Hurricane Katrina's Effect on African American Community - Research Paper Example

Unfortunately, as CRS reports, one-fifth of those displaced victims were likely belong to poor families wherein 30% of them had incomes that were considered below by 1-1/2 times of the poverty line. They were directly impacted by flooding and property damage. Many of them lost their homes, material belongings, and even jobs. Thus, Hurricane Katrina made these poor people even poorer (Gabe, Falk, McCarty & Mason, 2005).. As expected, after such a tragic event would bring to the fore some of the better qualities of humanity, the spirit of self-sacrifice, compassion, endurance, and unselfishness of the relief workers that often rush to the place to relieve the suffering of the victims by providing relief goods and medical assistance.

The government played an important role in this aspect and the victims absolutely expect the help coming from them. The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to the African Americans, sad to say, was more than the devastating effect of the storm. White, Philpot, Wylie and McGowen (2007) report that subsequently, while relief and assistance such as the series of evacuation, relocation and rebuilding must have brought comfort to the victims, the aftermath of hurricane for the African Americans was the storm feeling of anger and depression from perception of racial and class differences.

These authors proved their observations by conducting two public surveys right after the hurricane to demonstrate the feelings of anger and depression experienced by the African Americans because of their perception of the racial discrimination shown by the federal government and for being complacent of response by President Bush. According to these authors, many notable personalities perceived the slow response of the government to tender relief because of racial prejudice. They note the remark of Reverend Sharpton of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, as stated herein: “African Americans made up a disproportionate share of the hurricane’s victims.

About one of every three people who lived in the areas hit hardest by the hurricane was African American. By contrast, one of every eight people in the nation is African American” (p. 526). In their point of view, this clearly suggests “that the relief effort would have been faster and more efficient if the area had been primarily White” (p. 526). So, the focus of the their study through public opinion is to prove that many black Americans were deeply depressed and angered by their feeling of sentiments with the government regarding this political phenomena that they were the apparent reason of the government’s slow response to the effect of Katrina.

They were frustrated with President Bush’s slow reaction and inability to respond quickly with the victims relating it as an expression of racial prejudice. Another set of authors, Levy, Freitas, Denton, Kugelmass (2006) present the same study as to their perception with the government’s response to Katrina’s victims as expression of racial prejudice. According to them, the Protestant work ethic (PWE), “the belief that hard work leads to success, a quintessential lay theory of the United States,” and “often referred to as the American Dream, with the egalitarian implication that Americans from all social categories are basically equal and can all succeed” (p. 75-76), did not manifest in the way of their response to Katrina victims.

They counted in their perception that the government’