I hate to break it to Kanye West, and to you if you subscribe to that firebrand's most famous piece of rhetoric, but George Bush cares about black people.

You wouldn't know it from his demeanor, his famous Yalie smirk and country swagger forever leading you to believe he's about two beers away from calling Colin Powell "boy." Certainly his lax, almost uninterested response to Hurricane Katrina did nothing for his pro-black image ("Brownie, you're doing a helluva job"). And, indeed, some of the man's stances on policy – like his stern opposition to the hate crimes bill – at best reek of ignorance, and at worst of bigotry. Yet despite all that, I can't, in good faith, condemn Dubya as a person who cares not for black people.

Bad President? Definitely. Oblivious? Absolutely. Unfeeling racist out to rid the world of blacks? No way. And the reason I'm certain of this begins and ends with Africa.

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Louisiana tourism officials today revealed the first 26 sites on their "African American Heritage Trail," which spans from New Orleans to the state's northern region. Travelers who follow the Trail will encounter notable locations in black history, including plantations and places integral in the creation of jazz. "The new trail makes the entire state a museum," Lt Governor Mitch Landrieu said. No word yet as to when the path will be extended to Houston…and Little Rock and…St Paul?

New Orleans funeral processions — brass band parades that are one of many rich traditions among the cities black residents — might become a thing of the past.

If police have anything to do with it.

According to Salon, police have been cracking down hard on these processions, citing noise ordinances. But for many it seems that the powers-that-be don't consider a lot of New Orleans traditions appropriate for their vision of a post-Katrina city.

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