Katrina raised a lot of issues pertaining to race and economic privilege in America, even here on this weblog. I must say I originally thought that race was not an issue in the Katrina evacuation, but am not so certain any more. I kind of had a chane of heart after giving it some consideration. How can you tell a city that large and that poor that they must evacuate and not offer some sort of transportation? Who was left behind to fin for themselves in the Superdome? It is certainly not deliberate racism, as the mayor of New Orleans is himself a black democrat. But its the kind of modern day negligence that certainly makes one wonder how progressive we really are.

I received this email from a UTMB classmate who will remain anonymous (unless she decides to identify herself as). I thought it was an insightful observation.

For those who do not have transportation, there were rows and rows of yellow school buses, some already filled with people, ready to ship out to Huntsville. Sometimes when I read your commentaries about the poverty, racism, and inequalities that the South Africans face, I wonder if America is that much more progressive. Looking at the people on the bus, all the faces that looked back were African Americans. The poorest of the poor. As everyone else is leaving in their cars with their precious possessions piled in, they're sitting in these hot, yellow buses, windows down as far as they can go, waiting for their turns to leave.

Regardless, I am glad that Galveston is at least offering evacuation and public transportation off the island rather than simply opening up a sports arena for shelter.