“The government handled this atrociously. My opinion is that part of it’s is racist — if the people were not black and poor, that there would have been a more immediate response.”

Seymour Pincus

“Things were not handled properly. If something like that happens here, how long would it take to save us? Five days, six days? It was unbelievable, with the sights that you see, that this is in the United State.”

Clarence Roker

“They knew the hurricane was coming and that people would be without supplies. They should have started quicker before people had to resort to looting. My confidence level is a lot lower than it used to be.”

John Fowler

“If it was people of a different race, then I think they would have worked a lot faster. They should have been there faster instead of saying … ‘We’re going to think about it.’ Get a helicopter and just go!

Alyyah Vizcarrondo

“This was forecast to happen years ago. We are spending billions of dollars overseas to help other governments, but we are not doing enough to help ours. It will take 20, 30 years for [the city] to be rebuilt.”

Geraldo Spooner