“George Bush doesn't care about black people. » these are the words Kanye West said during a concert to raise funds for Hurricane Katrina. Not only did the sentiment expressed by these words resonate with many Americans watching the concert that day, but looking at the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, some would go even further and claim that the United States government doesn't care about black people. While there have been several events in this country's history that could lead to the same conclusion, it was the disproportionate suffering and devastation experienced by African Americans in New Orleans, not only during the hurricane Katrina, but long after the storm had passed, which led many to conclude that the United States did not care about its African-American citizens. Long before the storm hit New Orleans, there was already division in the city. The city seemed to be divided by race with affluent whites living in the nicer parts of town which, unsurprisingly, were at higher elevations. While less wealthy African Americans tended to reside in low-lying neighborhoods. According to a report titled Race, Socioeconomic Status, and Return Migration to New Orleans After Hurricane Katrina, segregation in the city was historically low compared to the rest of the country, but "by 2000, the standard index of "Segregation between blacks and whites showed New Orleans met, and even slightly exceeded, the national average" (Fussell, Elizabeth) When the 2005 storm hit, the effect of this seemingly unnoticed difference was amplified as it became evident that the difference in altitude would lead to extremely different temperatures. results for residents of different neighborhoods. Acco...... middle of paper ......r The deadly effects of Katrina. " Discover the networks. February 15, 2005. November 27, 2013 .Dreier, Peter. " Katrina: a political disaster. " Shelterforce Online (2006). Spring 2006. National Housing Institute. November 27, 2013. Fussell, Elizabeth, Narayan Sastry, and Mark VanLandingham. "Race, socioeconomic status, and return migration to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina ): 20-42. NCBI. January 2010. National Library of Medicine of the United States. November 27, 2013. Goodman, Amy and Juan Gonzalez. Orleans now! 2005. November 27.. 2013 .