The chaos that overwhelmed New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina is slowly but surely settling, as businesses and schools are reopening and residents are moving back.

And, although the city is not free from the physical and economic effects of the disaster, the biggest challenge facing New Orleans today is it’s very own Willy Wonka.

During a Martin Luther King Jr. Day speech on Monday, New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin declared that “this city will be chocolate at the end of the day.”

Mmm, a chocolate city – the possibilities!

Only that isn’t what Nagin had in mind. His idea of a “chocolate” city is a “majority African-American city,” which is “the way God wants it to be.”

New Orleans was 67 percent African-American before Katrina hit, and Nagin was trying to encourage displaced African-American persons to return to the city. While Ed Board sympathizes with the intention of Nagin’s statements, we feel that his remarks were made in an unprofessional, offensive fashion.

In a city that is trying to come together again, Nagin is hindering the process by making such a divisive statement. As mayor of the entire city, and as a professional politician who should be accustomed to handling himself in the national spotlight by now, Nagin must consider both the reactions of his constituency and the appearance of his city to the rest of the country.

Nagin specifically mentioned during his speech that he didn’t care what the predominately white uptown part of the city had to say about his chocolate vision, virtually labeling the residents of this part of town as racist.

And, did the mayor consider the event he was speaking for, which was honoring a man whose life was dedicated to breaking down barriers and overcoming labels, as he used the term “chocolate” to define African-Americans?

Nagin went on to clarify his remarks later in the day, claiming that chocolate is made by mixing dark chocolate with white milk “and then it becomes a delicious drink.” This attempt at erasing the racist connotations of his initial remarks and easing the anger sparked by the speech only added an increased level of ridiculousness to Nagin’s appearance.

Who can take a man who compares his city to a delicious chocolate drink seriously? Nagin is making a joke of himself, and as a result is making a joke out of the city of New Orleans.

The people of New Orleans deserve more for a leader than this man who models himself in the image of a deranged movie character and his city after a fantastical factory.

Ed Board offers its sympathy to the all the great people of New Orleans. And, we suggest looking into mayor the impeachment process.