Black Politics in the United States

Black Politics in the United States
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Black Politics in the United States
The damage wreaked by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans served to illustrate the deep racial divide in America. Dawson's article "After the Deluge: Publics and Publicity in Katrina's Wake" analyzes the findings of a survey he conducted with a team of researchers on the difference in opinions between Blacks and Whites regarding the import of Katrina. The two groups fundamentally disagreed about the impact of racial inequality in exacerbating the impacts felt by Black populations (Dawson, 2006). A majority of Blacks lived in the areas most affected by the natural disaster and long-standing inequities, as demonstrated by the delayed government response in helping the affected minority community, further aggravated the impacts of the crisis. While a section of Whites agreed that the Hurricane was a great tragedy, most felt that the federal government should not commit too many funds to restore the city or resettle the Black families displaced by the storm.
More importantly, the survey responses revealed the deep division in how Blacks and Whites perceive racial equality owing to different world views. The two racial groups inhabit separate worlds resulting in a fragmented civil society, racially distinct publics, and public spheres. Blacks and Whites cannot have a shared consensus on race and economic matters because they have different perceptions of the world, reproduced through racially separate formal and informal social networks, voluntary associations, and oral traditions (Dawson, 2006). While the country has made much progress in terms of racial equity since the overt discriminatory Jim Crow laws, the isolation of the Black public sphere has made it challenging for the minority community to influence state power.
In addition to the segregation of the Black civil society, many Black institutions that played an active role in disrupting the politics of governance are at their lowest ebb due to the collapse of the political economy and the weakening of Black voluntary associations. The relative political, social, and economic powerlessness of Black civil society was evident in the Hurricane Katrina aftermath. Because of the limited ability of Black communities to solve problems on their own, they suffered the effects of the government's failure the most. Worse, the considerable political influence garnered over the years was destroyed after many Black residents were forced out of their homes thereby, reversing the city’s growing Black electoral demographics (Dawson, 2006). The natural hazard weakened the power of the Black counter-public to increase hazard resilience and enhance racial equality after many businesses and political leaders endeavore...