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When I was a kid my family was poor, probably poorer than anybody you've ever met
When I was born we lived in a two room trailer in the woods - not two bedrooms, two rooms - w/out plumbing or even electricity for a bit; the trailer wasn't designed for living in, but construction
When I was born we lived in a two room trailer in the woods - not two bedrooms, two rooms - w/out plumbing or even electricity for a bit; the trailer wasn't designed for living in, but construction
I didn't learn till later that most of the clothes we wore as kids were donated to us (looking back on some of my fashion choices as a child it should have been obvious)
I also didn't realize till later that we had a garden b/c we needed food, not b/c it was a trendy hobby
I also didn't realize till later that we had a garden b/c we needed food, not b/c it was a trendy hobby
A 'rich' kid for me growing up was a kid who lived in an actual house, kids who could afford to pay for lunch at school
If there's one thing we knew about middleclass city kids its they were soft, never did a real day's work, & probably wouldn't even fight for their mom's honor
If there's one thing we knew about middleclass city kids its they were soft, never did a real day's work, & probably wouldn't even fight for their mom's honor
Probably the biggest event of my childhood was when we got a proper house - a double wide with actual rooms and closets and central air
The second biggest was when my dad got his plumber's license
The second biggest was when my dad got his plumber's license
When I was small my dad was a shoe repair man, and I spent the first 6yrs growing up in the back of that shoe repair shop, playing in the alley out back, climbing down into the sewer (which apparently my parents didn't realize at the time)
Shoes dried up, so he became a plumber
Shoes dried up, so he became a plumber
That summer we went on a roadtrip to celebrate the new job, out West hiking and camping and - occasionally - staying in a hotel; that's when we knew we'd hit it big, along with getting to eat out more often
There are some clear habits you get into when you grow up poor
You don't like to get rid of things, b/c you might need it later, and might not have the money for it
You don't really know how to budget, b/c nobody taught you and there's no money to budget anyway
You don't like to get rid of things, b/c you might need it later, and might not have the money for it
You don't really know how to budget, b/c nobody taught you and there's no money to budget anyway
Loyalty to friends and family comes first - maybe that's not a poor person thing, but it's at least a country folk thing
Neither of my parents went to college, or most anybody I knew, and one thing a lot of folks don't realize is how hard it is to navigate things like college applications when nobody you know has any experience with it
This lack of social capital is one of the big barriers to being poor - how to budget, how to do white collar job interviews, how to negotiate salaries, how to get in to college, a lot of these are things we rely on having others in our network tell us about
If you visit my parents property now it's one of the most beautiful places there is, as is their house, which my dad has spent decades expanding and remodeling
Plumbing worked out well, though it's been hard on his body, and my mom has retired from the military
Plumbing worked out well, though it's been hard on his body, and my mom has retired from the military
Honestly, I couldn't be prouder of my parents, they're awesome, fantastic people who raised me in a godly home and overcame everything life threw at them
I say this all because when talking about race I often run into folks who say "well I grew up poor, but I realized the world doesn't owe me anything and worked hard and climbed out of that hole - how dare you say I was privileged"
And my point is simply this, I grew up poor, probably poorer than you or anybody you know, but I don't use that as an excuse to deny the reality and continuing impact of racial oppression
There are some obstacles neither I nor my parents had to face
There are some obstacles neither I nor my parents had to face
Point in case: There were no minorities in the town I grew up in, there was one in a grade below mine for part of a year, but that's it, they left
And it's no surprise. Where I grew up Hispanics were 'beaners', Muslims were 'sandn***rs', and you can imagine what blacks were
And it's no surprise. Where I grew up Hispanics were 'beaners', Muslims were 'sandn***rs', and you can imagine what blacks were
Most kids had confederate flags in their class rings, and certain things were known about black people
- They're mostly poor b/c they wouldn't try harder
- They're disproportionately imprisoned b/c they commit more crime
- They don't have solid families b/c they're immoral
- They're mostly poor b/c they wouldn't try harder
- They're disproportionately imprisoned b/c they commit more crime
- They don't have solid families b/c they're immoral
- Interracial dating wasn't necessarily sinful, but it was at least it was frowned upon, and only a loose girl would date one
[Note: These aren't things my parents taught me, and my parents never called minorities any of those things, but it was the culture I grew up in]
[Note: These aren't things my parents taught me, and my parents never called minorities any of those things, but it was the culture I grew up in]
It was a community loving and welcoming to a poor white family, but I honestly don't want to think what it would have been like trying to grow up black there
My parents moved there b/c they didn't want to raise us in the city, like they were - being able to move was a privilege
My parents moved there b/c they didn't want to raise us in the city, like they were - being able to move was a privilege
That I was able to go to a school where no classroom had more than a dozen kids per teacher was a privilege, because my parents or grandparents didn't have to live in town
My parents accomplished this by moving to the country, others do so by paying for private schools...
My parents accomplished this by moving to the country, others do so by paying for private schools...
...many of which were formed specifically b/c urban white ppl didn't want to send their kids to school with black kids
They also didn't have laws saying they could only buy in a certain area, an area with underfunded/overcrowded schools, schools the system designed that way
They also didn't have laws saying they could only buy in a certain area, an area with underfunded/overcrowded schools, schools the system designed that way
It's a cycle of bad houses, bad schools, and bad opportunities; some escape it, many don't
Truthfully, many don't escape poverty like I grew up in. That's its own cycle with its own barriers
It's not just black people stuck in this cycle
Truthfully, many don't escape poverty like I grew up in. That's its own cycle with its own barriers
It's not just black people stuck in this cycle
But while it's not just black people stuck in this cycle, it is black people who were *intentionally* pushed into this cycle by over 100yrs of strategical alienation from good housing, schools, and jobs, on top of having laws designed to be harsher on their communities
That's a difference that has to be noted
Poverty is rough on everybody, but for over 100yrs the system was *designed* to keep blacks in poverty by setting up hurdle upon hurdle that even the poorest of us white folks just didn't have to jump
Poverty is rough on everybody, but for over 100yrs the system was *designed* to keep blacks in poverty by setting up hurdle upon hurdle that even the poorest of us white folks just didn't have to jump
Things like intergenerational wealth and social capital and even having a solid family unit are real factors lifetime success
But when these things were intentionally hindered, and when laws and sentencing were designed to break up black families, then the system is bad
But when these things were intentionally hindered, and when laws and sentencing were designed to break up black families, then the system is bad
Even where systems are gone there are still 'echoes of past injustices', there's still damage that has been done that will take generations to undo, and we need to reckon with that
Wanting to address this is not utopian, it's just trying to undo some injustices of the past
Wanting to address this is not utopian, it's just trying to undo some injustices of the past
