Reid Wick
Buy Issue for $25 at JHUPROWELL: How would you, a native of this city, respond to someone asking, "Why should we rebuild New Orleans? Why should the U.S. government spend money rebuilding New Orleans?"
WICK: There's no easy answer to the question. I think there's a number of different aspects that need to be taken into account, one of which is a historical perspective going back to the Louisiana Purchase. If it were not for New Orleans and its significance as a port city, I don't think that the Louisiana Purchase would have happened, and the United States may not be what it is today, if it were not for the significance of New Orleans. Now that's a historical perspective.
If we think of New Orleans as a living and breathing community of artisans and musicians and a general population, we would discover that it is probably one of the most unique cultures we have in the United States. We have several nicknames for New Orleans, and a couple of my favorites are: "the northernmost Caribbean city," meaning that we've picked up on a lot of the Caribbean flavors of life and they all thrive in New Orleans on a regular basis; and then New Orleans is often referred to as "the only European city in the United States," which somewhat recalls the French and Spanish backgrounds of New Orleans. These two European groups ruled over the city in our historical past. To this day, New Orleans continues to be known as a significant port city with a unique cuisine and a unique music style. You will recall that in our pre-interview conversation, we were asking, "Does a city have a certain kind of sound in music?" Some other cities may have a sound—we know that New Orleans certainly has a musical sound. But one of the cool things about New Orleans is that it's not just one sound; it's an amalgamation of all kinds of stuff, from gospel and blues and jazz—including the rhythm & blues that was made famous in the '50s and '60s—to rap and rock, and the whole gamut. I mean we represent it all here, and unlike places like Seattle, which has a certain grunge sound, or Nashville, which may have just a country kind of twang, we have it all here. I think that not many other cities have what we have as far as the broad cultural strokes that you see on a regular basis here—that is, before Katrina. [End Page 1322]
ROWELL: You mentioned nicknames for New Orleans. As you know, there are others. Which of the others do you think are expressive of the city, and which do you think are not so? [Laughter.]
WICK: I think the two that I alluded to are a couple of the ones that are somewhat a little more complementary in the sense that the Caribbean feel—a kind of the island feel, or a carefree, laissez faire kind of attitude—exists around here. I think that attitude manifests itself in the way that people move about on the street. People are friendly, and it's easy to walk down the street and say hello to somebody and strike up a conversation. There's the friendliness of staff at a restaurant or patrons at a club. I think that's all positive. We also have a lot of negative connotations that are associated with nicknames too, such as the Murder Capital of the United States. Yes, we've had all those kind of negative things over the years too, which I don't like to dwell on, but unfortunately at times we do have serious problems with crime.
You know the expression "most European city" I think is really an interesting take because when I go to Europe, I feel, like, right at home in France or Germany or places like that. As in Europe, you feel the history in the streets. You walk through...
