Katrina has paved the way to ethnic cleansing - Black removal, no matter how you look at it. We're planning for a huge mobilization to keep Katrina on the agenda.

This should not be going on. With all the needs in our city, they are spending precious dollars on a party. This is a commercial holiday. It provides sales for vendors, but it will not provide the jobs we need.

People are planning and making decisions without us. We're trying to reverse that trend. We must keep the Katrina issue in the national debate. We're concerned that Dr. King's legacy of struggle and fighting for justice will be forgotten, if we don't carry on the work.

They keep pushing their recommendations as though they are the gospel truth. There is confusion as to all of these recommendations, issued as if they are policy. The Times-Picayune contributes to that confusion. None of this is a given.

Struggle on the ground has intensified enormously. A number of groups are in motion, moving against the mayor's commission. Increasing numbers of people are coming back into the city. You can feel the political rhythm.

We [the African American Leadership Project] are developing a resolution to that effect.