I think it's odd that they mention race in the first article, as if race has anything to do with whether or not you're poor or how hard you were hit by Katrina.
Um, the majority of people who were "hit" by Katrina were both black and poor. Socioeconomically, blacks were hurt worse.
The people who had means had ways to evacuate when they were told to. They had places to stay once they left (family or even a hotel room). They had vehicles.
Before Katrina, 60% of New Orleans was African-American, and most of them lived in the poorest parts of town. These were the people who didn't have the money to rent a hotel room, or even have a car in which to escape the storm's path.
Yes, there were poor whites in New Orleans when Katrina came ashore. There were also tourists stuck there, as well as those hardy souls who believe(d) they could weather any storm (particularly, apparently, those who lived through Hurricane Betsy in the '60s). It wasn't only blacks who were hurt by Katrina, nor only the poor. But the majority of those devastated happened to be both.
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Date: 2006-08-28 08:12 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-08-28 08:20 pm (UTC)The people who had means had ways to evacuate when they were told to. They had places to stay once they left (family or even a hotel room). They had vehicles.
Before Katrina, 60% of New Orleans was African-American, and most of them lived in the poorest parts of town. These were the people who didn't have the money to rent a hotel room, or even have a car in which to escape the storm's path.
Yes, there were poor whites in New Orleans when Katrina came ashore. There were also tourists stuck there, as well as those hardy souls who believe(d) they could weather any storm (particularly, apparently, those who lived through Hurricane Betsy in the '60s). It wasn't only blacks who were hurt by Katrina, nor only the poor. But the majority of those devastated happened to be both.