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Ending racism called key to poverty fight
by Robert Delaney of The Michigan Catholic
Published March 28, 2008
Detroit – Any serious approach to fighting poverty must address the connection with racism — or it's bound to fail, says Sr. Cathey DeSantis, CSJ, director of the Detroit Catholic Pastoral Alliance. And she stresses that what's needed is overcoming systemic racism built into institutions and societal structures, not just promoting interracial goodwill and understanding.
"We've been socialized to not understand white privilege," says Sr. DeSantis, explaining that even well-meaning whites are typically unaware of the institutional barriers routinely faced by people of color.
She raises her concerns about racism's role in perpetuating poverty just as the Archdiocese of Detroit considers how to promote discussion of the issues in local parishes.
The effort stems from Catholic Charities USA's call for "conversation and subsequent action" in its document, "Poverty and Racism – Overlapping Threats to the Common Good," released back in January in Detroit. CCUSA wants to reduce by half the number of Americans living in poverty by 2020.
People who fail to understand the link between poverty and racism are likely to become involved in charitable efforts that leave the underlying causes of poverty unaddressed, in Sr. DeSantis' view.
"We can 'do for' people of color forever, but until we get away from the idea of charity and come at it from the standpoint of justice, there won't be any real change," she says.
It is not that there hasn't been some progress against racism over the past half-century, "but it's still a defining characteristic of our society," she says.
White privilege is built into much of American life, and it continues to benefit whites – whether they know it or not – and work to the disadvantage of people of color, Sr. DeSantis maintains.
Tom Foster, a member of St. Alexander Parish in Farmington Hills, says that, without understanding institutional racism, suburban parishioners will likely "ask what white people can do to help black people, and get a warm, fuzzy feeling."
"But the problem is that the system is geared to maintaining racism; our whole society, our system is set-up to foster racism," he adds.
Foster says he has experienced the problem of being pulled over by suburban police for no reason — what some have characterized as DWB, "driving while black." But while he has not been ticketed, Foster says a poor black person working in the suburbs might have to lose a day's pay to fight an unjust ticket or pay several hundred dollars to redeem an impounded car.
"If a black person can't get a job, and drive through a white suburb to get to that job without losing part of his income, what are you going to do about poverty?" he asks.
Cleophus Bradley, who works with Sr. DeSantis as DCPS's director of community development, says he believes the United States "was founded on racist beliefs, and to benefit the dominant group, which is white Europeans."
The result has been "a system of racist institutions and systems that only exist to maintain white power and privilege," says Bradley, a member of Sacred Heart Parish, Detroit.
The DCPA, which has a membership of more than 500 individuals and 10 parishes (nine city and one suburban), includes anti-racism training among its activities.
In her work with the DCPA and the Fair Housing Center, Sr. DeSantis has been on the front lines of the battle against racism, and she can testify that the enemy is far from defeated.
She told of a recent incident where she posed as a prospective tenant to inquire about the availability of an apartment in the suburbs. She said the leasing agent greeted her with "'Oh, I'm so glad to see you – you're exactly what we've been looking for," and showed her four or five available apartments.
But when the woman she was working with showed up immediately after, the same man told her the complex had no units available. "She was the same age and (employment) profile as me, but she was black," Sr. DeSantis explains.
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