For the last 50 years, a lot of smart, well-resourced people -- some of you, no doubt -- have been trying to figure out how to reduce poverty in the United States. People have created and invested millions of dollars into non-profit organizations with the mission of helping people who are poor.
在过去的五十年里, 许多聪明且足智多谋者, 无疑也包括部分在座的各位, 都在尝试如何减少 美国的贫困人口。 人们创造并投资上百万美金 投入到那些 以帮助穷人为宗旨的非盈利机构。
They've created think tanks that study issues like education, job creation and asset-building, and then advocated for policies to support our most marginalized communities. They've written books and columns and given passionate speeches, decrying the wealth gap that is leaving more and more people entrenched at the bottom end of the income scale. And that effort has helped. But it's not enough. Our poverty rates haven't changed that much in the last 50 years, since the War on Poverty was launched. I'm here to tell you that we have overlooked the most powerful and practical resource. Here it is: people who are poor.
他们组建了智囊团, 以研究例如教育、 创造就业和资产形成等问题, 以及倡导扶持最边缘群体的政策。 他们写了各类的书籍和专栏, 做了各种激动人心的演讲, 来谴责贫富差距 正在使越来越多的人 陷入收入等级的最底层。 这些努力有所成效, 但远远不够。 自《向贫困宣战》起 (美国总统林登·约翰逊于1964年提出),五十年来 我们的贫困率并无太多改变。 在这里我想告诉你们 我们忽视了那份最强大 和最有实效的资源。 那就是: 贫困人群本身。
Up in the left-hand corner is Jobana, Sintia and Bertha. They met when they all had small children, through a parenting class at a family resource center in San Francisco. As they grew together as parents and friends, they talked a lot about how hard it was to make money when your kids are little. Child care is expensive, more than they'd earn in a job. Their husbands worked, but they wanted to contribute financially, too.
图中上左手边的是 乔巴娜、辛西娅和柏莎. 在孩子还小的时候, 她们在旧金山一个 家庭互助中心的育儿班 里相互认识了。 她们一同成长 作为孩子的母亲和彼此的朋友, 聊得最多的就是孩子还小的时候 赚钱的艰辛。 孩子的保育很昂贵, 远远超过了她们工作赚的钱, 她们的丈夫们都有工作, 但她们也想为家中的财务状况 做点贡献。
So they hatched a plan. They started a cleaning business. They plastered neighborhoods with flyers and handed business cards out to their families and friends, and soon, they had clients calling. Two of them would clean the office or house and one of them would watch the kids. They'd rotate who'd cleaned and who'd watch the kids. (Laughs) It's awesome, right?
于是她们萌生了一个计划。 她们展开了一项清洁业务。 她们在邻里各处贴传单, 给亲戚朋友们发名片, 很快,就有顾客给她们来电。 她们中两人去给办公室 或房子做清洁, 另一个人照看孩子。 她们轮流做清洁和看护的工作。 (笑声) 这很棒,对吧?
(Laughter)
(笑声)
And they split the money three ways. It was not a full-time gig, no one could watch the little ones all day. But it made a difference for their families. Extra money to pay for bills when a husband's work hours were cut. Money to buy the kids clothes as they were growing. A little extra money in their pockets to make them feel some independence.
然后她们平分所赚的钱。 这不是一个全天的工作, 没人会一整天都在看孩子。 但这给她们的家庭 带来了巨大的变化。 当丈夫的工作时间被削减时, 她有了额外的钱去支付账单。 也有钱可以为正在正大的 宝贝们买新衣服。 她们口袋里的这点外快 也让她们感到更加独立。
Up in the top-right corner is Theresa and her daughter, Brianna. Brianna is one of those kids with this sparkly, infectious, outgoing personality. For example, when Rosie, a little girl who spoke only Spanish, moved in next door, Brianna, who spoke only English, borrowed her mother's tablet and found a translation app so the two of them could communicate.
右上角是特丽萨和 她的女儿布里安娜. 布里安娜是那样一个 外向的孩子,活泼而富有感染力。 例如,当罗西, 一个只会讲西班牙语的小女孩儿 搬来隔壁的时候, 只懂英语的布里安娜, 借来妈妈的平板电脑,装上了一款翻译软件, 这样她们俩就能够交流了。
(Laughter)
(笑声)
I know, right? Rosie's family credits Brianna with helping Rosie to learn English.
