Race and Ruin By Darren W. Davis

Hurricane Katrina revealed to the entire world the continuing significance of race in American society. Throughout the world, many people were shocked to see such desperation in one of America’s greatest cities, and many were equally horrified by the U.S. government’s lackadaisical response to the crisis facing a largely African-American population. The media conveyed disturbing images reminiscent of scenes we have grown accustomed to seeing in underdeveloped parts of Africa, Asia, and South America, causing many people to ask: How could this happen in America?

Because the overwhelming majority of the displaced citizens (or perhaps those upon whom the media were most fixated) were African Americans, questions have been raised about the extent to which race was a factor in the government’s slow response. A recent Gallup poll (September 8-11, 2005) indicated that 60 percent of African Americans and 12 percent of whites thought the federal government was slow in rescuing people because many were black. Similarly, 63 percent of African Americans and 21 percent of whites thought the poverty of many victims was a reason for the slow rescue. My own view is that race was (and will continue to be) an important factor in the government’s response to hurricane Katrina, but the part it plays is more complex than some governmental official, at the federal, state, or local level, saying, “Let’s delay our response to make black people suffer.”

As a public opinion researcher, I understand that nowadays racism can be this simple and blatant; but it rarely is, and that makes such charges difficult to pin down. One does not need to pursue explicitly racist policies to achieve racist outcomes. Choosing to adhere to rigid bureaucratic guidelines and flawed procedures or allowing incompetence can lead to the same results. Either way, many people die and suffer unnecessarily.

It is not only racism that makes one blind to human suffering. Certain ideological belief systems are intertwined with racial perceptions, which can also lead to blaming the victims. Perhaps this is not the place to review the voluminous literature that is relevant to this point, but hurricane Katrina is, indeed, raising very important questions about race in American society. Public opinion researchers need to look beyond traditional racial resentment measures and appreciate how race is now intertwined with other ideologies.

The question I want to address is, how has race conditioned the public’s response to the displaced victims of hurricane Katrina and the rebuilding of New Orleans? One answer is that racial resentment leads to blaming the victims, and a sense that people get what they deserve.

As a public opinion researcher, I know that people do not need formal training in survey techniques or the framing effects literature to appreciate how the initial branding of American citizens as refugees influenced how they have been perceived and the assistance they have received. Before hurricane Katrina, the refugee label had been used to describe Haitians and Cubans on makeshift rafts seeking sanctuary in America. As a result, the label has taken on a negative connotation in the minds of many, who see refugees as non-Americans who will make illegitimate demands on the government (though other émigrés are viewed differently). Branding American citizens as refugees conveys a negative message that reaffirms preexisting negative images of African Americans.

As a public opinion researcher, I know that the images and language used to describe the largely African-American crowds trapped at the New Orleans Superdome and the Convention Center and sleeping on the sidewalks—not to mention the preoccupation with sporadic looting—also reaffirmed preexisting beliefs about African Americans. But such views are also intertwined with victim blame and the extent to which government is held accountable. The media, without any apparent hesitation, captured African Americans at their weakest and lowest, but portrayed it as just another normal day, despite the utterly abnormal situation. Before a public unable to understand the circumstances that led to their predicament, African Americans were shown sleeping among the dead and in human waste, and characterized as rowdy, edgy, uncontrollable, and belligerent.

In truth, without food, water, and shelter, with their only belongings on their backs, African Americans displayed incredible resilience; but resiliency to some is dehumanization to others. Based on no other information, they were seen by some as deserving of their treatment, and the government’s response to the crisis was defended. We need to understand better the role played by poverty and racism in these attitudes, because in the end such perceptions determine the extent to which government is held accountable.

As a public opinion researcher, I know that these attitudes will continue to matter well beyond the immediate aftermath of the storm. The public initially shows affinity for people displaced by wars, famines, and natural disasters. There is almost always a renewed sense of nationalism and an allusion to the American spirit of volunteerism and helping our fellow man. But, almost invariably, this supportive sentiment changes over time to resentment, as the displaced citizens compete and stretch the capacities of local governments. We are already beginning to develop a sense that displaced persons from hurricane Katrina are challenging the capacity of local schools, employment opportunities, and public services. To the extent that spirit of goodwill has been reversed, survey researchers need to understand this dynamic and how perceptions of race play into deservedness. This will become incredibly important as the government unfolds plans to handle the displaced citizens. American citizens were not supportive of ameliorative poverty policies prior to hurricane Katrina, but to what extent does the enormous sum of money proposed to rebuild New Orleans exacerbate racial resentment?

As a public opinion researcher, I know we are allowing an incredible opportunity to study the reactions and perceptions of displaced citizens slip away. It is critical that we seek to interview systematically the citizens displaced by hurricane Katrina. We need to understand their perceptions of racism, reactions to government, and their circumstances that led to their evacuation or nonevacuation. What was it like inside the New Orleans Superdome and Convention Center? Who would they hold responsible for the damage to New Orleans? What are the factors involved in their willingness to return to New Orleans? What do they think about efforts to rebuild New Orleans?

A recent survey by the Washington Post, the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, and the Harvard School of Public Health of evacuees residing in Houston shelters has begun to address some of these questions. As one would expect, the future is bleak for most of the displaced citizens:

These are just a few thoughts based on the important developments in the public opinion literature. There are many questions for survey researchers, most of which I think will be conditioned by what people think about race and poverty in America. Because of this, instead of asking, How could this happen in America? we need to ask, How could it not happen in America?

Darren W. Davis is a professor of political science at Michigan State University.

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Race and Ruin: Questions in the Wake of Hurricane Katrina