The Wrong Complexion for Protection: How the Government Response to Disaster Endangers African American Communities

Bullard, Robert D.,Wright, Beverly

ISBN 10: 0814799930 / ISBN 13: 9780814799932

Published by NYU Press, 2012

About this Item

Seller Inventory # mon0000002112

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Wrong Complexion for Protection: How the Government Response to Disaster Endangers African American Communities
• Publisher: NYU Press
• Publication Date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0814799930
• ISBN 13: 9780814799932
• Binding: hardcover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

Uncovers the ways the United States government responds to natural and human-induced disasters in relation to race over the past eight decades

When the images of desperate, hungry, thirsty, sick, mostly black people circulated in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, it became apparent to the whole country that race did indeed matter when it came to government assistance. In The Wrong Complexion for Protection, Robert D. Bullard and Beverly Wright place the government response to natural and human-induced disasters in historical context over the past eight decades. They compare and contrast how the government responded to emergencies, including environmental and public health emergencies, toxic contamination, industrial accidents, bioterrorism threats and show that African Americans are disproportionately affected. Bullard and Wright argue that uncovering and eliminating disparate disaster response can mean the difference between life and death for those most vulnerable in disastrous times.

About the Authors

Robert D. Bullard is Distinguished Professor of Urban Planning and Environmental Policy at Texas Southern University and Director of the Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice. He is former Dean of the Barbara Jordan-Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs and author and co-author of several books including Dumping in Dixie: Race, Class and Environmental Quality and Environmental Health and Racial Equity in the United States: Strategies for Building Just, Sustainable and Livable Communities.

Beverly Wright is Founder and Executive Director of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice. She is the co-author of Race, Place, and Environmental Justice after Hurricane Katrina: Struggles to Reclaim, Rebuild, and Revitalize New Orleans.