The 9th Ward: The African American’s Struggle in The Wake of a Natural Disaster

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In the wake of natural disasters, the minorities of America are down the pecking order in the government’s list of priorities. Specifically seen in the African-American people, the government fails to provide speedy response time, supplies and other aid, as well as providing substantial compensation for the families devastated by disasters, which could have been preventable or deterred from causing more havoc. In many cases, the African-American people were exposed to poor living conditions, living in undesirable areas, and a lack of wealth, education, and preventative warnings of oncoming disasters. This can be seen in the cases of the 1900 great hurricane of Galveston, Texas and the 1995 Chicago Heat Wave, but the greatest example of all is Hurricane Katrina of 2005, where the victims who were affected were disproportionally African-American.

August 29th marks the day where North America’s costliest natural disaster veered its way towards the Gulf Coast and New Orleans area. By that time, it had already become a category four hurricane that would eventually claim the lives of 1,833 United States citizens as well as cause $108 billion worth of damage to the city of New Orleans and its residents. Most of the deaths and damages were caused to African-American families. Many died during the hurricane, as well as more died in the aftermath following Katrina’s destruction. The number of deaths and property damage could have been severely decreased, or even prevented, if many flaws in the situation hadn’t occurred.

The Ninth Ward of New Orleans, Louisiana was by far, the most damaged area of New Orleans. Located in the easternmost portion of New Orleans, bordering the Mississippi river and Lake Pontcharitrain, the breach in the Ni...

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... 13 Dec. 2011 .

Lewis, Jason. "Katrina Cop in the Superdome." Http://www.lasentinel.net. 21 Oct. 2010. Los Angeles Sentinel. 13 Dec. 2011 .

Murphy, Kim. "Superdome Katrina | Recalling days of despair in the Superdome - Los Angeles Times." Featured Articles From The Los Angeles Times. 30 Aug. 2010. Los Angeles Times. 13 Dec. 2011 .

United States of America. Federal Emergency Management Agency. Administrator. FEMA | Federal Emergency Management Agency. 29 Aug. 2005. Federal Emergency Management Agency. 13 Dec. 2011 .

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