"Radical" Remarks About Race?

With the media's latest coverage on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, another major issue has emerged: race in America. In a recent benefit concert telecast by some major TV networks, Kanye West provocatively criticized the media's coverage of the hurricane's victims, who are mostly African-American.

"I hate the way they portray us in the media. You see a black family, it says, "They're looting." You see a white family, it says, "They're looking for food." And, you know, it's been five days [waiting for federal help] because most of the people are black. ... With the way America is set up to help the poor, the black people, the less well-off, as slow as possible. I mean, the Red Cross is doing everything they can. We already realize a lot of people that could help are at war right now, fighting another way -- and they've given them permission to go down and shoot us! ... George Bush doesn't care about black people!"

Hearing West say those words got me thinking. I had never considered the subtle racism that the media implied by calling the black families "looters" and white ones "hungry." And the whole idea of allowing the National Guard to shoot looters kind of defeated the purpose of helping the distraught, didn't it? By using the term "us" near the end of his commentary, West showed a sense of further empathy that he felt for the black victims that non-black Americans may not feel, in his opinion. His views may or may not be wholly true, but they nonetheless attest the segregation amongst races that still exists in our society. They also helped publicize the tense views held by some blacks in this country.

Are West's stances too emotional and radical or are they insightful? Clint Wilson, director of the Black Press Institute sees some truth in West's words. He told the Buffalo News that the National Guards' permission to shoot the looters and was unsurprising to the black community and confirmed their long-held beliefs. West's outrage was shared by them, as well. Wilson believes that more racially diverse journalists are needed to help combat the one-siding of media coverage. But by judging the media's past, he has little faith that the coverage of blacks will change (buffalonews.com).- Alina

Comments

[AJ]

I think Kanye West is making an important point--one that I think you have described well. The portrayal of non-white persons involved in and affected by the hurricane is not the same as that of previous disaster victims who were mostly white. "Refugees"--the popular term in the media at first--is an odd term for those who are citizens of this country...but it makes perfect sense for a mainstream culture who sees the hurricane victims as "other", as a group that is different from themselves. Gratefully, we have changed our wording to slightly more accurate terms like "evacuees" and "the relocated". But our first choice of words betrayed how mainstream/majority-white media saw the hurricane survivors. Not as "our own", not as "us," but as "them." And that's a sad commentary on our country and our culture. However, I think the young people of this country can empower the rest of us by standing up and reaching out to the Katrina survivors and their families in ways that honors the humanity of ALL of our people. Let us bless each other with words and generous actions that would be a blessing to us.

[Kila]

Its interesting that you asked whether Kanye's words were too emotional or insightful because I think strong emotions are sometimes caused by insight. I am appalled at recent events, but sadly, not surprised. As a black woman, its hard sometimes. You live with the history of the world in one part your mind, but your own personal day-to-day dealings can lead you to believe that times have changed, its time to move on. And then something happens that causes your chain to jerk.

You also mentioned media bias. Its something that can cut many ways. While we were all wondering at the inherent racism in the media AND wondering what took the government so long, there were (and maybe still are) communities made up primarily of the white and poor still awaiting FEMA. So, on the one hand, black people did not receive particularly gracious coverage. On the other, the plight of whole communities went unnoticed because they were neither black nor rich.