Differences And Similarities Between Harris And Carbado

Racism has been prevalent in the United States for a while. Yet, all of a sudden severe racism of a new degree erupted in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Chaos ensued following the failure of the city’s levy system; widespread flooding left the Big Easy in a panic. Mass looting was sweeping the streets and the black population was soon targeted for widespread crime. In “Loot or Find: Fact or Frame” by Cheryl Harris and Henry Carbado, this act of stereotyping is discussed in detail. They reference a newspaper article that shows the photo of the black man who a writer assumes is looting. The writer of the article later tries to defend himself, but speculation is warranted. The rest of the essay talks about racism in America throughout Katrina as well as perceived norms as a whole. Even though some African Americans

Initially, the reader sees two photos that appear next to each other in a popular newspaper. They depict two separate scenarios. In the first, a black male is seen after apparently looting a grocery store for food. In the second, a white man and woman are seen carrying food that they apparently found. The contrast in the photos themselves are minimal, and racism could easily be presumed. This racial inequality was not making headlines, rather it was happening in the headlines during Hurricane Katrina. Harris and Carbado also discuss the concept of “color blindness,”(623) which appears in quotations because of how ironically and sadly it was rejected during this period lacking law and order. African American men in particular became heavily associated with crime, and New Orleans was quickly portrayed to the rest of the world as a lawless swamp. Crime went unreported, and some of it was unacknowledged, especially violence against the black population. Civil rights were at a low. They were stolen, or rather looted, yet not found in this