Catastrophe Can Mean More than Just Tragedy

What is a catastrophe? A violent hurricane that leaves hundreds dead and thousands homeless? Absolutely. But what about discrimination in the military? Or the treatment of disabled students? And, when these catastrophes disproportionately strike communities of color, how should these communities respond? These questions were the focus of the Askwith Forum held on Friday, March 3 in conjunction with the Alumni of Color Conference.

The discussion, which was moderated by Keppel Professor Robert Peterkin, included four panelists--Sandy Grande, associate professor of education at Connecticut College; Peter Kiang, professor of education at the University of Massachusetts at Boston; Ceasar McDowell, director of the Center for Reflective Community at Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and Thomas Hehir, HGSE professor of practice--who shared stories of catastrophe that they've witnessed in their lives ranging from the genocide of Native American Indians to the plight of disabled students.

While many of the events raised by the panelists fit into a traditional view of catastrophe, others were more surprising. Kiang, for instance, discussed the indignities faced by Asian American soldiers during Vietnam--including being used as "targets" during Army drills. His research indicates that many Asian American war veterans suffer post traumatic stress disorder from race-related stress and discrimination they faced in the service. "Not a lot of us think of racism as traumatic or causing post traumatic stress disorder," Kiang said.

"Not a lot of us think of racism as traumatic or causing post traumatic stress disorder." –Professor Peter Kiang, UMass-Boston

Referring to Freud's belief that "each loss recalls the first loss," McDowell suggested that through every catastrophe, trauma, and grief, we remember the past. While traveling to New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina, he frequently heard New Orleanians say, "They're trying to kill us." Similarly, Grande addressed the genocide of Native American Indians and how these past injustices still reverberate in the treatment of Indian Nations today.

Through catastrophe and injustice, hope can emerge. McDowell pointed out that even the trauma and grief faced in New Orleans forced people to work together and often renewed old bonds. For example, an education volunteer group that had formed years earlier to improve the quality of education in the city regrouped to form the People's Hurricane Relief Fund.

On the flip side, crisis can expose and create divisions-not just between groups but within groups-about how to overcome trauma. "These divisions exist in the struggle of New Orleans," according to McDowell. Communities must be cognizant of the potential for these divisions and strive to keep everyone focused on the goal of creating newer and stronger communities together, said Peterkin.

Hehir focused on a group that might not typically be expected to be considered in a discussion of catastrophe or communities of color: the disabled. However, he maintained that the unfair institutionalization of disabled people from the early 1960s and 70s to the struggles of inclusion in the classroom today does have a racial component.

"What has gone on continues to go on for kids and many are of color," Hehir said, pointing that for many disabled and special needs students come for low-income neighborhoods and may not necessarily receive equal funding and opportunity. "One thing we need to look at is the issue of ableism.as a relation to poor children."

The discussion, which in many ways served as jumping off point for the two-day Alumni of Color Conference, raised as many questions as it answered for long standing problems that do not yield themselves to quick solutions.