The New Orleans Times-Picayune reported on the ineffectiveness of the federal Delta Regional Authority in fostering economic development in the Mississippi Delta, and quoted UGA historian Jim Cobb on the history of failure for federal programs in the Delta. “Because of the vast disparities in wealth, the war on poverty was always on shaky ground in the area,” he said. “There is still such a history of disparity of power and resources between the races in the Delta, you probably wouldn’t find anything comparable anywhere in the U.S.”
