New Orleans Disaster: Facts and Opinions
In his article, “From Margins of Society to Center of the Tragedy” at NYTimes.com, 9/2/05 David Gonzales writes, “But for many African-American leaders, there is a growing outrage that many of those still stuck at the center of this tragedy were people who for generations had been pushed to the margins of society.” (1) This is great and all, so important to acknowledge the outrage at the racially disparate impact of the lack of preparation for a hurricane on the Gulf Coast. But doesn’t this still frame the problem as one of concern to African American leaders rather than a matter of verifiable facts? Only one of the 20 or so paragraphs inclues any data (that New Orleans is 2/3rds Black and 1/4 poor).
Why not state the facts first — as if you found information that corroborated the assessments of these leaders — and then back up these facts with the voices of African American leaders who are already on top of it? Isn’t that a scoop of some kind? Like, wow, all these incredibly high-profile informants let me in on this enormous secret that many white Americans are working hard not to know about. Hmm. Maybe I should check it out and REPORT IT.
For just one example, it cannot be an accident that the “low-lying Ninth Ward” was 98% African Amercian and 1/3 poor. If it’s gonna flood someplace, that’s where they’re gonna let the poor people of color live! Gonzales as well as all other reporters can acknowledge, and importantly, document de facto segregation as a contributing factor to the devastation. Rather than just quote people, maybe they can turn to the analyses that’s most likely already been done by community groups, local representatives, researchers, or others about the risk low income African Americans have been living with. And if there’s no research, start it with your journalistic investigation.