Low-income folks believe that middle-class folks won’t stick around. When the going gets tough, they’ll leave. It’s a vicious cycle: it happens so much that there’s no trust, so middle-class people wonder why they should stick around if they’re not trusted. The key is to stick with it even if pushed away. You’ll be tested. Like when [civil rights pioneer] Septima Clark sent me as a white person to a black church meeting, and I came back saying they didn’t want me there. She asked “What did you expect? Now, next time you go…” She kept sending me back to that group until I had built trust.
I really value middle-class activists when they’re willing to stick it through hard times — and I say that coming out of an area where doing this work meant Klan harassment and threats.
— Linda Stout
Latino middle-class activists drive me crazy when they wimp out. When they engage only if it’s convenient and fits into their schedule, and then if it gets uncomfortable, they withdraw. During the Vieques struggle, I saw some folks who have relative comfort and status, who are very committed in their hearts, but who said, “I’m really burned out here, I know you’re struggling but see you later.” We all need vacations, but some withdrew on a long-term basis. I respect someone’s need for sanity and well-being in their lives, but they have the privilege to be able to take a break. They don’t have to deal with the issues.
— Raúl Quiñones Rosado
I organized a classism course with an owning-class woman, and she did a good job at hanging in with me. When I got angry, she’d try to understand and not get mad back. I asked her, “What are you doing here? Why aren’t you walking away?” She said, “I’m committed to supporting you.” She listened to me, asked about my life.
But sometimes she fell through, like dropping a conference workshop we were planning, leaving all the work to me, because “I’m feeling overwhelmed and can’t handle it.” I think she was oblivious to what really being overwhelmed is like.
— Rachel Rybaczuk