Many popular “awareness months” receive widespread attention every year. This is great, as it raises awareness of important issues affecting the public. Some of these months are filled with corporate sponsorships, social media campaigns and catchy hashtags.
And then there is National Poverty Awareness Month in January, which passes with barely a whisper. People have spent their savings on Christmas holidays, so they don’t want to hear about poverty.
As a society, we prefer to celebrate success stories, particularly those that come with profits. We like to share how company stocks are improving rather than confront uncomfortable truths.
We proudly highlight our trade deals, scientific innovations, technological breakthroughs and global power to show how prosperous we are. We celebrate the lifestyles and wealth of the rich and look to them as our idols. Their overconsumption and lavish lifestyles are shared on social media as if they are what we need to strive for to be happy and prosperous.
When it comes to poverty and acknowledging the profound suffering of many groups of people in our own nation, we tend to grow silent or revert to victim-blaming. Yet the harsh reality of poverty is impossible to ignore. Around 40 million people in the United States—just over 10% of the population—live in poverty.
How can this be true in the wealthiest country in the world?
Furthermore, two of the five poorest counties in the U.S. are located on Native American reservations. The highest poverty rate among any ethnic group is also found among Native Americans, who account for 27.6% of the national poverty rate. These numbers are not only shocking; they are the direct result of a long and devastating history of racism and white privilege directed against Native Americans.
The legacy of poverty among Native peoples did not appear out of nowhere. It is tied to the violent history of colonialism, white supremacy and greed. Through the Doctrine of Discovery and Manifest Destiny, white settlers took Native lands, dismantled economic security, destroyed communities and carried out large-scale massacres.
These unjust acts amounted to genocide, and their consequences continue to shape life in Native communities today.
Yet these harsh realities are rarely discussed. But when we refuse to talk about the past, we allow historical wounds to fester and spread.
Intergenerational poverty persists and we perpetuate the myth that poverty is the fault of those on whom it is inflicted. In truth, these conditions were deliberately created through policy, violence and theft.
If we are to address poverty in America, then we must also address racism, as these issues are deeply intertwined. They are connected through lack of opportunity, limited access to education, health care and housing, environmental harm, and the absence of generational wealth.
Ignoring these truths does not make them disappear. It only widens the gap between those who have resources and those who are denied them.
Recognizing this intersectionality is essential to fighting poverty.
National Poverty Awareness Month gives us a chance to tell the truth, name injustice and address it head-on. It offers an opportunity to understand the intersection of racism, poverty and power in America, and to open the door to healing and restoration.
We cannot move forward as a nation until we confront and reckon with our history of racism with honesty and humility. We must acknowledge the harm it has inflicted on Native communities, Black communities and other marginalized groups. Only then can we work toward equitable policies, reparative justice and a society where dignity is not a privilege, but a shared right.
Poverty is not inevitable. It is the result of societal choices and policies we have made. Yet there are steps we can take as individuals, communities, churches and as a nation.
During this National Poverty Awareness Month, let us choose differently—by telling the truth and working toward the elimination of poverty and racism. Together, we can build a better world free from both.
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Grace Ji-Sun Kim (Ph.D. University of St. Michael’s College) was born in Korea, educated in Canada and now teaches in the USA as Professor of Theology at Earlham School of Religion, Richmond, Indiana. She is the author or editor of 26 books, most recently, Earthbound: God at the Intersection of Climate and Justice.
Kim is the host of Madang podcast which is sponsored by the Christian Century. She blogs on her substack: Loving Life: Loving Life and has written for Huffington Post, The Nation, Sojourners, Baptist News Global, Faith and Leadership and TIME. Kim has appeared on MSNBC, PBS and C-Span. She has been a guest on BBC Radio, Soul Search Radio, WBEZ Radio, and Keep Hope Alive Radio. She is an ordained PC(USA) minister and enjoys being a guest preacher on most Sundays.
