Separate and Unequal—Hurricane Katrina and Race in America

The Open Society Institute presented "Separate and Unequal: Hurricane Katrina and Race in America," the third in a series of forums to mark the tenth anniversary of U.S. Programs.

The U.S. government's inept response and half-hearted recovery efforts after Katrina and Rita exposed the enduring consequences of long-term racial discrimination and poverty in America. A year after the storm and on the eve of landmark Supreme Court cases on desegregation programs in Seattle and Louisville, the time is ripe for a new conversation about how the systems of our democracy have reached such a broken state and what new civil rights strategies are needed to address long-term discrimination and to advance equal protection and opportunity for all.

Ronald Sullivan, Senior Fellow of the Jamestown Project and Professor at Yale Law School, moderated a conversation with:

• Judith Browne-Dianis, Co-Director of the Advancement Project;
• Juan Cartagena, General Counsel at the Community Service Society;
• Mindy Fullilove, MD, Author of Root Shock: How Tearing Up City Neighborhoods Hurts America and What We Can Do About It (One World/Ballantine).

Gara LaMarche, OSI vice president and director of U.S. Programs, introduced the event.

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