A Domestic Right of Return: Race, Rights, and Residency in New Orleans in the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina

Authors

Lolita Buckner Inniss, Southern Methodist University, Dedman School of LawFollow

Abstract

This article begins with a critical account of what occurred in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. This critique serves as the backdrop for a discussion of whether there are international laws or norms that give poor, black Katrina victims the right to return to and resettle in New Orleans. In framing this discussion, this article first briefly explores some of the housing deprivations suffered by Katrina survivors that have led to widespread displacement and dispossession. The article then discusses two of the chief barriers to the return of poor blacks to New Orleans: the broad perception of a race-crime nexus and the general effect of the imposition of outsider status on poor, black people by dominant groups. Finally, the article explores the international law concept of the right of return and its expression as a domestic, internal norm via standards addressing internally displaced persons, and considers how such a domestic right of return might be applicable to the Katrina victims.

Publication Title

Boston College Third World Law Journal

Document Type

Article

Keywords

international law, right of return, internally displaced persons, insurance law, public housing, disaster law, eviction, Hurricane Katrina, tenants' rights, race

Recommended Citation

Lolita Buckner Inniss, A Domestic Right of Return: Race, Rights, and Residency in New Orleans in the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, 27 B.C. Third World L.J. 325 (2007)