Mackie lectures on New Orleans levees
Portia S. Porter
Issue date: 2/15/07 Section: Features
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New Orleans native Dr. Calvin Mackie, professor, speaker, author, inventor and entrepreneur, lectured about the sociological, political, and economic ramifications of Katrina, on Feb. 6, in the Education Building.
"I'm humbled every time people ask me to do that which I believe I was put on this earth to do," says Mackie, when first approaching the podium.
He then went on to say that a lie has been told to this country, and the lie has been told by our own government. According to Mackie, Hurricane Katrina was one of the most deadly hurricanes in the history of the United States and it could have been less catastrophic if the government would have fixed the broken levees that were supposed to help prevent the water from destroying the city of New Orleans.
According to Mackie, the government has had sovereignty over the levees in New Orleans since 1947. They ordered the Corps of Engineers to build the levees in 1947 because they knew how catastrophic an event such as Katrina or Rita could potentially be. Construction started in 1947, but was never finished.
However, none of this was made known to the people living there. Also, many people who don't know the facts of what really happened the day of the hurricane blame the flooding on the water. But the water isn't the only thing to blame, because the water never reached above the levees. If the levees didn't break because of the lack of craftsmanship, then a lot of the city could have been saved.
Mackie also says that the response time of the government to the hurricane was extremely slow.
"We believed in this place called America," Mackie said. "We pay our taxes, we go to school, we vote, but when I needed them, they turned their back on me."
Other countries responded faster than the U.S. did.
"We can't get basic services from our government right now, how did the Canadian Mounted Police on horses make it to New Orleans before the American government?" asked Mackie.
According to the Canadian Navy Web site, relief efforts included Operation UNISON in Sept. 2005, and consisted of 900 Canadian Coast Guards, sailors, soldiers, airmen, divers, half a dozen helicopters and four warships.
"I'm humbled every time people ask me to do that which I believe I was put on this earth to do," says Mackie, when first approaching the podium.
He then went on to say that a lie has been told to this country, and the lie has been told by our own government. According to Mackie, Hurricane Katrina was one of the most deadly hurricanes in the history of the United States and it could have been less catastrophic if the government would have fixed the broken levees that were supposed to help prevent the water from destroying the city of New Orleans.
According to Mackie, the government has had sovereignty over the levees in New Orleans since 1947. They ordered the Corps of Engineers to build the levees in 1947 because they knew how catastrophic an event such as Katrina or Rita could potentially be. Construction started in 1947, but was never finished.
However, none of this was made known to the people living there. Also, many people who don't know the facts of what really happened the day of the hurricane blame the flooding on the water. But the water isn't the only thing to blame, because the water never reached above the levees. If the levees didn't break because of the lack of craftsmanship, then a lot of the city could have been saved.
Mackie also says that the response time of the government to the hurricane was extremely slow.
"We believed in this place called America," Mackie said. "We pay our taxes, we go to school, we vote, but when I needed them, they turned their back on me."
Other countries responded faster than the U.S. did.
"We can't get basic services from our government right now, how did the Canadian Mounted Police on horses make it to New Orleans before the American government?" asked Mackie.
According to the Canadian Navy Web site, relief efforts included Operation UNISON in Sept. 2005, and consisted of 900 Canadian Coast Guards, sailors, soldiers, airmen, divers, half a dozen helicopters and four warships.
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