Dr. Wilmer Leon: Residents vs. Refugees, Racial Differences in Katrina and Sandy | Black Blue Dog.

by Dr. Wilmer Leon

Last week tropical cyclone Sandy ravaged the Northeastern United States.  It was one of the largest and fiercest storms to hit the East Coast in years causing widespread flooding, power outages, and damage.

Two of the hardest hit areas on the East Coast were New Jersey and New York.  As the television networks took viewers into the boroughs of the “Jersey Shore” (home of “Snooky”, “Pauly D”, and “The Situation”) as well as Staten Island, NY I was struck by the contrast between the coverage of Sandy and the coverage of Hurricane Katrina.

First, one could walk away from watching the coverage of Sandy with the impression that areas such as Harlem and Red Hook in New York were not impacted by the storm and their residents are not in need of assistance.  I know they are because I’ve talked with them.  Second, it’s interesting how those displaced by Sandy have been referred to as “residents” while those displaced by Katrina were referred to by the Associated Press and other media sources as “refugees.”