Looking Upstream

Dear Leading Ladies,

Trigger Warning: We may sound a little preachy this week. 

If you are like us, you are feeling depleted, frustrated, exhausted, a little or a lot devoid of hope, aching to see - and, yes, hug - family and friends from afar, and wishing for a return to some kind of normalcy. 

Most of you reading this, thankfully, have enough food in your refrigerators, are covered by health insurance, live in your own homes, and are financially secure. Covid-19 has not changed that. 

For many in this country, the pandemic has created a new economic crisis. For many more, however, Covid-19 has exacerbated a hand-to-mouth existence they have always endured. The truth is, that in our country of plenty, one in six children goes to bed hungry; one in 30 children is homeless; nearly twice as many Black high school students do not graduate on time as White students, and Black men earn $.87 compared to $1.00 earned by White men for the same work.

What can we do about these inequities?

We can all continue to give money and food to our local food banks and pantries; donate to homeless shelters and after-school programs for students of color. That will, indeed, help in the short run. And, of course, we can encourage people to vote for public officials committed to real positive change.

But we also need to look “upstream” to where these problems begin - to the systems and structures that perpetuate these inequalities and keep them baked into our country’s operations and how we can act as agents of change. We need to look at how our school systems get funded so that a school in Dorchester spends less on each student than a school in Newton. We need to look at how it happens that Black youths are incarcerated for non-violent crimes of drug possession for more time than White felons who rob thousands of people of their life’s savings. 

Of course, we need to find the candidates who are also looking upstream for solutions. But we must also speak with our purses and not spend money on companies that are feeding the system of exclusion. In Winners Take All, author Anand Giridharadas takes on the big companies in Silicon Valley and beyond who create foundations to help the poor while their businesses actually operate in ways that support the continuation of an underclass with salaries below living wages, tax dodging tricks, and more, all the while garnering awards and feel good accolades for themselves. 

So let’s continue to talk about the important issues of racial inequity in so many of our institutions that perpetuate poverty, racism, and exclusion. And let’s make our votes count for candidates who support positive change. And, then, let’s do the harder work of using our privilege to establish equal access and quality for all in our schools, housing, and workplaces, as we help to dismantle the centuries of inequity. Much of that work begins, as Jane Fonda has said of her own journey, within ourselves, through education and understanding of history, and then by working locally in our towns and cities. 

The election may be soon, but the work has just begun.

Stay safe, be well, have hope.

Therese

Judy

Mary

Kim

Leading Ladies Executive Team
LeadingLadiesVote.org