There were thousands of deaths in Orleans Parish, home of New Orleans, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Many if this who lost their lives were African American residents living in the lowest income areas of the city. There were many decisions in the series of events leading to the storm that contributed to the high death toll. New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin has often been cited as one of the main reasons so many citizens were left behind (Brinkley, 2007). Rightfully so. Ray Nagin failed to issue a mandatory evacuation order in a timely manner, citing his fear of lawsuits due to lost revenue to the flourishing tourism industry in New Orleans. Once he finally issued the evacuation order he failed to accurately assess and mobilize his available resources. Sadly there were dozens of busses from the city transit authority and the school system that sat unused as desperate residents tried to find a way out of the city (Brinkley, 2007).
However there is more to the story. Residents of the lower ninth ward and New Orleans east who had grown to distrust authority figures within the city. Their houses in many cases were literally all they had. They did not have cars or money in their bank accounts. Many of these residents in these areas were resolved to ride out ‘the big one’ in their falling apart row houses. This resolve to stay even after the mandatory evacuation order was issued on August 28, 2005 was much more than the stubborn pride or lack of resources that it may seem on the surface. It is the result of over 100 years of institutional racism and corrupt politics. To understand this issue we first must understand the history of the residents in these areas.
The Great Flood
In 1926 record amounts of rainfall were recorded in the Mississippi river basin. These rains continued throughout 1927, 11.16in of rain were recorded in New Orleans in February of 1927 alone compared to the normal average of 4.4 inches (Bradshaw, 2011). On Friday April 15 1927, 14 inches fell which disabled the pumps that keep the part of the city ‘inside the bowl’ dry (Bradshaw, 2011). These record rainfall amounts caused the great Mississippi river flood. Officials in New Orleans scrambled to find a solution as the river topped its banks and the city began to flood. Officials decided that the most prudent plan of action was to demolish the Caernarvon levee in order to save the city. Officials reasoned that the affected areas were poor and would be of no great loss compared to the devastation that would happen if no action was taken. Residents were promised funds to relocate although few if any ever saw those funds. When the levee was demolished, 10,000 poor mostly African American residents were displaced as their homes were destroyed. Many were housed in a warehouse as they tried to put the pieces of their lives back together. This caused many poor African Americans in New Orleans to become suspicious and distrusting of the federal and state government (Bradshaw, 2011). They reasoned that the federal government basically sacrificed the livelihood of thousands in St. Bernard parish in 1927 and it was only a matter of time before it happened to them. Memories of this betrayal resonated through generations. In fact some reports say that residents of the lower ninth ward remarked, on the eve of Katrina, that the government would likely blow the levee which holds the industrial canal from filling the lower ninth ward with water in order to again save New Orleans. (Brinkley, 2007).
Relocation
Economically disadvantaged African American residents of New Orleans also had other reasons to distrust city officials. They were systematically being pushed further and further away from the center of the city and pushed out of their jobs (Brinkley, 2007). New Orleans has very little industry, aside from the revenue from the shipping ports there are little to no large corporations or factories to employ the undereducated. Due to this feature, many low wage unskilled workers are employed by the tourism industry which is centered around the French quarter and the garden district. Other workers held jobs as maids or household help for the city’s elite. Historically these workers resided within the reach of the public transit system close to the city. Most of these workers were unable to afford their own transportation and relied on this public infrastructure to get to work. During the late 1990s and early 2000s, several low income housing complexes were condemned. Residents of one complex were moved to the seventh ward which caused gang fighting and skyrocketing murder rates (Brinkley, 2007). City officials realized that condensing these government housing recipients was not going to work. When other complexes closed, officials relocated residents to New Orleans East which happened to be a 10 mile drive to the city. Residents who worked low paying jobs as hotel workers, maids and janitors were essentially locked out of their jobs. They were willing to work but once they no longer had access to public transportation, they were unable to work (Brinkley, 2007). New Orleans East was so saturated with the suddenly unemployed that there were no longer any jobs to be found in the area. This left residents collecting food stamps, welfare and social security checks. They barely scraped by and certainly didn’t have the resources to leave the city at a moment’s notice. Many residents didn’t even own tv sets and even if they did hear the news of the impending storm did not have the education to really understand the implications. A reported 112,000 of New Orleans 400,000 residents did not own a car (Brinkley, 2007).
Corruption
The New Orleans police force was also another factor that effected many residents desire to not evacuate. The police force has long been cited as corrupt and has been accused of catering to the white citizens of New Orleans. The police force itself makes over 100,000 arrests in any given year (pre Katrina), that means 1 out of every 4 citizens was arrested each year (Brinkley, 2007). Low income neighborhoods such as New Orleans East and the lower ninth ward were known for guns, violence and gang activity. It can be reasoned that many of these arrests were happening in these areas. Residents had no reason to trust the police force as they often harassed members of their community, police were not seen as protectors.
