After the Storm: Black Intellectuals Explore the Meaning of Hurricane Katrina [Paperback]

David Dante Troutt (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 30, 2007

Now in paperback on the second anniversary of Katrina, one of the few books to offer the perspectives of African Americans on the Gulf Goast tragedy.

Available for the first time in paperback after selling out its hardcover print run and being frequently named among the best of the Katrina books, After the Storm offers "angry, learned, focused, readable, [and] essential" writing, according to Library Journal, in which contributors face what Ebony magazine calls "questions about poverty, housing, governmental decision-making, crime, community development and political participation, which were raised in the aftermath of the storm."

Featuring the work of leading African American intellectuals, including Derrick Bell, Charles Ogletree, Michael Eric Dyson, Cheryl Harris, Devon Carbado, Adolph Reed, Sheryll Cashin, and Clement Alexander Price, After the Storm suggests "precisely what we must do if we are to both save the planet and create the great towns and cities that we can proudly bequeath to future generations" (Socialist Review).

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

These 10 original, judiciously edited essays—most of them by lawyers—explore the political and social response to Hurricane Katrina. The two opening pieces look back to the historical development of ghetto neighborhoods. Another complementary pair addresses the centrality of race in Louisiana politics and the commonalities of black and white suffering. Among the best are Clement Alexander Price's "Historicizing Katrina," a groundbreaking review of the "close link between natural disaster and black migrations in American history," and Cheryl I. Harris and Devon W. Carbado's "Loot or Find: Fact or Frame?" an eye-opening riff on the way the frame of race filters our perception of fact. Others consider the treatment of the victims as criminal acts, delve into the dispersal of the population and examine the media response. All are succinct and fresh, bound by the common question of whether there will be a new New Orleans, how it will be made and how much of the old New Orleans can be resuscitated. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

David Dante Troutt is a professor of law and Justice John J. Francis Scholar at Rutgers University. Author of The Monkey Suit (The New Press), among other books, he lives in Brooklyn, New York. Derrick Bell is a visiting professor of law at New York University and lives in New York City. Charles Ogletree is the Jesse Climenko Professor of Law at Harvard University and director of the Institute for Race and Justice. He lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Product Details

• Paperback: 168 pages
• Publisher: New Press, The (September 30, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1595582037
• ISBN-13: 978-1595582034
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #881,130 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Survivor of the Storm, January 18, 2007

By 

wendy (Durham, New Caledonia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: After the Storm: Black Intellectuals Explore the Meaning of Hurricane Katrina (Hardcover)

I lived in New Orleans 18 years and have relocated since Katrina. My fellow law professors have done an excellent job exposing the reality of New Orleans before and after the storm. I recommend this collection of thoughtful essays to anyone who wants a candid look at how race is relevant even when it shouldn't be. All Americans should be outraged and continue to seek justice for our fellow citizens.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not just about Katrina, ths book is a thoughtful analysis of race relations in 21st century America, July 13, 2007

By 

J. Powell "Jimbo" (United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: After the Storm: Black Intellectuals Explore the Meaning of Hurricane Katrina (Hardcover)

I loved this book, a collection of short essays that discuss the meaning of race and class in the aftermath of Katrina. I study American Studies at University and have become engrossed in African America, and Katrina is the defining event of recent times for race relations and "the color line".

This book does not simply argue that the U.S is some racist hell and point blame at the federal government, rather it eloquently outlines the arguments both for and against the theory that race caused the situation in New Orleans post-hurricane devastation.

Some writers conclude that racism had everything to do with it, others point out that the blame game itself and the lack of black America's responsibility for its own destiny were to blame. Some blame Mayor Nagin and the new middle class black America for not doing enough, others point to the legacy of slavery and the inability of New Orleans to save itself. Some argue that as all the low lying areas of the city were cheaper places to live and thus liable to storm surge, its a legacy of poverty that caused such disaster for the 98% African-American areas of New Orleans East, St.Bernard and the Lower Ninth Ward.

Whatever your view, remember that all these writers are black and all arguments are put forward in an intelligent and thought provoking manner.

Recommended not just for those wishing to understand Katrina, but anyone who wants to look at race relations in America and the sociological and psychological legacy of the old south. An excellent read i recommend to anyone.

4.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing insight, February 16, 2011

By 

G. J Wiener (Westchester, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: After the Storm: Black Intellectuals Explore the Meaning of Hurricane Katrina (Paperback)

A very intelligent collection of essays on the Katrina disaster and how the Untied States mishandled the situation. Some of the issues were race related and others were not. The picture showing a white couple carrying food supplies and assuming an African American man was looting based upon his race and the fact that he was carrying a bag is exposed as poor journalism.

The book gives a good history on the demographics of New Orleans and that because its predominantly poor African Americans who live there, it carries a stigma to more non black communities. The writers hint at other non race related issues as buses left many supposed refugees to fend for themselves.

The collection of essays offers a provocative account of how New Orleans was before and after the storm.