In United States history, race has always been a prominent social issue. It is deeply rooted into the Constitution which gave rights solely to the white man. When the Constitution was drafted, African Americans were considered to be three fifths of a person (for population counting purposes which benefited the states not the people) and women did not have any rights. Both of these minorities were also considered as property to the white man. The culture of white and rich dominance have left the poor, people of color, and other minorities to suffer. These minorities are considered to be outside of the social contract that Vine Deloria discusses in the article “Minorities and the Social Contract.” Vine Deloria’s argument about the injustices …show more content…
These groups face discrimination of having no representation or voice in the government to address their grievances. In 2005, the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina caused billions of dollars in damage, making it the costliest natural disaster in United States history. Thousands lost their lives and homes. This damage was unequal when comparing the losses of the lower class and nonwhites to the rich and whites.The facts show that “in the city proper, 80 percent of the flooded neighborhoods were majority nonwhite” (Kelman). In New Orleans, many of those in lower class relied on public transportation and did not have the means to evacuate. Desperate for shelter thousands stayed inside the Superdome. Still, many did not evacuate and died inside their homes and many more were stranded without access to resources or help. The wealthiest were the ones most likely able to evacuate and receive the help and resources they …show more content…
The hurricane is argued to be a man made disaster, a result of government neglect and failure to protect the lower socioeconomic class. Vine discusses how non political minorities have always been excluded from fundamental rights stating that the “non-political minorities have no significant constitutional protection, nor have they ever.” These non-political minorities received deficient protection from in Hurricane Katrina. The aftermath showed that African Americans vastly outnumbered whites in the flooded area from over a 3.8:1 ratio and African Americans accounted for 66 percent of the storm deaths while whites accounted for 33 percent (Campanella). This discrimination is shown through the disproportion of those who were most affected by the disaster since “the race and class dimensions of who escaped and who was victimized by this decidedly unnatural disaster not only could have been predicted, and was, but it follows a long history of like experiences”
Rather than working with nature through multi-tiered flood control with spillways and reservoirs, levees disallowed the river to naturally flood, deteriorated the natural ecosystem, and ultimately weakened the city’s defenses against the hurricane (Kelman). Culture and society further interacted, as beliefs in man’s power over nature and racial discrimination promoted levee expansion and racial segregation, creating a city of racially differentiated risk (Spreyer 4). As a result, inundation mostly impacted the lower land neighborhoods that housed poor people of color. Society and nature interfaced in the application of levees that contained nature’s forces. Ultimately, nature won out: the hurricane overpowered the levees and breached the Industrial Canal, disproportionally flooding the mostly black, low-elevation neighborhoods of New Orleans (Campanella
Niman, Michael I. "KATRINA's AMERICA: Failure, Racism, And Profiteering." Humanist 65.6 (2005): 11. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 26 Nov. 2013.
“Water is the driving force of all nature.” Leonardo Da Vinci simply stated that everything we experience in the natural world could be thought of as a result of water. This idea carries over to society as well. In man’s attempt to control nature, he must control water. This problem seems evident in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. As New Orleans grew, the water management infrastructure led to racial segregation and a disproportionate exposure to risk being distributed to people of color. Campanella’s article “An Ethnic Geography of New Orleans” provides specific details attributing the city’s water management as the source of these problems related to racial inequality.
In the late summer of 2005, a terrible tragedy occurred that changed the lives of many in the south-east region of the United States. A Category 3, named storm, named Hurricane Katrina, hit the Gulf Coast on the 29th of August and led to the death of 1,836 and millions of dollars’ worth of damage (Waple 2005). The majority of the damage occurred in New Orleans, Louisiana. Waple writes in her article that winds “gusted over 100 mph in New Orleans, just west of the eye” (Waple 2005). Not only was the majority of the damage due to the direct catastrophes of the storm but also city’s levees could no longer hold thus breaking and releasing great masses of water. Approximately, 80% of the city was submerged at sea level. Despite the vast amount of damage and danger all throughout the city, officials claimed that there was work being done to restore the city of New Orleans as a whole but many parts, and even the people, of the city were overlooked while areas of the city with higher economic value, and more tourist traffic, were prioritized along with those individuals.
In reading chapter 1, of the “Ethnic Myth”, by Stephen Steinberg, explains how the U.S. has a dominant society. In the U.S. class structures, unequal distributions of wealth, and political power vary between certain racial and ethnic groups. A main idea in this reading is ethnic pluralism which is defined as a particularly diverse racial or ethnic group that maintains their traditional culture within a broader more common civilization. Throughout history, race and ethnicity have caused conflict and the struggle of dominance over land. In reading chapter 2, of Drawing the Color Line, by Howard Zinn, explains how early in history inferior statuses of races which lead to mistreatment lead to racism. The very start of slavery began when african american slaves were brought to the north american colony called Jamestown.
They found that various socio-demographic predictors of flood risk impact the difference across flood zone categories. The main residents in inland flood zones are non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic, while coastal flood zones have more higher median income and housing value residents. I considered the study a valuable reference for future flood hazard research and comprehensive public policy making. Social groups with higher vulnerability also tends to stay instead of moving away, for they do not have the affordability for moving to other neighborhood, giving up what they have and almost start from scratch. Thus, they are actually the group of people that suffers the most and paying the most towards natural events. It is also important for the government to create a official help system to improve their resilience.
