Written by Saanvi Bapat
2025 will mark the 20th anniversary of a huge tragedy, Hurricane Katrina. In August of 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, causing widespread death, injury, and damage. But this tragedy also came with a huge racial component added.
About one-half of those who were displaced came from New Orleans. New Orleans’ social and economic composition left the storm heavily impacting the poor and African American communities. In fact, 51% of those who died were Black, and the mortality rate among Black people was 1.7 to 4 times higher than that among white people for those 18 and older.
In addition to this, initial reactions to the government’s response to the tragedy showed the divide between those of different racial backgrounds. Two-thirds of African Americans said that “the government’s response to the situation would have been faster if most of the victims had been white” while 77% of white people said that the victims’ race would have made no difference.
The storm spotlighted the still-existing racial inequality in access to resources and emergency response services. 71% of Blacks, compared to only 44% of whites, say that racial inequality is still a problem in the US.
In the aftermath of the hurricane, Black communities have fought back and tried to rebuild. There have been multiple protests regarding environmental justice and racial inequality in order to bring to light the intersection of those two social justice issues.
Furthermore, middle-class residents, both Black and white, established reconstruction planning committees that envisioned a more carefully planned city with fortified older neighborhoods and rebuilt portions of areas hit badly by the floods. There is also a focus on creating a more equalized and efficient government to provide services and protection, a more advanced school system, and a more multiracial and integrated city.
Overall, though the black community was hit extremely hard by Hurricane Katrina, they are slowly building back better and stronger in an effort to increase racial equality and create a more just and balanced community. As we near the 20th anniversary of this event, we should remember those who lost their lives, loved ones, and precious homes but also look to the future to achieve a more equitable society.
Works Cited:
Doherty, Carroll. “Remembering Katrina: Wide Racial Divide over Government’s Response.” Pew Research Center, 27 Aug. 2015, www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2015/08/27/remembering-katrina-wide-racial-divide-over-governments-response/.
“Hurricane Katrina Proved That If Black Lives Matter, so Must Climate Justice | Elizabeth c Yeampierre.” The Guardian, 24 Aug. 2015, www.theguardian.com/us-news/commentisfree/2015/aug/24/hurricane-katrina-black-lives-matter-climate-justice.
Kates, R. W., et al. “Reconstruction of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina: A Research Perspective.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 103, no. 40, 26 Sept. 2006, pp. 14653–14660, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0605726103.
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