The premise of this story is that the disaster of Hurricane Katrina was the weather event and that 5-year old children are unaffected today. Not surprisingly they use the example of an uptown resident who now works for the RSD. But for the 118,000 blacks who never made it back, and the tens of thousands who could never find affordable housing or work, the Katrina disaster never stopped and its emotional impact on children is as strong as ever; the same is true for those who did return only to encounter a second disaster in healthcare, housing, employment, and political dispossession. It is inconceivable that the emotional trauma and stress on parents does not affect children; that the child does not know the origins of their own emotional stress does not mean they are unaffected.
In many ways this is a “white blind spot” story that reflects how journalism is one version of reality constructed through the eyes and experiences of the author. This points out that even the way we define disaster is colored by race and class in ways that ignore the fate of those victimized by more than wind and water.
Lance Hill, Ph.D.
Note: This is a guest blog post from Dr. Lance Hill. As we all watch the east coast prepare to for Hurricane Irene, we can’t help but to reflect on our own activities 6 years ago this weekend. The story referenced in Dr. Hill’s post is particularly painful to be because I know that many of the children who are in Kindergarten now, are definitely experiencing the negative effects of the changes made in our school system after Katrina. We all are affected and will be for a long time to come. We will talk about how many of our children are affected by the changes to New Orleans Public Schools after Katrina at our press conference on Monday, August 29th at 5:30 PM. The press conference will take place in front of John Mc Donogh Senior High School, 2426 Esplanade Ave.
Dr Hill, My son has been terribly victimized by the so-called “reforms” of the post Katrina era. And he’s white, and believe me he has received NO special privilege at all because of the color of his skin! He has an autism-spectrum disorder and is medically fragile and the door has been slammed on his precious face by many charter schools because of his disability….I hate to read these stories about how wonderful things are postK, like a great new era was ushered in in the aftermath of the storm.Not the case for my son and many others like him, black and white kids. The schools now have a license to pick what students they want, and my wonderful and kind son rarely makes the cut…he’s been turned away or pushed out by 20 schools. That “blind spot” is bigger than you could imagine.
Sue, I was responding to a story that focused on New Orleans and it’s allusion to the new educational landscape which primarily serves African American students, and so I addressed the issue of racial myopia. The notion that the only disaster that matters was the event of August 29, 2005 is something that defines much of the white media view. But I agree that many people were victimized twice–first by the storm and second by people who claimed to be helping us recover from the storm–including victimized groups like those with special needs, the elderly, the sick and the poor. I did not use the term “privileged” and I would agree that charter schools discriminate against special needs students without regard to race, creed, or color. But there is a “white blind spot” in media coverage and I agree with you that it is not the only blind spot. The treatment of special needs students has been disgraceful and was as much a part of the Katrina disaster as the breaching of the levees.
Lance
Unrpaalelled accuracy, unequivocal clarity, and undeniable importance!
Lance, yes indeed I agree with you. While my son has been mis-treated and rejected at these new schools, I’ve been there, inside, watching. What I’ve seen is a group of people who’ve come from other places and decided that our children,black and white, our NOLA public school children, are not deserving of anything better than this experiment. ..I’ve seen TFA teachers treat children like cattle to be herded, talking to them with no respect. While my son is twice a minority in this system (white and disabled), the only people who have been consistently treating him as a person of value are the other students,who have universally accepted him, they are his role models and friends in a world where the adults are obviously guided by greed and uncaring practices in their desire to “race to the top.”
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