With the election season in full swing, the New York Times has been interviewing people at campaign events across the country. They have been doing this to find out what makes people passionate about politics. One of those interviewed was 17-year-old Ebbie Banks from Palo Alto, California, and poverty and inequality were on his mind.
With one paragraph Banks was able to sum up the issues of poverty and inequality like this:
“I tutored a kid. This little black kid. He looked up to me a lot. One day he asked me, “Mr. Ebbie, is jail a good place to be?” I said, “Why would you ever ask that?” He said: “My daddy’s in jail and he said he gets three meals a day. And sometimes my mom can’t make me food and I’m hungry.” I went home and I cried that night. This is a kindergartner. Teachers told him he was going to jail. I looked at him as a 5-year-old. I didn’t see a criminal. I didn’t see a drug dealer. I didn’t see a rapist. I didn’t see a gangbanger. I saw myself when I was a little kid 10 years ago. The candidates, a lot of them, are from very privileged backgrounds and benefit from a white, male, Christian power structure. And that’s O.K. I don’t think that white people should feel guilty about their privilege. But they should feel a responsibility to acknowledge it.”
In fact, the National Center for Education Statistics reports that:
“In 2013, approximately 15.6 million, or 22 percent, of all children under the age of 18 were in families living in poverty…The percentage of children under age 18 living in poverty varied across racial/ethnic groups. In 2013, the percentage was highest for Black children (39 percent), followed by American Indian/Alaska Native children (36 percent), Hispanic children (32 percent), Pacific Islander children (27 percent), and children of Two or more races (21 percent). The poverty rate was lowest for White and Asian children (13 percent) each.”
While we have many issue to deal with in today’s violent world, we cannot forget the children that have been forgotten for decades. Hopefully the words of Mr. Banks do not fall on deaf political ears.
