Hurricane: "Poor, Black, and Left Behind"

[Kanary]

There was a recent post about the different concepts of "security" between affluent and poor people. The following article certainly exemplifies that gap!!

http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0924-02.htm

Published on Friday, September 24, 2004 by TomDispatch.com
Poor, Black, and Left Behind
by Mike Davis


The evacuation of New Orleans in the face of Hurricane Ivan looked sinisterly like Strom Thurmond's version of the Rapture. Affluent white people fled the Big Easy in their SUVs, while the old and car-less -- mainly Black -- were left behind in their below-sea-level shotgun shacks and aging tenements to face the watery wrath.

New Orleans had spent decades preparing for inevitable submersion by the storm surge of a class-five hurricane. Civil defense officials conceded they had ten thousand body bags on hand to deal with the worst-case scenario. But no one seemed to have bothered to devise a plan to evacuate the city's poorest or most infirm residents. The day before the hurricane hit the Gulf Coast, New Orlean's daily, the Times-Picayune, ran an alarming story about the "large group…mostly concentrated in poorer neighborhoods" who wanted to evacuate but couldn't.

Only at the last moment, with winds churning Lake Pontchartrain, did Mayor Ray Nagin reluctantly open the Louisiana Superdome and a few schools to desperate residents. He was reportedly worried that lower-class refugees might damage or graffiti the Superdome.

(snip)

Over the last generation, City Hall and its entourage of powerful developers have relentlessly attempted to push the poorest segment of the population -- blamed for the city's high crime rates -- across the Mississippi river. Historic Black public-housing projects have been razed to make room for upper-income townhouses and a Wal-Mart. In other housing projects, residents are routinely evicted for offenses as trivial as their children's curfew violations. The ultimate goal seems to be a tourist theme-park New Orleans -- one big Garden District -- with chronic poverty hidden away in bayous, trailer parks and prisons outside the city limits.

[G_j]

1. this scenario says so much

about America. It is a microcosm of the way things work here.
It is also a shame and a disgrace. Not much has changed since the Titanic went down has it?

This is an article that needed to be written.
thanks for posting

[juslikagrzly]

2. Sociological research on disasters says much the same

There is some very interesting sociology research on disasters which points to the prevalence of just this kind of thing. Chemical/industrial disasters typically affect the poor as these industrial sites are usually sited in the poorer neighborhoods. The poorer neighborhoods are often very much neglected during natural disasters also with less evacuation, less preparation (takes money to buy that plywood) and less resources devoted to clean up.

It's just a damn shame. Actually, it's just criminal!

[Kanary]

6. Is there any chance you would have any links for those sources?

I don't expect you to have them at your elbow, but if any of them are handy, I'd like to see them.

It stands to reason...... the poorer folk are less likely to resist and protest.

Several years ago in Denver, one of the poorer neighborhoods did just that, however, after having a few trainwrecks with toxic chemicals involved. When they finally organized and got together over it, they proved to be a force to be reckoned with!

Yes, criminal is what it is.

What's even more criminal is that the nation doesn't recognize it as that!

:mad:

Kanary

[juslikagrzly]

7. My husband is actually the sociologist

but I'll try to scare some up for you, after he's awake of course :)

[Kanary]

8. Thanks..... if they're findable without driving anyone crazy, that would

be great.

:hi:

Kanary

[juslikagrzly]

13. He'll get them from his office tomorrow :) eom

[bluestateguy]

3. Yes that was my post

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=2412669&mesg_id=2412669

[Kanary]

4. Thanks for linking it here.....

I can't switch back and forth that well.... :)

So, you have a comment about this?

It's a real wonder to me that there isn't more anger expressed in these neighborhoods!

Kanary

[Eloriel]

5. Grotesque, barbaric and heartbreaking

We had a similar, tho not quite as barbaric situation in Georgia a few years back. Can't remember which hurricane, but the Albany area was in danger of being flooded by the Flint River. So what did the city do? It opened some of its flood gates (or whatevers) so that it was the poor (usually black) neighborhoods that got hit with the flooding rather than the tonier neighborhoods.

