In 1972, the book What Color is Your Parachute? was
written to help people determine or change their careers. It was also a self-help, hippie-dippie manual
to figure out your path in life. I was
nine when it was written. By the time I
was starting out on my journey to find my career path, it was the 80’s, and
things had changed a great deal from one decade to another. If you had a career path in the 80’s you were
more likely driven, certain, and had some high octane caffeine or other
stimulant coursing through your veins and finding the color of your parachute
or your free flowing maxi dress seemed passé and lacking in motivation. I was on a fast route to advertising design, check, marriage, check, children, check, check, check, divorce, check, lather, rinse, repeat, etc.
and so on…I changed career paths, but activism, social justice, and public
service has been a constant in one capacity or another throughout my journey.
On Tuesday, January 10, I had the
opportunity to go to Albany to attend a “speak out” and rally on behalf of CFE,
the Campaign for Fiscal Equity. Rally
goers from across the state gathered to request the release of state held funds
that are owed to school districts throughout New York.
A little history;
New York State enacted the
Foundation Aid formula following a 2006 court order through CFE's work. This formula was intended
to guarantee that the state met its constitutional obligations to all students
by phasing in a $5.5 billion increase in classroom operating aid over a
four-year period. The phase-in period was implemented to expedite the release
of funds to maximize quick improvements in educational opportunities to high
need schools. The Foundation Aid formula promotes equity by funneling 72% of
new Foundation Aid to high need school districts. The phase in period began and ended after the
second year, and has not been added to the state budget since.
The day was well organized by
chapters of Citizens Action and the Alliance for Quality Education. Both of these non-profit agencies have a
strong grass roots component with a passion and drive to improve public
education. I opted to take the bus to
gain the full experience of working collaboratively with other agency members,
teachers from around the Hudson Valley, and community members. This gave me the chance to meet other groups
and individuals that support education and strive to make it better. I encourage you to check out their Facebook
pages, attend one of their events, volunteer or simply send them a shout out
for their work.
The speakers at the rally were
inspiring. They were impassioned. They were dedicated to this cause. CFE is in place to ensure high needs schools
have adequate funding for programming in an effort to balance the playing
field. The lowest performing schools are
typically located in urban areas with predominantly low socioeconomic
populations, and rural districts with predominantly low socioeconomic
populations. Many of the speakers
discussed race and many of the signs focused the need for quality education for
Black and Brown students. This did not
surprise me, but there were a few moments it made me uncomfortable. At one point a very passionate speaker pointed out that whites need to share. I get it, but it made me uncomfortable just the same. I know my discomfort is nothing compared to the struggles that are met each day by those in poverty, black, brown, red, yellow, and white. I have concerns that I think are
necessary to share now more than ever. I work in Rondout
Valley, a “high needs” district based upon the number of students impacted by
rural poverty. The vast majority of these students are not black or brown. So I began wondering, what color is my district’s poverty?
We can no longer afford to color
poverty. I write this with a certain
amount of trepidation and caution.
It is with no intent to diminish the intensity and extent of adversity
experienced by minorities living in poverty, but to point out that poverty needs
to be addressed from a clear viewpoint, with a new vision. In fact, by coloring poverty we continue to
support and encourage dangerous and damaging stereotypes. We create divisiveness and perpetuate a
scapegoat culture that requires recognition and blame based on skin color that
is not white. By coloring poverty in this way, we allow the other side of poverty, the white,
disenfranchised side of poverty to be empowered to point fingers and blame the
more vibrant colors of poverty. It
permits a distinction based on skin color.
It allows one group to believe themselves to be less deserving of poverty,
as though one’s level of melanin genetically predetermines his/her capacity for
poverty, and not the geographical inequities of economic and social
opportunities that can be publically managed and equitably balanced.
We can no longer afford to color
poverty. The need to build a wall, the
new president’s endorsement by the KKK, the increase in white supremacist groups, that focus on directing hate and blame towards minorities and immigrants, as though these terms are synonymous,
for taking “our” jobs and/or threatening “our” lives via drugs and terrorism
and rape. In doing so, we can pretend the drugs impacting our country don't come from doctors, and pharmaceutical companies, and no wall is going to change that. We can ignore that terrorism is the code of honor in groups like the KKK, but please know; rape is a violation whether it is at the hands of our husbands, or uncles, or fathers, or boyfriends, or strangers, and when the young white college student is convicted and unpunished, why would we even start to fear the possible immigrant?
We can no longer afford to color poverty, but we need to
distinguish the differences between urban and rural poverty because they call
for different action. According to an
article featured in International Journal of Basic and Applied Science, 2013,
by Amanda Stansell and T. F. McLaughlin;
Rural poverty has many of the same negative
outcomes as urban poverty, but it also has its unique challenges. In
impoverished rural areas, there is less sophisticated medical care, the towns
are spread out, further away from intervention services and often there is little
to no public transportation. People living in these areas are less likely to
have strong academic backgrounds- they may not have graduated from high school.
The
poverty rate for rural children is slightly elevated compared to that of urban
children.
The article goes on to highlight an increased incidence of
students identified with disabilities in rural settings, as high as 25% in
some.
I can’t stress enough the needs of
children in urban settings impacted by poverty. They are excessive. They are unique
in ways that must be addressed. The
minority population suffers greatly and disproportionately in urban settings
and their needs must not be minimized. I
watched as social media battles ensued after the Black Lives Matters campaign
was started to address concerns about police brutality, which incited the
response that All Lives Matters. So I
write this with concern that it is not misunderstood.
WE can no longer afford to
color poverty. Calling
attention to the very real needs of one group, must not deride the needs of
another group, nor should it shut down and further weaken the voice of that first
group. There are, without a doubt,
profound and deep issues of poverty that are distinctly related to racism, but
when we give poverty that face of color, we make a large faction of the
population in poverty invisible. If we
can’t see poverty, or recognize it in an instant, how do we reach those
students in need in our rural schools? How do we start making real in-roads to break
the cycle? By allowing poverty to be so
invisible in one group did it grow, unchecked into a hate-fueled group looking
for a hate instigating leader?
I don’t have all the answers, but after
my day in Albany with the Alliance for Quality Education and Citizen’s Action,
I feel a bit more optimistic about the power of speaking out and giving voice
to change what is unjust. You can also call
or write your local representatives and encourage them to demand Governor Cuomo
release the funds that are owed to our schools.
And give a shout out to these active impassioned groups: Citizens
Action, and The Alliance for Quality Education.