American minorities made up a significant amount of America’s population in the 1920s and 1930s, estimated to be around 11.9 million people, according to . However, even with all those people, there still was harsh segregation going on. Caucasians made African-Americans work for them as slaves, farmers, babysitters, and many other things in that line. Then when World War II came, “World War II required the reunification and mobilization of Americans as never before” (Module2). They needed to cooperate on many things, even if they didn’t want to. These minorities mainly refer to African, Asian, and Mexican-Americans. They all suffered much pain as they were treated as if they weren’t even human beings. They were separated, looked down upon, and wasn’t given much respect because they had a different culture or their skin color was different. However, the lives of American minorities changed forever as World War 2 impacted them significantly with segregation problems, socially, and in their working lives, both at that time and for generations after.
The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 was one of the most destructive in the history of the United States, proving that the levee only policy was a failure and the limits of human control over the river. The beginning of the flood, from the initial crevasse, poured out “468,000 second-feet onto the Delta that triple the volume of a flooding Colorado, more than double a flooding Niagara Falls and the entire upper Mississippi ever carried” (pg 203). The flood of 1927 “shifted perceptions of the role and responsibility of the federal government… shattered the myth of a quasi-feudal bond between Delta blacks and the southern aristocracy...accelerated the great migration of blacks north. And it altered both southern and national politics....” (pg 422). America is a product of the flood of 1927 in shaping the political, social, and economic structure. With each reoccurring disaster, America, in that region, continues to face the same issues regarding social conditions and poor working conditions that failed to be addressed.
Racism and classism are very big issues in the world today. The state, local and federal government's slow response to assist and evacuate the left behind poor, mostly Black people of Katrina is an example of racism and classism today. As explained by reporter Mike Davis (2005), "the ultimate revelation of Katrina was how the promise of equal rights for poor African Americans has been dishonored and betrayed by every level of government."(Johnson) I feel the response of the local, state and federal authorities to the Katrina disaster was inadequate and it demonstrated the continuing relevance of race and class for many reasons. They had a plan in place for an evacuation, there were resources to help people they just weren't used, and if the circumstances were different it wouldn't have happened the way it did.
The population of New Orleans was steadily decreasing, between the years of 2000 and 2005, 30,000 (6%) of the population left New Orleans in search for better lives (4). The declining population shows us that before Hurricane Katrina residence were already considering leaving the city, some push factors leading them away from the city include poverty and unemployment (5). Accord to the U.S 2005 Census Bureau around 23% of the residence lived in poverty, this can be a result of the nearly 12% unemployment rate (5). With an unemployment rate double the national standard and nearly one forth the population living in poverty, the city of New Orleans had many push factors against it resolution in a decline population prier to Hurricane Katrina. At the time of the storm nearly 400,000 residents were displaced from their homes too near by safe areas or other states. The population reming in the city as decreased to a few thousand (6). A month after the disaster when the levee breaches were repaired and the flood water was pumped out of the city, residence were allowed to return to what was left of their homes. The first reliable estimate of the New Orleans population after Hurricane Katrina was an ‘American Community survey’. The survey projected that by the start of 2006 around one third or 158,000 of the population returned. By the middle of f2006 the city
Furthermore, race has always been a serious matter in the Supreme Court and other government administrations, but they fail to recognize the issue. The injustices that minorities had to deal with in the past are the same inequalities that minorities, especially African Americans, still have to face in today’s society.
Equality has been one of the more problematic throughout the years. For example, when people owned slaves and before men and women were made equal there was no sense of equality through all people. Recently there has been a battle for more equality towards African-Americans. They believe that they are not being treated the same as white people, so they have been standing up for what they think is right. African-Americans feel as though white people are treated better than they are and want things to be equal between the both of them. This has been a very long issue, going back all the way to when people still owned slaves, so there has never been that sense
Haney Lopez argues that race has become a social establishment; instead of legal institutions trying to make sense of racial oppression they are constructing the social systems. Haney Lopez
There comes a time in the world where the outcome of certain events can cause a huge social change, one of those events is Hurricane Katrina. The events that took place prior to, during and after Katrina although impact only a few places physically it was left in the minds of everyone in the world. There were many actions that could have taken place to prevent the damage of such a catastrophic event, however nothing was done. Hurricane Katrina, a category 3 hurricane struck Louisiana and parts of the Mississippi. New Orleans in particular, due to various reasons received the most damage. Katrina first started off as a small hurricane formed in the Bahamas as it moved towards Louisiana and Mississippi it became a category 5, which is the strongest it can become, then decreased to category 3 once it finally struck. The storm caused an incredible amount of damage that Hurricane Katrina was noted as the most destructive and costly natural disaster in US history. The death toll was 1,836 people with 200 bodies left unclaimed as well as over 700 people unaccounted for. Hurricane Katrina was a source of social change as people have learned from the impact it had on the mind and body of the citizens of New Orleans, the mismanagement and lack of leadership the government showed, and the substantial immediate and long term economic damage it caused the country.
...mproved, especially as a result of the Civil Rights Movement, racial inequalities still remain; from income to IQ levels, to the number of the incarcerated and life expectancies. While Americans like to think of our country as the equal land of opportunity, clearly it is not. Racism continues to remain "our American Obsession" (Loewen 139).