Poverty and racism: How we think and talk about poverty reduction matters

Authors

  • Jacob Alhassan University of Saskatchewan
  • Colleen Christopherson-Cote Saskatoon Poverty Reduction Partnership

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15402/esj.v10i1.70848

Keywords:

Poverty reduction, advocacy, anti-racism, discourse

Abstract

There is a close connection between poverty and racism yet insufficient literature integrates anti-racist praxis in poverty reduction work. We draw here on the first stage of a project that brought together the Saskatoon Poverty Reduction Partnership (SPRP) and the Saskatchewan Anti-Racism Network (ARN) to explore possibilities for better alignment of the advocacy of both organizations. We conducted a media discourse analysis of 462 newspaper articles systematically extracted from grey literature site Factiva on how poverty reduction is framed and how media reportage links poverty and racism in Saskatchewan. We find that very few newspaper articles published on poverty reduction focus on the connections between poverty and racism. Additionally, there are four dominant ways of framing poverty reduction namely: i) the cost framing of poverty reduction ii) the shame and embarrassment framing of poverty reduction iii) the human rights framing of poverty reduction and iv) the root cause analyses of poverty reduction. The cost and shame framings of poverty reduction may further marginalize or de-center those living in poverty compared to the human rights and root cause framings. More explicit connection needs to be made between poverty reduction work and anti-racist praxis for effective advocacy. 

Author Biographies

Jacob Alhassan, University of Saskatchewan

is an Assistant Professor in Community Health and Epidemiology at University of Saskatchewan. He is trained in health administration, global health, African studies and population health from the universities of Ghana, Durham, Oxford and Saskatchewan. He is an activist scholar interested in the poverty-racism-health nexus. Email: jacob.alhassan@usask.ca 

Colleen Christopherson-Cote, Saskatoon Poverty Reduction Partnership

is the coordinator of the Saskatoon Poverty Reduction Partnership. She been working in community economic development for over 15 years across Saskatchewan. She has extensive knowledge on the complexity of human service systems and the intricacies of how policy and practice indirectly and directly impact community, particularly those who are most vulnerable, marginalized and oppressed.

References

Alhassan, J. A. K., Smith, C., & Hanson, L. (2021). Politics, transportation, and the people’s health: a socio-political autopsy of the demise of a 70-year-old bus company. Critical Public Health, 32(4), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1080/09581596.2021.1905152

Anaya, J. S., & William, R. A. (2001). The Protection of Indigenous Peoples’ Rights over Lands and Natural Resources under the Inter-American Human Rights System. Harvard Human Rights Journal, 14(33).

Baldwin, C. (2020, March 26). Child poverty in Saskatchewan. The Canadian Press.

Beedie, N., Macdonald, D., & Wilson, D. (2019). Towards Justice : Tackling Indigenous Child Poverty in Canada.

Best Start Resource Centre. (2012). Why am I poor? First Nations Child Poverty in Ontario. Toronto. Campaign 2000. (2021). Report Card on Child and Family Poverty in Canada. Toronto.

Canada & the World Backgrounder. (2006, January 1). Hitting rock bottom. Canada & the World Backgrounder.

Cheek, J. (2004). At the margins? Discourse analysis and qualitative research. Qualitative Health Research, 14(8), 1140–1150. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732304266820

Colour of Poverty. (2019). Factsheet #2: An introduction to racialized poverty. Retrieved from https://colourofpoverty.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/cop-coc-fact-sheet-2-an-introduction-toracialized-poverty-3.pdf

Cooper, J. (2012, November 25). Investing in people wise policy. The Star Phoenix.

Cronin, D. (2012). Women and Austerity. Irish Marxist Review, 1(1), 30–33. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203066294

Daschuk, J. (2013). Clearing the plains: Disease, politics of starvation and the loss of Aboriginal life. Regina: University of Regina Press.

Deibert, D. (2018, June 19). Desnethe-Missinippi-Churchill River has second highest child poverty rate in Canada. Post Media Breaking News.

Giesbrecht, L. (2021, July 8). “You’re really left behind:” Internet divide creates barriers for those in poverty. Post Media Breaking News.

Graham, J. (2016). Some progress, but helping kids has stalled: former Saskatchewan child advocate. The Canadian Press.

Hall, S. (2009). The work of representation. In S. Hall (Ed.), Representation: Cultural representation and signifying practices (pp. 13–75). London: Sage Publications.

Hengen, G. (2016, December 16). Finding a home at the food bank Lauri O’Connor. The Saskatoon Star Phoenix.

Hoffman, A. J. (2021). The engaged scholar: Expanding the impact of academic research in today’s world. California: Stanford University Press.

Jones, D. S. (2004). Rationalizing Epidemics: Meanings and Uses of American Indian Mortality since 1600. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Lloydminster Meridian Booster. (2014, January 13). Government invests $3 million for First Nations and Metis students. Lloydminster Meridian Booster.

Lutz, J. (2009). Makúk: A New History of Aboriginal-White Relations. Vancouver: UBC Press.

Manuel, A., & Derrickson, M. (2015). Unsettling Canada. Toronto: Between the Lines.

Martin, D., & Meili, R. (2015, August 27). Basic income: Just what the doctor ordered. Toronto Star.

McLean, S. (2018). “We built a life from nothing”: White settler colonialism and the myth of meritocracy. Regina.

Mumford, C. (2016). Le(e/a)ks1 : Being Anishinaabekwe on the Land Is Political. English Journal, 106(1), 31–37.

Nussbaum, M. (2003). Capabilities as fundamental entitlements : Sen and social justice. Feminist Economics, 9(2–3), 33–59. https://doi.org/10.1080/1354570022000077926

Nussbaum, M. (2013). Creating capabilities: The human development approach. Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press.

Pringle, B. (2014, November 20). Children’s rights get short shrift. The Saskatoon Star Phoenix.

Public Health Agency of Canada. (2021). Government of Canada helps to address health and social inequities in Saskatchewan. Retrieved September 1, 2023, from https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/news/2022/09/government-of-canada-helps-to-address-health-and-socialinequities-in-saskatchewan4.html

Radford, E. (2014, November 25). One in four Sask. kids live in poverty. Post Media Breaking News.

Regina Leader Post. (2016, February 25). Saskatchewan wants to cut poverty levels in half by end of 2025. Regina Leader Post.

Saskatoon Poverty Reduction Partnership. (2019). 12 Bold ideas to eliminate poverty in Saskatoon. Retrieved September 1, 2023, from https://www.saskhealthquality.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/SPRP12BoldIdeasToEliminatePoverty.pdf

Sen, A. (2000). Poverty, Inequality and Health. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Talbot, S. (2006). Spiritual Genocide: The Denial of American Indian Religious Freedom, from Conquest to1934. Wicazo Sa Review, 21(2), 7–39.

Treviño, A. J., Harris, M. A., & Wallace, D. (2008). What’s so critical about critical race theory? Contemporary Justice Review, 11(1), 7–10. https://doi.org/10.1080/10282580701850330.

Tuck, E., & Yang, K. W. (2012). Decolonization is not a metaphor. Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education & Society, 1(1), 1–40.

Willig, C. (2013). Introducing qualitative research in psychology. Berkshire: Open University Press.

Downloads

Published

2024-04-26

How to Cite

Alhassan, J., & Christopherson-Cote, C. (2024). Poverty and racism: How we think and talk about poverty reduction matters. Engaged Scholar Journal: Community-Engaged Research, Teaching, and Learning, 10(1), 34–44. https://doi.org/10.15402/esj.v10i1.70848

Issue

Section

Reports from the Field

Similar Articles

<< < > >> 

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.