Poverty is violence

Fifty years after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., there has been an outpouring of tributes, remembrances, and expositions on his life, legacy, and enduring influence in 2018. And numerous scholars and activists alike have used the anniversary of his death to further explicate what many of them view as the principle reasons for his assassination, particularly as they relate to his stance on the war in Vietnam and his idea for a Poor People’s Campaign. It was Dr. King’s clarion call – they have argued – to conquer the “giant triplets of evil” (racism, militarism, and extreme materialism) that accelerated the actions of those that wanted him “neutralized,” when all he sought to do was end poverty, hatred, and destruction.  

Our Executive Director, Dr. Clarence Hightower, has previously written about what he terms “the tolerance of poverty,” asking why do we allow it to persist. Dr. King’s wife and a Civil Rights activist in her own right, the late Corretta Scott King spoke to this question as well noting that the persistence of poverty is not due to a “deficit in human resources,” but rather a “deficit in human will.”  It is another quote from Ms. King, which wholeheartedly should, but unfortunately does not reflect our fundamental view of poverty. She proclaimed “I must remind you that a starving child is violence. Neglecting school children is violence. Punishing a mother and her family is violence. Discrimination against a working man is violence. Ghetto housing is violence. Ignoring medical need is violence. Contempt for poverty is violence.”

It’s no surprise then that America is by far the developed world’s most violent society. As Dr. King feared we would, America continues to place profit above people, property rights above human rights, corporations above communities, and self-indulgence above social justice. Gandhi once said that “poverty is the worst form of violence.” That’s why it must be eliminated.         

Tony Kiene is the Executive Writer at Community Action Partnership of Ramsey & Washington Counties His 22 years of nonprofit and entertainment experience consists of service to The Minneapolis Urban League, Penumbra Theatre Company, Hallie Q. Brown Community Center, the Black United Fund of Oregon, and Pepé Music, Inc. Additional experience includes work as a Graduate Research Intern / Archivist at Stanford University’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute and Graduate Teaching Fellow at the University of Oregon. He holds a B.A. in sociology and African American Studies and an M.A. in American Studies, both  from Purdue University. Some of Tony’s other work has been published in Nommo, Community Times, Black Theatre Network, Insight News, Black Classic Press, Collegiate Press, and Reo Deo.