Racism is a way to gain economic advantage at the expense of others. Slavery and plantations may be gone, but racism still allows us to regard those who may keep us from financial gain as less than equals.
Interpretation
Racism enables individuals to profit financially by devaluing others based on race.
Alveda King's quote highlights the persistent economic motivations behind racism, suggesting that while overt practices like slavery may have ended, the underlying attitudes that dehumanize certain groups continue to exist. This devaluation allows some individuals to justify their actions that prioritize personal financial gain over equality and justice for all.
In practice
This quote can be used in discussions about the importance of diversity in economic opportunities during a seminar.
Abortion and racism are both symptoms of a fundamental human error. The error is thinking that when someone stands in the way of our wants, we can justify getting that person out of our lives. Abortion and racism stem from the same poisonous root, selfishness.
Racism springs from the lie that certain human beings are less than fully human. It's a self-centered falsehood that corrupts our minds into believing we are right to treat others as we would not want to be treated.
My father was at the forefront of the economic justice movement - fighting for and with Black women who were on welfare for dignity and for enough support to feed their families, shelter their kids.
(Farm workers) are involved in the planting and the cultivation and the harvesting of the greatest abundance of food known in this society. They bring in so much food to feed you and me and the whole country and enough food to export to other places. The ironic thing and the tragic thing is that after they make this tremendous contribution, they don't have any money or any food left for themselves.
There are vivid memories from my childhood - what we had to go through because of low wages and the conditions, basically because there was no union. I suppose, if I wanted to be fair, I could say that I'm trying to settle a personal score. I could dramatize it by saying that I want to bring social justice to farm workers.
I don't want our white working class sisters and brothers to feel as though their pain is not important because it is. But at the same time, I want my white sisters and brothers to understand that when we talk about income and wealth inequality, that disproportionately African Americans suffer a little more.
If the market is left to sort matters out, social injustice will be heightened and suffering in the community will grow with the neglect the market fosters.
Exploitation. Now, there's a word that has been scrubbed out of the poverty debate.
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