Last week, an event in U.S. history created an occasion for retrospective glances at the Hurricane Katrina disaster. Several factors before, during, and after the storm exacerbated the trauma to frightening new levels for many of our fellow citizens. While New Orleans and much of the Gulf Coast were severely impacted, no community was more emblematic of America’s past and present ills than the African American neighborhoods of New Orleans.
Poor infrastructure in those areas—the result of decades of policy violence and neglect—created the conditions for devastation. Many residents lacked the financial means to evacuate as others did. Worse still, the disrespect, disdain, and cruelty they faced in the wake of the storm should have been a sobering slap in the face for the nation. Some survivors tried to cross a bridge into nearby Gretna, Louisiana, only to be met by armed residents determined not to let “those people” enter “their” city. Humanity took a backseat to fear and prejudice. That pattern of prejudice has continued as black homeowners received less financial support to rebuild their homes than people from white neighborhoods only a few blocks away.
Fast forward to 2019, when the nation experienced another disaster of a different kind. The murder of George Floyd under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer was caught on film and broadcast to the world. For a moment, it seemed as if decency and humanity might finally prevail. Protests spread across the country and around the globe, united in grief and outrage. Perhaps this would finally be the time we would see past ethnicity and focus on our shared humanity.
But almost on cue, the forces of greed and racism pushed back. Deliberately, the opportunity for transformation was pushed aside. After a while, we returned to our old patterns. “Same stuff, different day.”
Ideology over decency.
Politics over people.
Greed over compassion.
And now, here we are in 2025, watching what feels like the intentional self-immolation of our constitutional republic. Policy violence is leading to the closure of hospitals and health clinics in rural communities. Millions of Americans, many of whom only recently gained access to health insurance, are being stripped of their coverage. Over 300,000 African American women professionals have lost their jobs. Numerous high-ranking women and minority officers in our military are being forced out or pushed into retirement. Not because of poor performance but because they are not the “right” gender or hue for those in power who are desperate to turn back the clock to a time when the world revolved around them, and everyone else had to settle for the scraps they deigned to share.
It is as if the reality checks of the COVID-19 pandemic—our glaring vulnerabilities in healthcare, housing, and food security—have been intentionally forgotten so we can get back to business as usual: serving the few at the expense of the many.
Three times in recent history—Katrina, George Floyd, and the pandemic—we were offered the chance to pivot toward compassion and decency. And three times, we squandered it. We refuse to learn the lessons life and history are trying to teach us and we repeat the same hateful patterns over and over again. Instead of honoring our founding ideals—that all human beings are created equal, endowed with inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness—we narrowed those promises. Surely “life” must include access to healthcare. Surely “liberty” requires safe housing. Surely the “pursuit of happiness” includes food security and dignity.
So the questions remain: Will we ever understand that it’s not just about me, it’s about all of us? Will we embrace compassion and fairness for all citizens? Or will we continue to squander every “come to Jesus moment” by turning our backs on needed change, as quickly as possible, in order to return to a “normal” that was never normal, just or decent.
Submitted by Rev. Stephen Tillett, Pastor of Asbury Broadneck United Methodist Church in Annapolis, MD, author of Stop Falling for the Okeydoke: How the Lie of “Race” Continues to Undermine Our Country, Political Analyst for The Lavonia Perryman Show (910 AM Superstation, Detroit, 2020-2023)
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