Rev. Cassandra Gould
Earlier this month I had the privilege of being a panelist at the Policy Link Summit in Chicago. I spoke as a part of the Closing the Women’s Wealth Gap segment and spoke to how racism has impacted the income and wealth of women of Color especially Black women. As I prepared for the Summit I realized how much we had been on the “defensive team” in our work in Missouri Faith Voices. It has been exhausting but since everyone else has failed our families as faith leaders we know we must stay the course.
We have been closing the wealth gap of women and families in general by defending unsuspecting families and individuals from predators who engage in wealth extraction. Financial predation comes in a myriad of forms including a group of out state (outside of the Metropolitan areas) Missouri State legislators who decided to take food off of the table of poor and working families, many led by women of Color. They extracted wealth when they denied St. Louis and Kansas City officials the right to increase the minimum wage in their respective areas. It includes predatory lenders whom legislators allow to target poor people and people of Color by occupying their communities and stripping them of income by charging interest rates over 400 percent and the judicial system at every level that imposes exuberant fines, fees and excessive cash bail.
We have been putting families first by defending them against these nefarious politicians by working on a ballot initiative to take money out of politics by limiting the amount of money lobbyists can spend on elected officials and to increase the minimum wage at the state level. We have put them first by trying to fight attacks from the new leadership of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau who is more focused on protecting predatory lenders than consumers. We have also been fighting in our state Capitol to pass HB1541, a bill that would put a 36 percent rate cap on predatory lending. We are in the initial phase of working with a coalition to end cash bail in St. Louis and Kansas City; these metropolitan areas have the most nefarious examples of excessive bail.
This is just a segment of our work as it relates to economic justice but as a football fan I can’t help but to wonder, “is the goal of the opponent to keep us on the defense and thereby limit our capacity to build power?” For those of you who aren’t football fans, each football team has offensive and defensive players. The work of justice on the defense is traumatic. For other coaches, don’t forget to huddle with your team, take a time out, celebrate and check the field and to assess what positions your leaders are playing. Are there an equal number of people on offense and defense? Take heart I am reminded by the scripture as found in 2 Kings 6:16 in the First Testament of the Bible. “Do not be afraid, those who are with us are more than those who are against us.”
If we are going to win and make it through this “season” without casualties we must fill all of our positions and employ a strategy that includes the necessary defense but allows for the imagination of the offense. You are invited to join our team if you are in Missouri or a Faith in Action team near you.
Reverend Dr. Cassandra Gould is the Executive Director of Missouri Faith Voices. There are currently chapters in St. Louis, Columbia, Jefferson City and Springfield, MO and a clergy table forming in Kansas City soon. She is also the pastor of Quinn Chapel A.M.E. Church in Jefferson City, MO. You can contact Missouri Faith Voices at info@missourifaithvoices.org
