Poverty and Racism in America
Kevin Agnese
Issue date: 9/28/05 Section: Perspectives
People now seem to notice; some now seem to care, and some even seem interested in fighting for change. Unfortunately, many don't care. Hurricane Katrina was one of the most horrific events Americans have ever seen. The death and destruction was massive. Within this destruction, two great problems that have been a dark part of American history for 229 years have resurfaced -- poverty and racism.
In the richest and greatest country in the world, many of our citizens are left behind. Scores of poor people, many of them African-American, were left to fend for themselves as Hurricane Katrina pounded New Orleans. As these Americans struggled to stay alive, the president spent two days talking about prescription drugs, while FEMA waited nearly four days to arrive.
Why did this happen? One possibility is that the class and race of many of the victims stalled the relief process. As Paul Krugman reported in The New York Times, "By three to one, African-Americans believe that federal aid took so long to arrive in New Orleans in part because the city was poor and black. By an equally large margin, whites disagree." This sounds like a problem to me.
Race issues never go away, do they? There's a reason for that: racism is still very evident in our society, and it contributes to poverty. Forty-one years have passed since President Lyndon Johnson declared, "This administration today, here and now, declares unconditional war on poverty in America." Over four-and-a-half years have passed since we have had a president who understood the problems of racism and poverty in our country.
I believe it is time to re-commit our nation to these two troubling issues. Many people opened their minds to these problems after witnessing the aftermath of Katrina, which means that we have a chance to do something about these problems. I hope President Bush and his administration now realize that they have to do something about these issues. The time to act is now.
Cultural integration is one way to fight poverty in America. We must continue to build on previous programs that have allowed impoverished Americans to move into middle class neighborhoods so that they have a chance to succeed. The Gautreaux Program, which was conducted in Chicago from 1976-1998, gave poor families the opportunity to move into middle-class areas. In these 22 years, the program helped more than 25,000 voluntary participants move to more than 100 communities throughout the Chicago area. This process also directly affected race relations, as many of the impoverished were minorities who moved into populations largely comprised of white people. The adults in these relocated families improved only slightly compared to the adults left behind, but their children did much better, gaining hope for future prospects and success. It was a very important step in the right direction.
In the richest and greatest country in the world, many of our citizens are left behind. Scores of poor people, many of them African-American, were left to fend for themselves as Hurricane Katrina pounded New Orleans. As these Americans struggled to stay alive, the president spent two days talking about prescription drugs, while FEMA waited nearly four days to arrive.
Why did this happen? One possibility is that the class and race of many of the victims stalled the relief process. As Paul Krugman reported in The New York Times, "By three to one, African-Americans believe that federal aid took so long to arrive in New Orleans in part because the city was poor and black. By an equally large margin, whites disagree." This sounds like a problem to me.
Race issues never go away, do they? There's a reason for that: racism is still very evident in our society, and it contributes to poverty. Forty-one years have passed since President Lyndon Johnson declared, "This administration today, here and now, declares unconditional war on poverty in America." Over four-and-a-half years have passed since we have had a president who understood the problems of racism and poverty in our country.
I believe it is time to re-commit our nation to these two troubling issues. Many people opened their minds to these problems after witnessing the aftermath of Katrina, which means that we have a chance to do something about these problems. I hope President Bush and his administration now realize that they have to do something about these issues. The time to act is now.
Cultural integration is one way to fight poverty in America. We must continue to build on previous programs that have allowed impoverished Americans to move into middle class neighborhoods so that they have a chance to succeed. The Gautreaux Program, which was conducted in Chicago from 1976-1998, gave poor families the opportunity to move into middle-class areas. In these 22 years, the program helped more than 25,000 voluntary participants move to more than 100 communities throughout the Chicago area. This process also directly affected race relations, as many of the impoverished were minorities who moved into populations largely comprised of white people. The adults in these relocated families improved only slightly compared to the adults left behind, but their children did much better, gaining hope for future prospects and success. It was a very important step in the right direction.