Extensive rebuilding efforts are ongoing as Florida looks to rebound from Hurricane Ian’s devastation across the state. However, Black residents in lower-income neighborhoods say they have felt wholly forgotten regarding receiving help. Sounds familiar?
Black residents from Dunbar and River Park in Naples, Florida, spoke to CNN about their experiences of not being able to get to relief centers because bus services aren’t running in those areas. They also complained about the rescue centers being too far for people who don’t have transportation. These same people were also the last to get power back. Curtis Williams, a resident from River Park, told CNN the town never got an evacuation order.
“Not one city employee, police or whatever, came through the neighborhood before the flood water and said there was a mandatory evacuation, not one,” he said. “They could have easily rode down here with a bullhorn, before the storm, and say, ‘you people need to vacate.’ They didn’t do that.”
Residents in Dunbar say they always expect to get power last whenever a terrible storm comes through.
“Every time we have a storm, we’re the last ones to get power,” said Tolbert’s cousin, lifetime Dunbar resident Valorie Simmons, a steel factory worker. Simmons’ daughter Cherell Lindsey nodded along with Tolbert’s daughter, who was lounging in the SUV’s back seat. “It’s expected,” Simmons said. “Where it’s Black and brown people ... we get it last.”
Last week, Vice President Kamala Harris spoke at the National Committee Women’s Leadership Forum about the racial inequalities that happened when it comes to disaster relief compared to white neighborhoods. The Nature Climate Change journal released a study earlier this year showing flood costs will impact people of color significantly.
As these storms become more frequent, there’s a clear need for FEMA to step up and send aid to underserved communities. As often in these times, Black residents have to lean on each other and share resources to weather hard times.
“We are trying to give some moral support, you know, with our neighbors and friends,” said Pastor Nicles Emile of Galilee Baptist Church. “We are working on helping our neighbors as much as we can, and I can say that whatever we have and share with them.”