When insurrectionists stormed the Capitol Building on June 6, angry over the outcome of the 2020 presidential election, our nation’s lawmakers were attempting to carry out the routine, democratic process of counting the state-certified Electoral College votes. We now know that what is typically a peaceful process went violently awry that afternoon, resulting in injuries and casualties and posing real danger to our democracy.
Lawmakers, everyday citizens, activists, and corporations were quick to condemn unequivocally the violent actions. So did The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts. In a recent statement issued by our leadership team, not only did we condemn what happened, but we also connected the racism exhibited on that day with longstanding systemic racism and its relationship with food insecurity, calling on our local community and the nation to come together to bring about tangible change.
Taken out of historic and present-day context, it may seem like we were attempting to connect three disparate issues with a fictitious narrative. Let’s take a closer look.
Systemic racism continues to exist in under-funded and misguided public policies that disproportionately impact people of color. Consequently, it should come as no surprise that people of color lack educational and economic opportunities, as well as access to affordable housing, health care, healthy food, and so much more.
The legacy of oppression on which our nation was founded has perpetuated policies that trap Black and brown Americans in poverty for generations. Because food insecurity — not having enough healthy food to eat, and hunger — not having anything to eat, are very visible symptoms today of this legacy, our mission includes calling out racism that is driven by systems of public and private institutions rather than individuals.
We believe we must fully recognize systemic racism as a leading underlying cause of the current hunger crisis, which now affects communities of color at twice the rate of communities identifying as white. Only by working together can we eliminate this pandemic of hunger locally and nationally.
Today’s political polarization reinforces systemic racism with cuts to federal safety net programs like SNAP, which provides struggling households with the means to purchase groceries. People of color have long been blamed for America’s social ills and are all-too familiar with the stereotypes of shiftlessness and an inability to govern their own lives as the primary reasons why someone would need food assistance. Little attention is paid to government policies and their underfunding that block people of color from achieving economic gains.
Adding misery to an already charged environment, the raging pandemic has sickened and killed millions of individuals in this country and has temporarily or permanently eliminated millions of jobs, mainly in the low-paying retail and food service industries in which many people of color are employed. African Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and LatinX people are dealing with multiple blows, and are suffering the highest rates of food insecurity and hunger, both of which are at critically high levels locally and nationally.
The Food Bank seeks to partner with people with lived experience, and local food pantries, meal sites and other social service and health care organizations to educate the public about, and eliminate the many underlying causes of, food insecurity and hunger that permeate our public and private institutions.
As we honor Dr. King’s work today, let’s not forget that the systemic racism he sought to dismantle in partnership with others still lives on today. Doing so gives us better clarity to envision an America in which everyone possesses the means to thrive and contribute to our local communities, our nation, and our democracy.
Andrew Morehouse, Executive Director, Christina Maxwell, Director of Programs, and Lillian Baulding Communications & Engagement Officer at The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts