vulnerable.

The day before the march, Mayor Ray Nagin announced a series of initiatives to end street fighting and make the city's criminal-justice system more efficient.