TEACHSOC: Re: example of institutional discrimination?

[Nijole Benokraitis]

Besides Claudia's and others' suggestions, isn't the aftermath of Katrina also a good and current example of institutionalized discrimination? It's no accident that those who were "stuck" had high poverty rates, lacked health insurance, had numerous health problems, no transportation, etc, That is, when inequality is built into institutions (especially the economy), the results can be dire (and cumulative) even though individuals (like the mayor of New Orleans and others) aren't racist.   I'm also including a recent notice of a Kaiser Foundation study if some of you haven't seen it yet.   niki __________________________________________ Nijole (Niki) Benokraitis, Ph.D.,  Professor of Sociology University of Baltimore, 1420 N. Charles St., Baltimore, MD 21201 Fax: 410-837-6051; Voicemail: 410-837-5294 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Friday, September 16, 2005 New Survey of Hurricane Evacuees in Houston Shelters MORE INFORMATION Survey of Hurricane Katrina Evacuees To give voice to people whose lives have been devastated by Hurricane Katrina and the ensuing floods, The Washington Post, the Kaiser Family Foundation, and the Harvard School of Public Health conducted a unique survey of evacuees in shelters in the Houston area. More than 1 in 10 (14%) Hurricane Katrina evacuees report a family member, neighbor or friend was killed by the storm or subsequent flooding and more than half report that their home was destroyed (55%) and that they are separated from or missing members of their immediate family (53%). The survey also found that evacuees in Houston shelters face serious health challenges that will complicate relief and recovery efforts. Key health-related findings include: 52% report having no health insurance coverage at the time of the hurricane. Of those with coverage, 34% say it is through Medicaid and 16% through Medicare. Before the hurricane 66% of the people evacuated to Houston shelters used hospitals or clinics as their main source of care and of those, a majority (54%) used Charity Hospital of New Orleans, substantially more than the second most common care site (University Hospital of New Orleans, at 8%). 33% report experiencing health problems or injuries as a result of the hurricane and 78% of them are currently receiving care for their ailments. 41% report chronic health conditions such as heart disease, hypertension, diabetes and asthma. 43% say they are supposed to be taking prescription medications, and of those, 29% percent report having problems getting the prescription drugs they need. Of the 61% who did not evacuate before the storm, 38% said they were either physically unable to leave or had to care for someone who was physically unable to leave. Among those surveyed, 98% are from the New Orleans area and about three-quarters of those (73%) have lived there their whole lives. In surviving this tragedy, an overwhelming majority of the evacuees in Houston shelters (92%) say that religion played an important role in helping them get through the past two weeks. The Survey of Hurricane Katrina Evacuees is based on sample of 680 randomly selected adults ages 18 years and older, staying in the Houston Reliant Park Complex (which includes the Reliant Astrodome and the Reliant Center), the George R. Brown Convention Center, and five smaller Red Cross shelters in the greater Houston area. Interviews were conducted face-to-face September 10-12, 2005. The survey was conducted and analyzed jointly by The Washington Post, the Kaiser Family Foundation, and the Harvard School of Public Health. Interviews were conducted by 28 professional, Houston-based interviewers under the supervision of staff from Kaiser and ICR/International Communications Research, and with input from The Post staff in Houston. The Red Cross gave The Post/Kaiser/Harvard interviewing team permission to interview at the various centers, but was not a co-sponsor of the survey and bears no responsibility for results presented here. Full survey toplines and methodology and a link to the Washington Post article are available online ----- Original Message ----- From: Claudia Scholz To: teachsoc@googlegroups.com Sent: Thursday, September 15, 2005 12:53 PM Subject: TEACHSOC: Re: example of institutional discrimination? This may complicate matters, but I often include a discussion of environmental racism in my Intro unit on institutionalized discrimination.  The film "Green" from Two Birds Films* is a good discussion-starter for this topic as is Bullard's book Dumping in Dixie.  Green is especially timely now since it deals with environmental problems in "Cancer Alley",  Louisiana. * http://www.twobirdsfilm.com/home.htm - Claudia On 9/15/05, John Glass <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: hi   i was wondering if anyone had an example of institutional discrimination that was thought to be effective in getting students to grasp the idea. if so, would you be willing to share it? i have a couple, but would like to get some new ideas.   thanks   john