I was a bit disheartened that no one asked me if I was going to write about the Katrina anniversary. But I understood. Neither did anyone ask if I was going to write about the anniversary of the attack on the World Trade Center.
It’s not that there’s no concern or compassion for the survivors and surviving families of these two historic, defining events and their consequences. It’s that black people are feeling the weight on the economic times and the heavy yoke of social and political repression. It is a daily battle of survival. Hurricane Irene also demanded national attention.
A large swath of black folks never fully recovered from the “other” recession. Those who made gains during the last couple of decades have taken a sometimes dramatic slide backward.
Between job loss and foreclosures, families are doubling up into one household. In August, the jobless rate for African Americans went up while the rate for whites went down. The unemployment rate for black males hovers around 18 percent and up to 45 percent for black teens. A decent-paying job is the key to a decent standard of living.
But back to the two biggest catastrophes of the last decade. Black folks saw the treatment of people who look like them, and it has been traumatizing even as spectators.
On August 2005, the poorly maintained levees buckled under the punishing power of Lake Pontchartrain, putting New Orleans and the Gulf Coast under water. It was a double tragedy, both of them man-made.
The first tragedy was the breaking of the levies and the destruction that came with it. The second – and the most seared into our memory – was the lack of response by city, state and federal governments. The predominantly African-American residents were basically left to fend for themselves; they were victims of failed policies, incompetent leadership and police terror. What happened to black folks before, during and after Hurricane Katrina was – and is – painfully clear and visible. We cannot forget the survivors just because the government has.
On the other hand, rarely is there a black face projected in mainstream media associated with September 11, 2001. Even the most recent identification of a black man’s remains from the World Trade Center attack was obscured in all the pre-anniversary coverage. Chances are you didn’t hear about Ernest James who worked at the World Trade Center at the Marsh & McLennan brokerage firm.
Black people tried to rally around the national chauvinism symbolized by the American flag in the aftermath of 9-11; anyone who didn’t do so looked un-American and therefore was tagged to be against the government. But most black folks didn’t buy into the total premise of the 2001 attack, and we certainly were opposed to the invasion of Iraq. A trillion dollars has been spent on two wars against terrorism to the detriment of human needs. We never bought the lies of George W. Bush and his war criminal cabinet. Unfortunately, our clarity on foreign policy got us no brownie points and we’re catching more hell.
Hard times are not new for black folks. Our ability to survive is not just based upon resilience and determination, it’s also based upon our resourcefulness in the face of adversity. We once represented the moral conscience of this country, but facing repeated dire circumstances and adopting the individualistic philosophy of capitalism has resulted in the loss of our own moral compass.
The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the attack on the World Trade Center should be wake-up calls about how we must prioritize this country’s budget and how we should work together to advance an agenda for the majority of citizens, not just the elite wealthy. Those who are carrying the brunt of the suffering must throw off our shackles and our self-imposed victimization attitude. Let’s show some leadership, get connected with other fair-minded, critical thinkers and start organizing our way out of this hole.