Of course, in this instance, I don't think there were any deaths involved, just misery and destruction of property.

And relative to New Orleans, I was afraid of just this very thing as I watched news coverage-- sure didn't seem like there were adequate protections being given for the evacuations. In one sense I'm glad to have validation of what I was picking up, but it really is -- BARBARIC is the only word I can think of.

[southlandshari]

9. This is sickening

I don't know much about the current mayor of New Orleans - I used to travel there for work frequently, and Mark Moriel was mayor at the time. He had his critics (and his flaws, I'm sure), but he was a very charismatic leader for the African American community and the city residents in general.

[Swamp Rat]

14. Marc Morial was and still is one of the worst city leaders we ever had.

His father, Dutch Morial was also mayor until that SOB died of a crack overdose and found (by my friend, an NOPD detective) behind the wheel of his car. The Morials care NOTHING for poor blacks, whites nor any other race; they care only for money and their vein enterprises.

[southlandshari]

16. I'll take your word for it

because I see you are a New Orleans resident, and I've never lived there.

In the four years I was involved in nonprofit work and community organizing there, though, I heard a lot of praise for him from a pretty diverse range of folks. I admit I also heard some strong criticisms during that time, but the positive outweighed the negative overall. It may have just been the nature of the business I was in at the time.

I stand corrected! =)

[Swamp Rat]

18. The name Morial will rouse the ire of many residents here.

Those two Morlials wasted more money putting up full-color metal signs bearing their name than they spent on most public projects. They destroyed an architecturally rare and significant building to build Harrah's Casino... I could go on and on...

Don't fret about not knowing. Publicly they did well to put up a front portraying themselves as helping "their kind." Secretly they hate black folks. When taking a sociology class (with one of my relatives) at Tulane, Dutch, along with the rest of the class, was asked if he were white or black. He raised his hand for "white". The Morials are mixed racially, but mostly identify themselves with the white, upper class circles they frequent... until they need votes; then on TV they become Black.

[Kanary]

10. kicking because these people deserve attention for this!

:kick:

[camero]

11. Funny

The US doesn't do anything hardly for the poor in harm's way but Castro can move almost a million people from one end of the island to the other to avoid Hurricane Ivan.

Tell me who the dictator is again?

[jumpstart33]

12. No work and no hope, make for crime and poverty.

But it's not only blacks who fit this pattern. There are poor Asians (you never see, but many make up Asian gangs), there are poor Jews, Russian Jews making up gangs ...you never read about them, there are poor all over the world but the world only seems to see poor blacks and only seem s to black criminals. And yes, it is happening in cities across the US, poor people are being shuffled around, their tenament housing being torn down and replaced with upper class condos and townhouses. And just wait for the mass exodus of snow birds from FL. They have the money to buy new homes in other places but the poor do not. But it appears that mother nature is no respector of persons as the cains bash and flood the most affluent of neighborhoods.

[Swamp Rat]

15. This article is accurate.

It was eerie in this city after more that half the surrounding population had evacuated. I was so pissed when I heard that there were NO shelters for the poor and homeless. Even the local TV newcasters were indicating that they were pissed too, though no one said anything directly about it on air.

[jwirr]

17. The Day After

This tells us about the treatment of pre-disaster relief. I am interested in what happens after the disaster. What kind of help do the poor get then? How does FEMA deal with the poor? Is it effective? What happens to them if the help is inadequate? Anyone know about this part?

[Kanary]

19. Someone has mentioned in another thread that poor people

were promised replacement housing, but corporations have their eye on the properties for condos.

Does that come as any surprise?

Thank you for asking about this! I will hope that someone has some answers!

Kanary

[Kanary]

20. for the evening crowd

:kick:

[juslikagrzly]

21. Kanary

I sent you the article info in a du email. Did you get it?