The Tangled Web

Poverty is man-made and racism is learned. Both are intertwined like a tangled web. Racist attitudes contribute to poverty. It has been 52 years since the passage of the Civil Rights Acts and these discriminatory practices continue to exist. Laws are not sufficient to address the challenges that non-whites and people living in poverty struggle with on a daily basis. As a nation, we know these problems exist but choose to keep quiet. In the meantime, more racism and poverty is generated. Race and poverty needs to be discussed starting from an early age. Talking about racism does not make a person racist. There is a saying that children learn what they live. I believe this to be true. Children should learn that people of all colors, ethnicities and socio-economic levels should be valued. Children may not understand racism, discrimination and poverty. These discussions may be painful and uncomfortable. Parents and other responsible adults should be able to guide their children in these discussions and answer their questions. I grew up during the civil rights era and struggled to understand what I was living. Other children felt the same way. My parents answered my many questions and had ongoing discussions with my siblings and me. Remaining silent about racism and poverty is not an option in solving the problems. Let me tell you part of my story as I journeyed through perilous times and prevailed. My father served honorably in the Army during WWII. When he was discharged, he was denied jobs in favor of white men. He was rejected repeatedly but he never gave up his search for gainful employment. He worked odd jobs to feed his family of a wife and five children. It was not enough. We lived in poverty and did not have the basic necessities of life. My veteran father did not obtain gainful employment until he was nearly 60 years old. I grew up during a turbulent time in history. I was born and raised in absolute poverty in the South. After nearly 15 years, my family and I transitioned from absolute poverty to poverty. My entire childhood was spent living in poverty. Segregated state and local law controlled where we could live, where we could go, and prevented my parents from obtaining meaningful employment. Civil rights activists and others protested against these injustices. These brave warriors were beaten, jailed and lost their lives for equal rights in the United States of America. Children were beaten and killed by racists. When my oldest brother was fifteen years old, his life was threatened by a racist. How do you explain these injustices to children? We were learning what we lived. There were too many people who allowed these injustices to happen. Because we were born black, we felt like strangers in the land of our birth. Most of my childhood was spent in a rural farming community in the suburbs of Memphis, Tennessee. My family and I lived in shacks without electricity or indoor plumbing. We pumped water from a neighbors well and carried buckets of water back home. We used coal oil lamps to light the dark evenings and nights. We rode a yellow school bus approximately 32 miles round trip to and from school. When I was almost 15 years old, we moved to a housing project near downtown Memphis. This was the first time we had electricity and indoor plumbing. There is no reason why poverty should exist in one of the wealthiest countries in the world. The American dream is built on the idea that hard work equals success. If only it was that simple. It may be helpful if everyone was in the same starting position. We do not live in a society were hard work is equally rewarded. I don’t believe anyone want to live in poverty. Racial discrimination is one of the leading causes. It is time to break the generational curse of poverty. Many people may have a poverty mindset or mentality. This prevents them from investing in them and limits their success. Inherited generational poverty creates hopelessness that may lead to a number of physical and psychological problems. This increases the probability of growing up poor and repeating the cycle. As my social consciousness developed, I struggled to understand why black people were treated less than people. I searched for answers by reading as much information as I could. I sought out information from the books in the school library and magazines to learn about events relevant to black people. Reading provided an outlet for my pent- up emotions and at the same time posed more questions that the adults couldn’t answer. My journey out of poverty started when I was a child living in poverty. I learned to observe, listen and ask questions. My parents discussed racism and poverty with my siblings and me from a young age. Poverty is not only lack of money; it’s a lack of hope. My parents gave my siblings and me hope. I don’t believe they ever felt powerless to change their situation. They did not have a poverty mindset or mentality and they gave this legacy to us. There were many struggles and hardships along the way. I chose to learn and grow from each struggle. I gained strength from each hardship. Regardless of our race, ethnicity and socio-economic status we are all human beings. We wear our God given colors for life. We are all valuable. We have a generation of children who are learning what they live. We can no longer be silent and allow oppression. We need to be part of the solution so everyone can fully integrate into society. We all have a responsibility to close these critical gaps that are preventing our nation from moving forward and obliterating our vision for the future. After living in poverty from childhood to adulthood, I prevailed. Once we understand the why, we can move forward. We can all affect change and make a difference. We can continue to fight for equality, overhaul laws, and change our mindset and mentality relating to racism and poverty.