Tuesday, February 13, 2007

On Poverty

The project I'm working on with a team of other leaders for Leadership Charlotteville centers on poverty. The reason for this is that over 25 percent of our population is living at or below the federal poverty level. We're trying to define it, raise awareness and present opportunities for those interested in volunteering or contributing to organizations that can help.

Poverty, therefore, is a topic that has been on my mind quite a bit.

What it isn't: poverty is not merely being poor. A person living in poverty is not one who has missed a few car payments or who is barely making enough to make ends meet. Poverty is without hope. It is a state of not even being able to conceptualize a way to pull oneself out of a dire situation. It is generational; it has its own culture. Poverty is a state of barely being able to live, and living is precarious. People who are impoverished may not even know it. Why? Because their state of living is all they've ever known and the daily struggle to keep body and soul together is all consuming, a real-live Survivor without the payoff at the end.

I found this wonderful, moving piece "What is Poverty" today. It was originally published in America's Other Children: Public Schools Outside Suburbs, by George Henderson in 1971 by the University of Oklahoma Press. This is what poverty is, and it's right here, among us.

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Monday, February 12, 2007

Generational Lessons on Diversity

Diversity is a topic that takes some explanation; children, those raised in colorblind schools with special needs kids mainstreamed alongside them, may not immediately understand the bigger generational issues that the word and concept of diversity conjure.

Diversity is, as I've heard it defined, anything or anybody that is different than you. For me, that's anybody who's not white, Catholic, a woman, a mom, someone who works at home, people who were born in 1970, etc. The not me.

I've noted in recent weeks those in generations before mine who still openly display intolerance for others who are different. It's tolerated by others, particularly when our parents' or grandparents' generational groups utter slurs we wouldn't dream of using ourselves. We don't because, somewhere along the line we realized, even though those raising us used these terms, they were not terms we wanted to add to our vocabularies. We heard them though; we know what they are. Once in awhile I will be exposed to a new epithet. I am always shocked at its use, feel naive and upset (often I don't immediately understand it so there's a combination of confusion, ignorance and dismay that describes my reaction.) I don't want to hear any new names for "the others;" I have far too many in the back of my head as it is.

There are names, of course, for what I am: breeder, cracker, redneck, hoosier . . . and so many more I won't utter or share. You know them too and like me, bury them in a subconscious that won't use them. Or maybe you do, freely and joyfully intermingle slurs and epithets throughout your colorful language, devil may care, he had so many names, too.

It's an unconscious effort on my part. I'm devoted to sensitivity. For others who haven't grasped the importance, who do not understand the concept, I wonder if they're passing along these words, the language of a lack of diversity, a lack of cultural, gender, racial, religious and other understanding, to their children, the ones who only look at one anther and see people.

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Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Partyin' with the Class of '06

Friday night, the LC Class of 2006 got together for a party at a very generous classmate's home. It was the first time I'd introduced my husband to the group. It struck me, as many of us hugged our hellos and goodbyes, as I thrilled to see classmates I hadn't seen since before the holidays, as we laughed and caught up on one another's lives, how amazingly close some of us have become. Mark said, "Isn't that the point, though, to develop relationships in this group?" Well of course but it's just so great that it's worked so well. There are so many people in this class that I genuinely like, that I have missed without the opportunity to interact weekly.

Walking into that party, it was like coming home.

Mark even managed to make a few friends in the group, which is great since I plan to have the gang over when it gets warm out again.