The awkward conversations and stilted silence in office lunchrooms and around family dinner tables recently bear witness to the reality that racism in our society remains alive yet hidden. Most of us can’t and won’t discuss its continued pervasiveness and detrimental effect on all of us. Recently, politics forced the issue to the surface.

And it’s about time.

Americans are long overdue to reactivate the tough conversation about racism, a topic we can no longer afford to bury and avoid. The economic and moral costs for all of us are simply too high. Our country cannot prosper unless all of us prosper.

The fact that people suggest changing the topic to the economy or our nation’s future under the guise of “that’s what people want to hear” proves we have little ability to talk about racism and that we deny its ties to our economic and national security.

Our Country Cannot Prosper Unless All of Us Prosper
You can’t serve the poor very long without noticing the link between poverty and race. Looking at the issue of poverty and race more deeply, one begins to understand that our nation’s wellbeing and physical and economic security are intricately intertwined with eradicating racism. Consider these facts:

• 24.3 percent of African Americans live in poverty – 3 times the rate for whites
• 35 percent of African American children live in poverty – 4 times the rate for whites
• 12.9 percent of African Americans are unemployed – 3 times the rate for whites

America cannot thrive, nor will our economy permanently improve, until we end racism. When fully one-third of Americans will face additional barriers to economic and social achievement solely because of their race, the country cannot succeed.

A study published this month in the journal Health Affairs found that African American and Latino children in America are “more than 12 times as likely as white children to…live in both low-income families and poor neighborhoods,” according to reports on the study. In February, the American Association for the Advancement of Science reported that children who live in very poor families with low social status “experience unhealthy levels of stress hormones, which impair their neural development,” according to articles on the study. The effect of those hormones is “on top of any damage caused by inadequate nutrition and exposure to environmental toxins.”

Racism is a Violation of the Dignity of the Human Person
Put simply, people of color face higher odds in achieving economic independence by virtue of where and to whom they were born.

It was, to be honest, easier to discuss racism when it was overt, when signs directed white people to one drinking fountain and people of color to another. Today we repaint racist comments as jokes and concerns about racism as overreactions.

Minnesotans by and large think racism doesn’t exist in our above-average state. Not only does it exist, but our refusal to call it by name fuels its growth. It’s not difficult to find somewhat-hushed conversations about “if only they would get a job” or “if only they were willing to work hard.” The comments illustrate the glaring lack of understanding about economic and social barriers that prevent a third of Americans from succeeding.

We have a moral mandate to undo the egregious injustice of racism. Racism is a violation of the dignity of the human person. Violating human dignity is ultimately self destructive. We must name racism and all discrimination for the sins that they are and actively seek ways to exterminate their existence. Failure to act is morally unacceptable.

The Rev. John Estrem is CEO of Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis. The Rev. Paul Robinson, M.Div., is Senior Leadership Consultant for the J. P. Shannon Leadership Institute at Wilder Foundation and the former Director of Spiritual Care at Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis. They co-chair Catholic Charities’ Racial Justice Committee.


Read more about Catholic Charities USA's Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America and the connection between race and poverty.