[CrimsonTide4]

I'm going to take a 'wait and see' approach. I'll do my best to remain both patient and prayerful. My prayers will go out to the victims, the survivors and the displaced. My patience will go out to the rest of the world and I will bide my time and wait to see if the world (including those in America) will do right by 'us' in our time of need.

As the death toll rises and my television set becomes more and more inundated…wait…bad choice of words...

As my television set becomes overwhelmed with images of people…Black people living atop freeways and rooftops with their life's belongings in a little plastic bag alongside them, I remain fearful.

I fear the possibility that the tremendous and immediate response to reach out to the tsunami victims on that side of the world will not be duplicated for the victims of hurricane Katrina on this side. I sense a lukewarm relief effort and I pray to God that I'm wrong.

Yet, already I see the disparate treatment starting. In pictures of Black people afloat with items next to them, they are invariably characterized as looters. In virtually identical pictures with White people making their way through the water, the caption characterizes them as people who've 'found' their respective items. (see pictures below)

When I turn on talk radio, far too much time is spent discussing how the residents in the gulf region (mind you majority African-American) were 'warned' and could've/should've evacuated.

The anger inside me grows exponentially because I think I've heard this song before and already know the words. There won't be the unbridled outpouring of support and aid relative to our support for Iraqis or the victims of the tsunami. I fear that we'll do everything in our power to 'liberate' Iraqis and something else far short of that to save African-American hurricane survivors. I pray to God I'm wrong on all accounts.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not comparing disasters. I'm merely acknowledging the likelihood of disparate, discriminate and ultimately inequitable response to said disasters.

Damnit, I want to see telethons, public service announcements, presidential speeches and most important a ish-load of money on its way to save these people.

My people.

It's during moments like these that I wish I was something more than a writer. Writers change the world over time; one word at a time. But my people who've fallen victim to hurricane Katrina don't need a writer; they need much more than that and far quicker in nature. That fact isn't lost on me.

The gulf region is a relatively economically depressed region. No…check that, it is for the most part a destitute region. It has been that way since the period of reconstruction after the civil war. I say that to say, a warning could have gone out that a nuclear warhead was going to detonate on Friday at 8:05 pm and the result would have been the same.

These people had nowhere to go.

Many did not have cars, the wherewithal or even a destination in which to go. How often do you hear of a multiple generations of a family living within 10 square miles of each other…if not the very same house? In the 'hood, it's very common. It's the definition of abject poverty. You can't leave, your children can't leave and very likely their children will not either. Not today, not tomorrow, not ever. Don't expect that to change in a moment's notice, crisis or not. What is one to do…walk to Arkansas? That's about the only option as buying a plane ticket to California and making sure your house insurance is current is likely not an option if you're a 3rd generation resident of Gulfport MS.

A similar parallel can be drawn between this disaster and the genocide in the Darfur region of the Sudan. Political pundits asked why the majority of the indigenous people remained, even long after the genocide began.

It's very simple. Where were they to go? And how were they to get there? Those who 'could' go, ended up WALKING to the neighboring country of Chad. If it were a hurricane like in New Orleans, those who chose to walk would've been wiped out, regardless. Many waited months to decide to finally trek the many hundreds miles in most cases to reach the border.

Those who 'could' leave New Orleans surely did. Don't insult my intelligence. And those in Mississippi didn't even know what hit them.

Let's not forget that even up until the eve of hurricane Katrina reaching New Orleans, public reports were that it likely was not a storm that would travel far enough inland or wreak as much havoc as it ultimately did. The subsequent yet subtle characterization of those who died in the storm as being somehow 'stupid' for not evacuating is sickening and envelops me in anger.

I don't condone the subsequent looting, but neither do I condone the subsequent lunacy that would try to lessen the scope of this tragedy or the aid it necessitates.

I'm going to take a wait and see approach. I'll do my best to remain both patient and prayerful. My prayers will go out to the victims, the survivors and the displaced. My patience will go out to the rest of the world and I will bide my time and wait to see if the world (including those in America will do right by 'us' in our time of need. I hope America will prove me wrong and I pray for the restoration of those victimized by this disaster.

Morris W. O'Kelly is a Producer/Editor of the Tavis Smiley Show on Public Radio International. The content of the Mo'Kelly Report reflects the views of the writer only and are neither specifically shared nor implicitly endorsed by The Smiley Group, Inc. or associated companies. He can be reached at dark.gable@sbcglobal.net and welcomes all commentary.