| President Jimmy Carter formed FEMA by signing Executive Order 12148 in 1977. Originally, the agency's purpose was to coordinate natural disaster relief and civil defense planning at the federal level. Once Ronald Reagan took office as president, FEMA underwent a noticeable shift away from relief to National Security. Under Reagan, FEMA became more involved with federal planning for martial law and domestic insurgency than with disaster relief.
Reagan appointed Louis O. Guifrida, his former California National Guard commander, to head the agency. Giuffrida was founder of the California Specialized Training Institute, a school that trained police and military commandos. As an Army student in 1970, Giufrida wrote a paper that advocated imprisoning "Black radicals" in detention centers. As Reagan's National Guard chief, he formed lists of "militant Negroes" to be detained in emergencies. He created "Operation Cable Splicer," which kept track of political dissidents in California. As head of FEMA, he had lists of 12,000 U.S. citizens deemed subversive drawn up, using information obtained from the FBI surveillance lists.
Under Reagan, FEMA was more involved with federal planning for martial law and domestic insurgency than with disaster relief. As the columnist Jack Anderson reported in 1984, FEMA was preparing legislation that would suspend the Constitution and the Bill of Rights in the event of a national crisis. That same year, FEMA conducted a military readiness exercise called Rex-84. Among other activities, FEMA established 23 detention facilities for use during national emergencies.
FEMA became a joke, known for its inadequate and incompetent responses to natural disasters. FEMA's reputation for ineptitude continued under the first Bush administration, as the response to Hurricane Andrew showed in 1992. The federal government’s handling of Andrew were the result of policies initiated by Reagan and Bush, and were the natural consequence of a Republican ideology which advocated smaller government, at least when it came to the social welfare of its citizens. | | When Bill Clinton was elected president, he elevated FEMA to cabinet level status and, appointed James Lee Witt, an official with experience in disaster management to head the agency. FEMA's performance changed dramatically, mostly because Clinton had FEMA do the job it was intended to do. Clinton and Witt were so successful that FEMA’s shabby reputation for ineptitude was forgotten.
Until Katrina. Under President George W. Bush, FEMA lost its cabinet level status and was folded into the Department of Homeland Security after September 11th. The slow response to Katrina indicates a reversion to type. Instead of preparing for natural disasters, FEMA prepared for war at home. The Republican belief in a reduced government led them to gamble that nothing catastrophic would happen if disaster relief was ignored. They gambled. Hundreds of thousands lost.
Given FEMA’s history of antagonism to political dissent, its implicit hostility to Black people, and the Republican opposition to a federal role in government, what happened in New Orleans becomes less puzzling. What is most obscene is that the very people responsible for the suffering that followed in Katrina's wake are now in charge of them. The Bush administration, through FEMA, is now counting their numbers and taking their names.
FEMA's history is important because it directly addresses two central questions: 1) What does race have to do with what happened in New Orleans and 2) What should the Black community do? The answer to the first should be clearer; the second requires more space than is now available. Whatever is done, it is clear that the Black community, especially those who experienced what happened in New Orleans, has to demand a place at the table. In fact, we have to build our own table. There has to be a broad, independent movement in response to this crisis by the Black community because there is every indication that this tragedy will be hijacked by those who allowed it to happen. Any Black face in the place will be handpicked supporters dedicated to the Bush administration’s agenda rather than to any Black political consensus that comes out of this moment. And those most affected by what happened in New Orleans will be left to the mercy of the people who were most responsible for it. |
