Elmore discusses Kanye West and New Orleans

During the fallout from Hurricane Katrina, which killed more than 1,000 Gulf Coast residents – many of them black and poor – the media was awash with images of minorities wading through flooded cities in Louisiana and Mississippi. It was these images that caused acclaimed rapper Kanye West to declare that President George W. Bush “doesn’t care about black people,” referring to what many called a lax response by the Administration to the disaster.

So when more than 30 Boston University students debated the issues of race and class in a post-Katrina United States at the George Sherman Union Friday afternoon, as part of the Coffee and Conversation series with Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore, many found themselves agreeing with West, whose comments sparked national outrage.

The topic, “Kanye was right! Is botched disaster relief a class or race issue?” referred to the rapper’s unscripted comment, which he made on a nationally aired telethon to raise money for Katrina victims.

Many students said West had the right to say what he said, but that he did not say it in the best place and in the best way. Others argued that West was just telling the truth in a real and raw manner and took advantage of being in front of a national audience to provoke change.

Some students said that helping the victims of Katrina did not coincide with the interests of the Republican-controlled government. Others held simply that Americans do not value community and poor people.

Students also debated why West chose to name Bush in his comment rather than the U.S. government as a whole, and also why he chose to say “black people” instead of “poor people.”

College of Arts and Sciences sophomore Auset Mitchell said it does not matter if West meant government instead of Bush in the statement, but he did not mean poor people.

“He meant black people, he said black people,” she said.

Many students said West had the chance to bring the country’s negligence to center stage and make a bold statement about socio-economics, but he chose to make it racial.

“You don’t ever have classism without racism,” CAS junior Donovan Morrison, a regular participant in Elmore’s Coffee and Conversation, said.

Assistant to the Dean of Students Caitlin Brooking said students feel free to say whatever they want and share their viewpoints because of the safe and neutral environment created in the weekly forum.

Brooking said the discussions are important for students to exercise their debate skills and usually go in directions she does not anticipate.

Elmore said the topic was a student suggestion and that he chose to use it so students would have an opportunity to hash it out.

“Kanye caused a furor when he said that and people needed the chance to talk it out,” he said.

Mitchell said although she disagreed with some of the points brought up, she said the overall discussion was a positive move in the right direction.

“Some of the things that were said [by students] were based on ignorance, but that’s not their fault,” Mitchell said. “That’s why it’s good to have these discussions to educate each other.”