Poverty and racism "joined at the hip"

Ways to fight area poverty; A York native who became a leader in Vermont, discusses his hometown

by Jeff Frantz

March 3, 2008 | York Daily Record | York, Pennsylvania

Originally published on Feb.23, 2008

Hal Colston went back to some of his old hang outs Saturday morning.

He walked around Penn Park, down Cottage Street, back up George Street. He saw the boarded up homes, the pay-day lending shops and the rent-to-own stores that typify cities dealing with concentrated poverty.

Colston, 54, a York native, now lives in Burlington, Vt., where he has founded two organizations to fight poverty. He has been featured in national publications and will soon be on the Today Show.

He drove 11 hours through a snow storm Friday to be a judge at the Kings & Queens of Soul Food Cook-Off at his old school, Hannah Penn.

He took a few minutes to talk to the York Daily Record/Sunday News about how York might combat poverty.

Q: When you see neighborhoods that are really struggling, what things do you think can be done?

First of all, poverty and racism are really joined at the hip. I really feel when people get to a place when they've given up -- and I'm talking about people of color -- it's usually an issue of their internalized racial oppression.

We learn how to fight each other and woe to the person who's going to get a step above me.

That's underneath some of the issues that are alive here in York. From what I can gather, I think racism is alive and well here as it was when I grew up here. I think having a real, honest conversation about race would be a good starting place.

Q: How do you accomplish that?

A: I know (a group called Everyday Democracy has) some great resources and strategies for bringing people together in study circles, where you have small groups of eight to 10 people, diverse, and they have these hard conversations about race.

The object is to get to know one another, share your stories, identify issues and figure out what we're going to do about these issues. And some of those approaches have been very successful in other cities around the country. I think that has to be part of the equation.

Q: So it's small groups, sitting in a room drinking coffee.

A: Exactly, and getting to know one another. It's a prescribed process, but it's an effective one.

In Burlington, we did this a few years ago and we had about 20 or 25 of these circles. There was a kick-off meeting and there was a wrap-up, and out of the wrap up, some of these issues bubbled to the surface and we decided we're going to take on some of these issues, unpack a lot of the negative pain and history that keeps us from connecting as a community.

Q: In Burlington, how long did it take to have an honest conversation?

It takes time, it's a process. It can be different for each community.

I think the study-circle model took some well-intentioned relationship-building and (created) some action that we can all roll up our sleeves and take part in. That would be a starter for me for this place to become what it ought to be, because you can see it has this depressed sense.

People have to find their voice and if they don't find their voice, then we all lose out, because they need to be part of the solution.

ON THE WEB

Hal Colston started the following organizations

neighborkeepers.org

www.goodnewsgarage.org

Related organization  

www.everyday-democracy.org  

http://www.yorkdailyrecord.com/ci_8348444?source=rss

Learn more: Poverty  | Racial Equity