Popeyes

Philip is known for his love of Popeye’s fried chicken. He has gone to great lengths (like driving to neighboring states) to get his fix. Well, people in New Orleans also like their Popeye’s fried chicken. The Sunday after Thanksgiving we decided to switch from turkey sandwiches to a different kind of poultry. Philip called five Popeye’s before he found one open. It was way out in the burbs. We loaded the kids in the car and drove 15 minutes (an eternity for New Orleans driving) to a place I've never been in greater New Orleans--at least it was closer than Rhode Island.

The place way packed. I guess we were not the only people who called around to find where the spicy chicken ws being fried. There were at least 15 cars in the drive-thru line, making the parking lots nearly impossible to maneuver. I jumped out of the car and went inside to get in line. There were about 25 people in front of me. Here, like in the Second Line, I found what I am used to in New Orleans—an integrated crowd. I was happy to be one of the crowd of all types willing to go the extra mile and wait the extra minutes to get the best chicken and sides in the world.

Then, I made a friend. I started chatting with the white woman in front of me. She had three kids and was happy to be home in Orleans Parish. We knew some of the same people. Her kids went to a private school I had heard good things about and I asked her some about it. She was very excited to hear that we were seriously considering moving here. I think in an effort to entice us there she made three comments that made me nervous:

#1.

SHE SAID: You could luck out, if you bought into a neighborhood that used to be so-so. Now it’ll probably be a good neighborhood.

MY TRANSLATION: If you bought a house in a neighborhood that used to be integrated, you may wind up with a neighborhood that is now all white.

#2.

SHE SAID: I really wouldn’t mind if New Orleans just became a boutique suburb of Metairie where people went to do their high end shopping.

MY TRANSLATION: I wouldn’t mind if all the poor people never came back.

#3.

SHE SAID: Now that the crime rate has gone down I think we may be able to attract tech interests.

MY TRANSLATION: The fact that all the poor people of color have been flushed from the city is going to be great for business.

I hesitate to post this, because I think that it is too easy to just say flippantly: what a racist load of shit. The thing is, there’s a story behind this story. This lady isn’t any more racist than you or I—just a little more forthright.

This woman and plenty of others haven’t heard the stories of the poor and disenfranchised who are displaced. I haven’t heard many of their stories. They are being spread out. It is a silent diaspora of staggering proportions. I heard more theories than I care to repeat about “they”, the poor African-Americans. This story has to get out, because otherwise other people will keep making up stories to explain what happened to other people and they won’t get it right.