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Blacks march in US amid anger over Katrina response

Afp, Washington
Tens of thousands of African-Americans rallied on Saturday against lingering inequalities in the United States, cheering speakers who accused the US government of "negligence" in its response to Hurricane Katrina.
One of the organisers of the march, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, said the federal government had failed to help the mainly African-American residents of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina hit the southern US coast on August 29.
"I firmly believe if the people on those rooftops had blond hair and blue eyes and pale skin, something would have been done in a more timely manner," said Farrakhan.
"We charge America with criminal neglect."
Farrakhan suggested a lawsuit should be brought against federal agencies for failing to fulfil their duties in the aftermath of the storm, which
claimed more than a thousand lives along the Gulf of Mexico coast.
Dozens of other speakers throughout the day referred to the crisis following Hurricane Katrina as a symbol of the injustice and poverty faced by the country's African-American community.
Reverend Jesse Jackson, leader of the National Rainbow/PUSH Coalition and a former presidential candidate, said the images of blacks stranded in New Orleans flood waters should provide an impetus for organizing political action to improve the plight of African-Americans and the poor.
The "Millions More Movement" rally was designed to create a national movement with the goal of "transforming American society and eliminating poverty and injustice," organisers said.
The event was organised by a broad coalition, including Farrakhan, Jackson, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and rap mogul-activist Russell Simmons, among others.
The rally was held on the anniversary of the "Million Man March" held ten years ago, which focused on encouraging black men to take responsibility for improving the lives of their families and communities.
The 1995 rally attracted a much larger crowd and organisers declined to estimate how many had attended Saturday's event.
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority said 294,765 people rode the capital's subway as of 5 pm, compared to more than 800,000 ten years ago.
The rally occurred at a time when racial divisions and poverty have reentered the national debate following the disturbing scenes that emerged from the flood waters of New Orleans.
In a September 15 speech on rebuilding New Orleans, Bush acknowledged that the hurricane revealed poverty that "has roots in a history of racial discrimination, which cut off generations from the opportunity ofAmerica."
The president said the government had "a duty to confront this poverty with bold action."
But those attending the rally accused the White House of failing the country's poor.
"There is not much being done for our people. Bush hasn't done anything. The rich keep getting richer and the poor keep getting poorer," said Ernest Twyman, a spry 86-year-old Washington resident.
A poll released this week showed Bush's standing among African-Americans, which has never been high, had plunged to an all-time low. Only two percent approve of his performance as president, according to the NBC/Wall Street Journal survey.
While the rally was under way, rioting erupted in an impoverished neighbourhood of Toledo in the state of Ohio after a planned march by a neoNazi group provoked a counter-protest.
Scores of mainly black rioters rampaged through streets wrecking cars and setting a liquor store on fire. Toledo Mayor Jack Ford blamed African-American gangs for the violence.
Farrakhan recently speculated that the government should investigate a rumour that a bomb may have triggered the collapse of the levees around New Orleans.
Farrakhan has often provoked controversy, making remarks about Jews and homosexuals that were seen as intolerant.
African-Americans made up 12.9 percent of the total US population in 2000, government date show.