I used to think it was Race. Certainly, racism dominates. But it is not alone. I have come to realize that Class is also dominate. Over the years I have spoken of Cla-sism as the combination of race and class as segregational organization dynamics that serves to sustain the power structure and dominant mores of American society.

But the more I think of this twin dynamic of race and class, I begin to think of the lack of unity on the one hand and yet the fact that many African American and other minorities have been making great strides toward freedom and opportunity. Witness the rise in newscasters, TV personalities, sport figures, Wall Street brokers, and politicians as well as corporate leaders. It would seem that we have made great progress and yet Poverty has risen most amongst minorities and people of color. I am left with the question, what is the undergirding syndrome that serves to weave this stream of injustice that flows with the injustice of inequality, exclusion, and oppression to such a large segment of our populations and affects millions of people world-wide?

To answer this question, I have reflected on the works of Dr. Martin Luther King and Dr. Walter Rauschenbusch of the Social Gospel Movement. Upon reflection, I offer a new concept that is at the root of our problem and is the greatest civil rights and human rights challenge of our time. It is the structural development of “Economic Cleansing” that runs rampant through our institutions and mental attitudes. You see, if you have financial means, it seems to mean that you are a person of greater worth than those who do not. It means a certain degree of social status is granted to you. It means that you are often considered a leader and come to occupy many of the public policy forums that serve to design the core values of our institutions. It means that you are often not affected by the gaps. You get the best health care, the best jobs, the best education, the best living addresses, are accepted in the various status organizations such as country clubs, voluntary associations such as United Ways, the Rotary, philanthropic organizations and other public polity boards that serve up the service mantra for the marginalized and oppressed. All as a result of the rite of passage of economics. So, I say we must learn to study the design of Economic Cleansing and how we can marginalize its power of the idea of what is the worth of an individual.

We must examine critically the core values of the major institutions and focus on the human and civil rights privileges of being a human being in the bosom of the design of our institutions and laws with the full inclusion, equality and justice for all. Economic Cleansing will be our greatest challenge because most feel the system has served them fairly well. Hard to give up the comfort we know. Harder to make sure that this same comfort flows to all that are in our community.

I feel that History is a conveyor belt that has carried us to a new horizon of conscience. One step in this direction is the latest test that many municipalities including Madison are trying out and that is to give income to the poor as a way to lift them out of poverty. What might be the next step? What about corporate social responsibility? In 2019, the Business Round Table developed a new statement of the Purpose of a Corporation and had focused on stakeholders and not just stockholders. Are the corporate leaders ahead of the social movement of our times and recognizing the need to make changes that give the impression of concern for diversity, environment and community? Certainly, it is a unique document that had one leader stating a fear that the American Dream is fraying and another more potent statement of question: What is the relationship of profit to purpose?

It becomes clear to me that the arch of history is bending toward greater justice. We must pick up the moral scrutiny that we as the church and Christian community have been failing. That is justice and equality for all. No longer accepting the blank check with insufficient funds but examining the bank and showing that the depositors own the funds. We must have the moral courage to disrupt the constant stream of injustice for the mighty rivers of justice must flow up and down the valley and the mountaintop.   As we celebrate Dr. King’s legacy, let’s do so with forward thinking. We must break the cycle of one dimensional advocacy. Single issues must be examined in light of the overall syndrome of ridding the dysfunctional rites of passage of economics. We must weave a new garment that serves the interdependency of the Beloved Community. For in the final analysis the injustice allowed in one sphere affects injustice in all spheres. But to focus on righting the overall syndrome of Economic Cleansing shines the spotlight of justice on all aspects of the organizational design of our society.