State of emergency: How government actions endanger the health of African Americans

APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Robert Bullard, PhD, Environmental Justice Resource Center, Clark Atlanta University, 223 James P. Brawley Drive, Atlanta, GA 30314, 404-880-6920, rbullard@cau.edu

This paper shines a spotlight on the “slow-moving” disasters in the southern United States. It examines government response to weather-related disasters, public health threats (natural and manmade), industrial accidents, toxic contamination, and terrorism threats. It uses case studies to compare and contrast the treatment African Americans and whites dating back more than seven decades. Equity issues revolve around which community needs are addressed first and which community is forced to wait. Key questions addressed in the paper include: (1) Do government officials respond differently to public health emergencies (i.e., natural disasters, epidemics, environmental contamination, industrial accidents, and bioterrorism threats) in African American communities and white communities? (2) What factors influence African Americans' perception of fairness in response to emergencies (i.e., natural disasters, epidemics, environmental contamination, industrial accidents, and bioterrorism threats) in their communities? (3) What strategies and policy changes are needed to reduce and or eliminate African Americans and other people of color vulnerability in natural disasters, epidemics, environmental contamination, industrial accidents, and bioterrorism emergencies? The analysis uses the events that unfolded in New Orleans, the Gulf Coast region, and the Southern United States as the socio-historical backdrop of case studies dating back to the 1920s. Today, over 54 percent of the nation's blacks live in the South. In the 620 counties that make up the Southern “blackbelt, stretching from Delaware to Texas, blacks make up a larger percentage of the total population than they do in the country as a whole, about 12 percent. In the 15 southern states (excluding Texas and Florida), blacks make up 22.8 percent of the population, compared with 3.5 percent for Hispanics.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to

1. Recognize danger signs of “slow-moving” disasters that disproportionately impact the health and welfare of African Americans.
2. Apply environmental justice and human rights framework for assessing vulnerability of African Americans to government response to emergencies.
3. Evaluate checklist action plan for African American health providers, community based organizations, faith based groups, minority institutions, and civic and associations

Keywords: Environmental Justice, African American

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation

Hurricane Katrina: One Year Later

The 134th Annual Meeting & Exposition (November 4-8, 2006) of APHA