The
Connection
between
Racism
and
Poverty
The Reality of Economic Privilege
We are pleased to present this document to you. It grew out of our 2006 policy paper: Poverty in America: A Threat
to the Common Good. In that document we called for policy changes to reduce by half the number of Americans
living in poverty by 2020. Catholic Charities USA and Catholic Charities agencies across the country are aware
that we cannot responsibly address the issue of poverty without addressing the impact of race. In our Vision
2000 statement, we recognized the connection and interplay between these issues when we stated that Catholic
Charities USA needs to be "a leader in eradicating racism which permeates our society and its structures." Never
has the urgency to address the issues of poverty and racism been so visible and paramount than during and after
Hurricane Katrina.
Diversity Employers | DiversityEmployers.com | First Semester December 2013 31