Denise Cope is the SPS Service-Learning Coordinator
I recently saw a political cartoon in the Boston Globe that simultaneously caused me to chuckle and to scream. The headline read, "The Media (Briefly) Rediscover the Poor." The cartoon depicts a newsstand of magazines with titles such as, "Brides: Minimum Wage Weddings," "Home: Hip Hangouts of the Homeless," and "Fortune: Temp Jobs: Can you ever have too many?" The faux TV program featured is "Lifestyles of the Poor and Anonymous."
For now, we are a nation considering the issues of poverty and racism. Recent editions of Time and Newsweek examine the faces of poverty and the systems that perpetuate these inequalities. TV newscasters are examining factors influencing the poor. Yet, how long will we remember?
Katrina did something to the American psyche. It unveiled inequities in our "pull yourselves up by the bootstraps" society. It revealed that there are those that have the means to escape and those that don't. It revealed that our poorest citizens are often cut along race lines. It showed us that we may be a nation divided, separated along lines of access and opportunity.
After Katrina, there was a rush to help out those in need. The Red Cross has collected over $485 million in funds for relief work. The Federal Government has appropriated more than $60 billion in emergency funding as a down payment on recovery efforts projected to cost well over $100 billion. Yet, how much of these appropriated funds are going towards addressing the issues of poverty and racism? The Red Cross specializes in immediate need and relief efforts, not systemic issues of getting folks out of the poverty trap. Our government has given no-bid contracts to big-time crony corporations like Halliburton, while revoking the minimum wage requirement. Halliburton, Vice President Dick Cheney's former company, can now legally pay less than minimum wage to poor laborers, while bankrolling millions. This will only widen the gap between the rich and poor.
We have a short-term memory when it comes to race and poverty. I hope that these issues will stay on the table and not be usurped by the next "hot" crises. Will we as a nation truly address the root issues and the systemic problems?
Here is my challenge to the Regis community. What are we doing about poverty and inequalities? How are we engaging in dialogue and action in solidarity with the poor and oppressed? How will we remember the real issues? Here are three suggestions:
"Check out organizations such as ACORN, Southern Poverty Law Center, Colorado Progressive Coalition and 9 to 5 National Association for Working Women. Become an advocate for change regarding issues with real impact: a living wage, health care, and affordable housing.
"Call your Senators and Representative and let them know that no-bid contracts and revoking the minimum wage requirement are not effective strategies for rebuilding the Katrina ravaged areas. For a list of your Senators and Representative, go to www.visi.com/juan/congress/.
"Learn more about the widening gap in education. Economic stratification starts with educational opportunities. College graduates earn nearly twice as much as high school graduates, and people with professional degrees earn nearly twice as much as those with college degrees. A recent Pell Institute Study of Opportunity in Higher Education has revealed that universities have done a wonderful job of educating affluent kids since 1980. But, they have done a "terrible" job of including those from lower-income families. Get involved with scholarship allocation; ask Regis to sponsor more scholarships and programs for those at the bottom of the pyramid. If you are someone of economic privilege, consider making a donation to the Regis endowment fund, earmarking monies for underrepresented student populations at Regis.
We must develop long-term memory when it comes to issues of poverty and racism.