Nelly anyone?
I grew up in North St. Louis County. Over the last few days, I've been glued to the television as I watched the convenience store I often stopped at on my way back to campus be burned down. I saw the profile of my high school boyfriend on the front line of a police barricade, visor down and shield in hand on CNN. I've worried about friends who still live in the neighboring town we grew up in. I've been dismayed by the evidence that a police officer in my home town could abuse his power to kill an unarmed young man as he ran away. My chest has felt sad and empty as I've watched the unrest unfold in the place I used to call home. I'm choosing to share my feelings here.
My Facebook feed has been full of thoughts and opinions. Friends that still live there, on both sides of the racial divide, feel the racial tensions on a regular basis. They all want answers about what happened to Michael Brown. My black friends who still live there or grew up there share emotions that are all over the map. Some are frustrated at the violence and are angry that people who are trashing the neighborhood haven't been proactive by voting their troubles away. Others are afraid and want peace. Some see it as strictly a race issue and have opened some wonderful and meaningful dialogues on their pages. My black friends from childhood know what it's like to be a minority in a city where race relations are charged. My white friends from the same cohort are likely naive beneficiaries of "white privilege," but need to be part of the dialogue. One thing that neither of these groups has lived is a life of poverty.
Yes, race is a big issue in the struggles going on in North St. Louis County right now, but so is poverty. It's a layer that can't be ignored. How can a community be empowered to to be represented in local government and tackle issues that affect them if they don't even have enough money for gas to get to the city council meeting? How can parents put a child's education as a priority when they need their 16 year old to help contribute to the family coffers, and the 10 year old to watch the other kids so they can work? Imagine that if you are struggling to put food on the table. Your priority is to shuffle the kids off to daycare, get to work, and bring home some money. Are you going to ask for every Tuesday afternoon off work from your minimum wage job so you can take your kid to a tutor? Probably not. The risks are too high and the priority is to feed and clothe that child. Similarly, are you going to take time off so you can go vote? Run for office? Volunteer in your community? Join the PTA? Nope. Probably not something that even seems possible. It's easy to sit in an ivory tower and say, "You just do it because it's important." I don't think that middle class America, white or black, can truly fathom how poverty touches every aspect of daily function.
I can't pretend that I know what it's like to be black in America. I am aware enough to know that it's an experience I can't comprehend, just like I can't truly comprehend what it's like to be poor. I know that race relations are a huge part of this issue, but I wish I heard people talking about the poverty layer. I'm not excusing any horrific actions a cop may have made, but I am wondering how we can expect people to advocate for themselves against something as powerful as a police force, when they don't have the right tools. How can we be shocked and appalled when frustrated community members turn peaceful protests into violent riots if violence is the only tool they feel they have?
