The Professor's name
In the article Katrina Shows Racial Divide in America, the author Jamal Watson, reintroduces the issues of racial inequality that exists in the USA. Watson uses the historical ladder to describe the position of African-Americans in the modern society. It seems that racial divide is under spotlight only when some natural disaster affects the population of African-Americans. In this article, the hurricane Katrina serves as an evidence of the racial disparity. Watson argues that the issues of African-Americans are not presented to the rest of the world fairly. According to Watson (2007), "In my experience, many people outside America believe that there are no longer any significant economic and social disparities between black Americans and white Americans." The image of African-Americans that is transmitted through media to the rest of the world does not consist with the real state. The areas, such as New Orleans, are some of the poorest, where the majority of pollution is of African-American origin, and it seems that if there were not Katrina, this issue would have been left to lie under the carpet.
I do not understand the position of the government regarding the African-Americans. Even though the freedom of African-Americans have been guaranteed long ago, the government has done little to assimilate them with others, white Americans, restraining their life in ghettos, restraining them to educate equally as others. Even though the USA is a democratic society where everyone has equal rights, it seems that democracy is applied selectively. Living in a global world, it is embarrassing for the USA society that the racial division still exists, especially in the South, and the government should bring more effort into enabling African-Americans to assimilate in the society and on the other hand, to educate White Americans that not all African-Americans are drug dealers. They should share the same American Dream and have equal opportunities to pursue their dreams.
The article Katrina Reveals Environmental Racism's Deadly Force investigates the result of long-lasting neglect of environmental issues and introduces its reader with the terms "environmental racism" and "environmental injustice." The author, Beverly Wright, uses the example of the Hurricane Katrina to explain the importance of the above mentioned terms in a modern society. The Hurricane Katrina brought attention to the consequences of the global warming and its effect of poor and rich, black and white. According to the Wright (2005), "There are two terms that aptly describe these intersections of race, class, and the environment: "environmental injustice" and "environmental racism." Wright sees this natural disaster as an opportunity to bring out empathy in every citizen and rebuild its city on a sold stones of mutual respect, "environmentally vulnerable and more sustainable" (Wright 2008). When people join together and rise above their own individual goals, they will reach the environmental justice. Even though the author gives a sympathetic call for the rise of collective consciousness regarding the environment, can it be achieved in capitalistic society such is the USA? The capitalism and alienation has taken its toll, where everyone matters just their own business and the environmental justice is difficult to achieve without the sense of collective goods.
One has to give credit to the author for believing in the sense of solidarity in people. If people join in their effort to rebuilding something, then they will cherish it more. The collective participation in renewing New Orleans can give us a chance to rise above the existing racism and environmental injustice; because the Hurricane Katrina has showed us that the natural disaster does not know class, race or ethnic origin. This is why the society needs to rise above the individuality and introduce values such as empty and collective good. The interest of all of us is to create a safe environment.
Works cited:
Watson, Jamal. 7. September 2005. Katrina Shows Racial Divide In America. Retrieved from: http://www.nysun.com/new-york/katrina-shows-racial-divide-in-america/19696/
Wright, Beverly. 21. September 2005. Katrina Reveals Environmental Racism's Deadly Force. New America Media, Commentary
