De-racializing at work in Haiti coverage

When Hurricane Katrina struck over four years ago, rapper Kanye West criticized the media for applying the term "looter" to black people exclusively. He said the media referred to white people as "looking for food," while black people were labeled as criminals for doing the same thing.

In sum, the word "looting" was racialized by the mainstream media. That is, the denotative meaning of the word, "stealing or scavenging illegally," was expanded so that its connotative meaning included racial implications. Like "welfare," "affirmative action" and "honors student," we have given a race to an otherwise colorblind verb.

Aware of the political landmine of using terms like "looter" and "looting," the news media have once again employed the terms in their coverage of the crisis in Haiti. And similar to Hurricane Katrina, most of those affected by the earthquake are black. The difference is that this time, the words are decoupled from criminal activity.

Instead of images captioned, "A looter carries bags of food and medical supplies through the wreckage," captions are more forgiving of the displaced:

The Charities Aid Foundation writes, "According to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), many Haitians are hungry and thirsty, leading some to loot destroyed buildings for supplies." Similarly, TIME magazine reports "The absence of any effective authority in the five days since the tremor has led hungry and desperate residents to loot and fight over the crumbs to survive."

Offering the rationale behind the looting, rather than just reiterating the powerfully tragic images in print, broadcast and online media, lends an understanding and sensitivity that was absent in Katrina coverage. There are still the racialized captions and stories, but the coverage has taken a more sympathetic tone.

In response to a Christian Science Monitor article asking "Is the term 'looting' racist?", I say no. It is a verb, used to describe illegal scavenging or stealing. It is not inherently a racial term, but we have made it so.

As in many things, context is everything. Haitians are hungry. Their families are dead or missing. They are without basic medical care. The images, I'm sure, do not begin to describe the desperation and wreckage. The aftermath of the earthquake is not a race issue, but a fight for survival. And as media outlets now recognize, we owe it to Haiti to recognize their fight.

Photo Credit: New York Times