很有意思,对吧? 罗西的家人赞扬 布里安娜帮助罗西学习英语。
A few years ago, Brianna started to struggle academically. She was growing frustrated and kind of withdrawn and acting out in class. And her mother was heartbroken over what was happening. Then they found out that she was going to have to repeat second grade and Brianna was devastated. Her mother felt hopeless and overwhelmed and alone because she knew that her daughter was not getting the support she needed, and she did not know how to help her. One afternoon, Theresa was catching up with a group of friends, and one of them said, "Theresa, how are you?" And she burst into tears. After she shared her story, one of her friends said, "I went through the exact same thing with my son about a year ago." And in that moment, Theresa realized that so much of her struggle was not having anybody to talk with about it. So she created a support group for parents like her. The first meeting was her and two other people. But word spread, and soon 20 people, 30 people were showing up for these monthly meetings that she put together. She went from feeling helpless to realizing how capable she was of supporting her daughter, with the support of other people who were going through the same struggle. And Brianna is doing fantastic -- she's doing great academically and socially.
几年前, 布里安娜在学习上遇到了问题。 她感觉很挫败、变得沉默寡言 还在课堂上开小差。 她的母亲对此十分伤心。 当她们发现她不得不重修二年级课程时, 布里安娜崩溃了。 她的母亲倍感绝望,她不知所措,孤立无援。 因为她知道女儿没有得到应有的帮助, 并且她不知道要如何帮助她。 有一天下午, 特丽萨跟自己的朋友们聚会, 其中一个朋友说 “特丽萨,你好吗?” 然后她的眼泪夺眶而出。 在她讲完自己的故事后, 一个朋友告诉她: “一年前,我和我的儿子也有过同样的经历。” 在那一瞬间, 特丽萨认识到她之所以痛楚 是因为没有人能够与之倾诉。 于是她为跟她一样的父母们 创立了一个互助会。 第一次会面时 只有她跟另外两个人。 但随着口耳相传, 很快就有20人,30人 来到了她组织的每月一次 的会面中来。 她从无助的边缘 到慢慢意识到自己 能够帮助女儿, 都来源于那些与她一样 面对着此类问题的父母们的支持。 现在布里安娜变得极其出色, 她在学业和社交上都做的很棒。
That in the middle is my man Baakir, standing in front of BlackStar Books and Caffe, which he runs out of part of his house. As you walk in the door, Baakir greets you with a "Welcome black home."
中间这个是我的朋友贝吉尔, 他正站在黑星咖啡书屋的门口, 那是他用自己房子的一部分开设的。 当你走进门的时候, 贝吉尔会招呼说: “欢迎光临黑人之家。”
(Laughter)
(笑声)
Once inside, you can order some Algiers jerk chicken, perhaps a vegan walnut burger, or jive turkey sammich. And that's sammich -- not sandwich. You must finish your meal with a buttermilk drop, which is several steps above a donut hole and made from a very secret family recipe. For real, it's very secret, he won't tell you about it.
当你进去后, 可以点一些阿尔及尔烤鸡, 也可以点一个素食核桃汉堡, 或者是火鸡超赞三明治。 不是普通三明治 而是超好吃三明治。 餐点的最后一道一定是乳酪酥, 几颗酪乳酥垒在甜甜圈洞上, 它制作工艺为祖传秘方。 讲真的,这秘方非常神秘, 他不会告诉你的。
But BlackStar is much more than a café. For the kids in the neighborhood, it's a place to go after school to get help with homework. For the grown-ups, it's where they go to find out what's going on in the neighborhood and catch up with friends. It's a performance venue. It's a home for poets, musicians and artists. Baakir and his partner Nicole, with their baby girl strapped to her back, are there in the mix of it all, serving up a cup of coffee, teaching a child how to play Mancala, or painting a sign for an upcoming community event.
但黑星不仅仅是咖啡厅。 对于附近的孩子们来说, 放学后他们可以在这里 做家庭作业。 对于成年人来说, 在这里他们可以 了解到邻里的新鲜事, 以及和朋友们聚会。 这是个表演场所, 是诗人、音乐家以及艺术者的家 贝吉尔和他的妻子妮科尔, 她的背上还背着他们的小女儿, 就在那里料理着一切, 例如泡咖啡, 教孩子下非洲棋 (一种非洲古老的游戏), 或者为一个即将到来的社区活动 刷漆装饰。
I have worked with and learned from people just like them for more than 20 years. I have organized against the prison system, which impacts poor folks, especially black, indigenous and Latino folks, at an alarming rate. I have worked with young people who manifest hope and promise, despite being at the effect of racist discipline practices in their schools, and police violence in their communities. I have learned from families who are unleashing their ingenuity and tenacity to collectively create their own solutions. And they're not just focused on money. They're addressing education, housing, health, community -- the things that we all care about. Everywhere I go, I see people who are broke but not broken. I see people who are struggling to realize their good ideas, so that they can create a better life for themselves, their families, their communities. Jobana, Sintia, