2005 Racial Attitudes and the Katrina Disaster Study

In late August 2005, the levees of New Orleans failed in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The entire nation was riveted by the media coverage of the disaster, but black and white Americans drew very different lessons from the experience. This study uses both national survey data and interviews with returned New Orleans residents in November 2005 to understand the intersection of race and perception in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.  Following the disaster, the Center for the Study of Race, Politics, and Culture at the University of Chicago supported a national survey more than 1200 Americans to gauge political and racial attitudes in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Principal investigators are Michael Dawson, Cathy Cohen, and Melissa Harriss-Lacewell.