Click Here

     Reviews of the Federal response to Hurricane Katrina, ranging from media critiques to investigative reports from the White House and Congress, have failed to build confidence that victims of the next disaster on U.S. soil will fare any better.

     As a new hurricane season approaches, more than 23 million Americans live in areas where another catastrophe is not a matter of "if," but "when." A fifth of those living in these locations - millions of men, women, and children - are low-income residents. Many are people of color. If the lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina hold true, many will not have the resources to save themselves.

     In overly bureaucratic language, the critiques of Hurricane Katrina said that preparedness response must be improved; that better communication is needed among city, state and federal officials; and that emergency personnel need refresher courses in Crisis Communications 101. Still, the reality is that even if these recommendations were implemented, it would leave millions of citizens at substantial risk because the "cultural divide' has not been addressed. It hampered rescue operations, but goes largely unmentioned in the critiques.

     What is the cultural divide? Two photo wire services inadvertently defined it for the nation. In the hurricane's aftermath, an AFP/Getty Images photo of a white couple in flood water had a caption saying they were wading through water after "finding' food at a grocery store. A second picture sent across the Associated Press wire was of an African American man, also carrying food in the water-filled streets. But the caption on this picture said he was wading through water after "looting' a grocery store..

     The stereotyping that contributed to the two vastly different picture captions was also present when overwhelmingly white volunteers and emergency personnel set out to rescue predominantly African American and poor victims of the hurricane. The problem for the nation is that the next disaster will likely present similar demographics: rescuers who are white; most vulnerable victims, who are people of color, and poor. Yet, this may be an unprecedented opportunity for America. A real rebuilding of the emergency response system can be transformed into a positive process that unites the nation, Black and White, rich and poor. The process of optimizing disaster preparedness can help heal some of the nation's deepest wounds and racial divides.

     We know that the lack of diversity in health care and public safety personnel hamper response capacity within communities of color. Images from Katrina projected far too few persons of color among early responders and volunteers. Such racial disconnects undoubtedly hampered evacuation and recovery efforts. Local and state governments have a renewed imperative to ensure more diverse health care and public safety workforces, people who can speak to the victims and help them understand what course of action is required.

     To be sure, the needless loss of life and property in New Orleans demonstrated that far too many African Americans were ill-prepared and unable or unwilling to heed instructions from authorities. Furthermore, many of those who did follow official instructions faced their deepest fears - inhumane and unequal treatment by authorities.

     What does it take to establish culturally responsive emergency response plans?

     We need strong guidance from the frontlines, from the people who know the neighborhoods, know the culture and can communicate with the residents. These community health and civic leaders must be appointed to play important roles in creating and implementing new disaster response plans. And those restructuring the plans must find ways to field rescue teams that look more like the disaster victims. In New Orleans, a community of African American women ignored the pleas of white volunteers to leave their homes. But the same women packed up and moved out when an African American rescue worker offered the same advice. How many lives can bridging the cultural divide save in the future?

     Disasters, both natural and man-made, reveal the best and the worst of our society. Governments, infrastructures, regions, communities, families, and individuals are relentlessly challenged during such turbulent times. Our nation's leaders, particularly those representing communities of color, must take the lead in addressing systemic weaknesses and vulnerabilities in order to effectively plan for the next disaster and minimize the loss of human life.

Gail C. Christopher is vice president for health, women and families at the Joint Center, and director of the Joint Center Health Policy Institute.

-END-