“Somebody gotta explain why I ain’t got shit!”
— Tupac Shakur, Troublesome ‘96
Step 2:
Prioritizing Poor People
Why are people poor?
Of course, there are many ways people can become poor, but what we’re asking here is what is it about our paradigm that necessitates that some people in our society must be poor?
If you’re thinking there is a simple and easy answer to this massive question, then guess again… and no, the answer has nothing to do with boot-straps or condescending American idioms.
We can’t end poverty just by talking about it or thinking about it; but, before we as a collective can actually do something meaningful to end poverty, we need put a few pieces of perspective into place first.
Number one, we’re not going to change this conversation from race to class, as so often happens. To see the big picture of poverty full and clear, we must develop an informed understanding of what race is.
We are going to use this question of “why are people poor?” as a guiding light in our path toward understanding the racial dynamics in this country, and through that work, we may come to understand the position each of us as individuals hold within these dynamics that continue to proliferate to this day.
Think of this question as a sort of key or legend, like you’d find on a map, which will help us accurately read details of what is in front of us, so that we may chart a clear course toward where we need to go…
. . . .
Racism itself is, among other things, a tool; one used by rich people to uphold the wealth inequality they benefit from. Being white and being wealthy are obviously two different things. However, being white and having access to wealth are intrinsically connected when it comes to the socio-political dynamics of the United States of America.
“Wealth gaps” have existed in every major civilization in history; from monarchies that lasted centuries, to the Roman Catholic church’s dominance over those within its empire, to the control over resources secured by victors of warring groups since the beginnings of recorded history. Wealth gaps also exist in every modern country on earth today; it’s well understood that those who control access to resources wield the ultimate power in a society. But, in the United States, there exists an economic inequality that is unique unto itself.
The foundation that supports and upholds this wealth inequality to this day is a direct result of European settler colonization of this continent — the subjugation, murder and displacement of Indigenous peoples here, as well as the transatlantic slave trade that forcibly brought millions of Africans here between the 16th and 19th centuries — the bedrock of racism. To this day, these two crimes of American colonization have never been resolved, hindering all other attempts at social and political progress in this country.
This video looks at how slavery, housing discrimination and centuries of inequality have compounded to create a racial wealth gap unique to the USA.
. . . .
Early on in the colonies, servants and slaves were brought from all around the Atlantic, from various backgrounds, to serve their respective masters. Conditions within slavery early on were not much different than slavery in other parts of the world dating back many hundreds of years. However, in the 1700s, the predominantly christian English men who “owned” most of the land experienced more and more rebellions, with slaves of different ethnicities uniting in solidarity against a common oppressor.
Because of this, the land owners imposed new punitive laws that differentiated people’s status in colonial society based on their “race”, which at the time was a pseudo-scientific concept developing in northern Europe, which categorized people’s abilities, and therefore worth, based on the color of their skin and other physical traits. It was incomplete, speculative and informed by personal bias from the beginning, but seeing an opportunity to protect their power, land owners and businessmen in the colonies whole-heartedly embraced this new racial hierarchy, and then began building further upon the idea.
This led to the solidarity among slaves of different “races” slipping, because white servants were able to leave bondage after time served, whereas black African slaves would more commonly be given bondage for life. For example, when a white slave ran away, their punishment might be 2 additional years of bondage; but when a Black slave ran away, their punishment would be lifelong bondage. Over generations, this unity between poor people was cut, and identity based discord was sown, driving a wedge between us (and within us) that still exists today, making the concept of peace completely unattainable in practice.
Eventually, the subliminal messaging was internalized; Scottish people and German people and English people and Dutch people (among other Europeans) began to abandon their cultural practices to become “white” upon arriving in America, allowing them access to citizenship and economic opportunity. Meanwhile; Senegalese people and Congolese people and Liberian people and Nigerian people (among other Africans) were forced into the racial designation of “Black”, and even if they wanted to assimilate into whiteness they were legally and socially barred from doing so.
To be white meant that at a bare minimum you were legally considered a human being, even if you’re a poor. To be Black meant that you were considered sub-human, to be considered as, and treated like, property.
While most anti-racist people acknowledge that wealth disparity is a central barrier in attaining equity and justice in American society, we also understand that we cannot undo poverty until we can at least begin to undo racism, and we cannot undo racism unless we can focus on racism without changing the subject to other -isms every time it’s brought up.
What we will find is that by addressing racism, we will as a result of that work, be addressing every other form of oppression and injustice in this country too…
This video is an analysis of the generational wealth accumulated by white people, especially since the civil war, showing how American racism is imbedded in wealth.
. . . .
Indigenous peoples of America were the first group that European colonizers attempted to enslave, but overall they were difficult to control by the settlers due to their rich knowledge of the surrounding lands, and the neighboring communities they could escape to, resulting in frequent Indigenous resistance campaigns. So, for the practical purpose of avoiding these conflicts, the developing state governments engaged in a different policy when it came to combatting the Indigenous people. This policy involved double-dealing, biological warfare, forced displacement, etc. — an attempted genocide that continues to this very day.
This video explains how the US initiated policies that undermined tribal sovereignty, resulting in broken treaties, land loss, relocation, mass death and cultural decimation.
One of the primary ways the United States government has systematically disenfranchised the Indigenous peoples of this land is through dis-honoring signed treaties, and not recognizing Native American sovereignty. In other words, a government representative signs a legal document saying a certain tribe has rights to it’s land, then some time later the US government comes in and takes that land, completely ignoring the treaty that was signed, invalidating legal challenges and criminalizing resistance.
This has led to a historical policy of displacement, theft and criminalization of Indigenous peoples, who are now relegated into poverty stricken reservations if they choose to maintain their tribal sovereignty and cultural way of life, or they’re expected to assimilate fully into this racialized American culture and endure the daily indignities therein.
All this and more, creates a highly unique economic barrier for Indigenous people to find stability, let alone economic success in this country, a result of this centuries-long of attempted genocide that has been perpetrated by the United States government, and its founders, since it’s inception.
This video discusses the genocidal process of federal assimilation boarding schools, followed by the removal of children from their parents and systematically handing them over to white families.
Many of us have seen the term POC, meaning People of Color, used to describe the generalized demographic of non-white people in America. The specific road blocks for Black and Indigenous people living in America, has led to the popularization of the BIPOC acronym, which highlights Black people and Indigenous people as being particularly affected, historically and presently, by the racist policies of the United States of America.
Isabel Wilkerson, author of best selling book “Caste”, discusses how caste rather than race or class, more accurately describes the social division in this country.
So, to summarize, there are a lot of reasons people can become poor in the United States of America, but if you are Black or Indigenous in particular, or if you’re simply not white, your racial identity is tied to an assumption that you come from poverty…
…this is where internalized racial oppression comes in…