Racism, Poverty and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

A Reflection on the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Disrimination

Today (March 21), the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, it is important to reflect on the connection between race and poverty. In 2021, the poverty rate among racialized Canadians was 12.1%, double the rate of 6.6% among non-racialized Canadians. At the same time, while racialized Canadians make up just over one-quarter (27%) of the population, they constitute almost half (40%) of those living in poverty.

Many reasons have been proposed for the disproportionate impact of poverty on this population. One popular explanation is immigration. According to this theory, racialized persons are more likely to be immigrants and it takes a while to establish oneself in a new country leaving them at greater risk of poverty. Yet, only 1 in 10 racialized persons is in fact a new immigrant, and new immigrants constitute only 7% of those living in poverty.

Other explanations focus on the characteristics of people, such as education, language ability or employment. Yet, racialized Canadians are more likely to have graduated high school and to have a university degree than non-racialized Canadians. The vast majority are also fluent in one of Canada’s official languages, ruling out lack of language ability as a primary explanation. Further, racialized Canadians are more likely to be in the labour force and employed than non-racialized Canadians. Clearly, other factors are at work.

Despite higher levels of education and work activity, racialized Canadians still report lower wages, lower total incomes and greater risk of housing and food insecurity. This leads us to reasonably conclude there are systemic factors that disadvantage racialized persons in particular ways. This is the essence of racial discrimination.

Recently, the federal Government released Canada’s first national poverty strategy. In it, they defined poverty as “The condition of a person who is deprived of the resources, means, choices and power necessary to acquire and maintain a basic level of living standards and to facilitate integration and participation in society.” According to this definition, poverty involves more than just a lack of money, but also a lack of choice, a lack of power and disconnection from the broader society. This, the strategy noted, is a violation of human rights.

In 1948, 75 years ago, the world came together to produce the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is an aspirational document that eloquently describes what is required for human flourishing. Through its various articles it affirms the right to fundamental freedoms, including the right to life and security of the person, to freedom of thought and expression, to the right to democratic political participation. These rights are guaranteed for all people, regardless of factors such as race, which we now take for granted.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights also established other rights that are just as fundamental but have garnered much less attention. In addition to the civil and political rights stated above, it also affirms fundamental economic, social and cultural rights. This includes the right to an adequate standard of living, decent wages, food, housing, education, health care, and social assistance. While the decades long struggle for civil and political rights has largely secured those rights for all people, the same cannot be said of our economic, social and cultural rights. This is particularly true for racialized Canadians.

While the Universal Declaration of Human Rights painted a picture of human flourishing, poverty presents its counterpoint; it is the opposite of human flourishing. As described in Canada’s official definition of poverty, poverty is about more than just a lack of money. Of course, income matters. But poverty also entails levels of social and spiritual deprivation. Social deprivation is the experience of being cut off from the rest of society. Spiritual deprivation is the experience of being devalued, stigmatized, and struggling to find meaning and purpose in life.

While poverty rates give us clues to the connection between race and the material dimension of poverty, racism is a deeper condition that gets at its social and spiritual dimensions. Racism corrodes trust and divides the community depriving everyone of the gifts the other. As such, it is the most profound manifestation of social poverty affecting everyone in society.

At the same time, racism devalues and undermines the dignity of those it targets while providing a distorted sense of identity and meaning among those who perpetrate and sustain it. In this way it is equally the most profound manifestation of spiritual poverty that likewise affects everyone in society.

As we confront extremely turbulent economic, social and political times, it is critical that our communities and systems are resilient. Research has revealed important properties of resilient systems. Resilient systems are characterized by high degrees of diversity, cooperation and trust where power is shared and people are strongly connected with each other.

Racism undermines every one of these properties. In so doing it compromises our ability to work together to confront the challenges we face, reduces our capacity for innovation, and narrows the pool of resources we can collectively access. As a result, our society as a whole is more vulnerable to the impact of unforeseen shocks like pandemics, economic disruption or global political crises. In this way everyone becomes poorer.

In the face of such crises, the Canadian community builder Paul Born notes we have three possible responses. The first response is to withdraw and attempt to isolate ourselves from the stresses around us. The second is to turn against each other, seeking to find others to blame for the mess we seem to be in. Both of these responses undermine our resilience and exacerbate our social and spiritual poverty. The third response, however, is to come together. This is the path out of fear, vulnerability and poverty. This is the path to resilience and abundance.

The preamble to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience …” Racism is an affront to both our conscience and our reason as it undermines the social and spiritual resilience of everyone in society. We are all poorer as a result of it.

Lilla Watson, an Indigenous activist from Australia, once famously stated: “If you have come here to help me you are wasting your time. If, however, you have come here because you have realized that your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.” On this International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, in the 75th year of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, let us work together for the political, economic, social and cultural liberation of us all.