Contextual Mobility
One social scientist, Robert Sampson, remarked that after 1960 African Americans became less mobile (Gladwell, 2015). They were more likely to live in the areas where they were born. Poor African American residents of the city often lived just blocks from the area where they grew up. This decreased ‘contextual mobility’ meant that these residents were less likely to make moves that would improve their social standing (Gladwell, 2015). This demonstrates the feeling many residents had of being “stuck”. Many residents of these areas lived in the same house that they were born and even where their grandparents were also born. In a city where African Americans were being discriminated against at every turn, many were hesitant to leave the only thing that was truly theirs. These residents tied both their personal and social identities to their community. Evacuating because of the storm would mean turning their backs on these identities. Unfortunately many of these residents lost their social and personal identities anyway and in many cases, lost their lives.
Due to the reduced contextual mobility of African Americans in poor New Orleans neighborhoods and the geography of the city, those who had the least ability to evacuate were the ones who needed to evacuate most. Most if not all of the lower income areas of New Orleans are well below sea level. These areas are where mayor Ray Nagin Should have been focusing. Some residents who desired to evacuate shared that there were a few busses that arrived at the 12 locations predetermined by Nagin once he issued the mandatory evacuation order. However these busses were reported to only make a few trips before stopping altogether.
Concluding Thoughts
These examples only scratch the surface of the racial inequality in the city of New Orleans that caused African Americans to be disproportionately affected by Katrina. A complex set of variables came together to create a tragic disaster that could have been avoided if city officials and government officials took the time to understand the cultural and socioeconomic factors at play in these neighborhoods. Ray Nagin hesitated to issue the evacuation order several days before the storm. This inaction was actually him taking action, it told the residents of many economically disadvantaged areas that they didn’t matter. The only thing that truly mattered to Nagin was revenue from the tourism industry. Interestingly Ray Nagin is currently serving a 10 year prison sentence for bribery and fraud that was committed during his time as Mayor of New Orleans (Times-Picune, 2014).
Sources:
Bradshaw, Jim “Great Flood of 1927.” In knowlouisiana.org Encyclopedia of Louisiana, edited by David Johnson. Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, 2010–. Article published May 13, 2011. http://www.knowlouisiana.org/entry/great-flood-of-1927.
Brinkley, D. (2007). The great deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. New York: Harper.
Gladwell, M. (2015, August 16). Starting Over. Retrieved February 15, 2017, from http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/08/24/starting-over-dept-of-social-studies-malcolm-gladwell
Times-Picayune, A. G. (2014, September 08). Ray Nagin, once New Orleans’ mayor, now federal inmate No. 32751-034. Retrieved February 15, 2017, from http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2014/09/ray_nagin_once_mayor_of_new_or.html
Hello,
I enjoyed reading your blog post. I never realized the prominence of racial inequality during a state of emergency and in other situations that you discussed. Relatively, racial inequality has been a major issue in New Orleans, as well as in locations across the globe. Tragic disasters took several people’s lives primarily those who lived in areas of lower income. These examples of events are devastating knowing that they probably could have been prevented. Several individuals lost their own lives and lives of loved ones due to a lack of knowledge or unwillingness to understand the cultural and socioeconomic factors within these neighborhoods. Honestly, I cannot believe that the mayor of New Orleans failed to issue an evacuation in a timely manner until right before Hurricane Katrina hit. Many residents have every right to feel a lack of trust in authority figures due to the repeated occurrences of instances in which they were betrayed.
How could officials gamble off someone’s life just because they believe, “the areas were poor and of no great loss compared to the devastation that would happen if no action was taken?” That really upsets me because they are showing no remorse for these particular individuals just because they have a lower-income rate or they are not as educated. Just because they may not make as much money or have the opportunity to obtain a proper education does not mean that they are any less as people. Majority of those individuals have families, a soul, and a heart.
Furthermore, the residents who were relocated further away from their jobs without access to transportation have every right to be angry and upset with officials. They were not given any option and they are left without the ability to get a job to pay for necessities. Several residents probably felt like they were left with their hands tied or stuck without any freedom to make choices pertaining to their life. Additionally, reduced contextual mobility of African Americans in poor New Orleans neighborhoods were given the least ability to evacuate and were typically the ones who needed to evacuate the most because they were well below sea-level. In my opinion, it should not matter if you are in a “lower income” area or not, if you literally need to evacuate sooner because you are in the most danger then you should get the first chance to relocate from the threatening area.
I never realized how evacuation systems worked in relation to racial inequality until reading your blog. Changes should occur to fix the system and promote the safety and well-being of disadvantaged individuals. Anyone should have the chance to evacuate and flee from harm regardless of their social status, race, gender, or other modes of inequality.
Thank you for sharing,
Kendall Eimers