The Office of Diversity and Equity kicked off its first annual Symposium on Race and Society yesterday at the Darden School. The inaugural event, titled "In Katrina's Wake: Racial Implications of the New Orleans Disaster," focuses on the racial and social implications of the hurricane.
According to Chief Diversity Officer Bill Harvey, the topic is especially important since the natural disaster opened many people's eyes about the issues of race and inequality.
History Prof. Julian Bond, who is also NAACP chairman, gave an opening address last night in which he criticized the government's response to Hurricane Katrina, claiming that slow response time was reflective of racial prejudice.
Some people, Bond said, would call Katrina "a modern-day lynching."
"Katrina, like a lynching, not only destroyed the work of generations in a single day but was a deliberate attempt to dispossess black landholders," Bond said.
Bond's speech discounted the argument that the devastation of the hurricane was a function of poverty alone.
"The truth is that race trumps class," Bond said. "Racial inequality is rooted in the fabric of post-civil-rights-movement American society."
Bond noted that studies have shown that poor whites are still better off than poor blacks.
"This is inherited white privilege, truly the gift that keeps on giving," he said.
In addition to criticizing the government's initial response to the disaster, Bond also lambasted the Bush administration's plans for rebuilding the Gulf Coast.
"They are turning the recovery over to the same no-bid looters who are profiting in Iraq," Bond said.
Bond concluded his speech by noting that there is still much work to be done in the recovery effort.
"To dry the eyes of those who still weep--this is the challenge we must accept today," Bond said.
According to Harvey, his Office of Diversity and Equity organized the symposium in order to proactively address issues of racial inequality.
"It's partially a reaction to the circumstances last year," Harvey said, referring to the reported incidents of racial intolerance at the University during the Fall 2005 semester. "I didn't really think those incidents reflected what U.Va. was all about."
The symposium will run through Nov. 4 and will include sessions on a broad range of topics, including engineering issues, medical response and politics and government.
"The symposium promises to offer a set of exciting and enlightening sessions," University Provost Gene Block said.
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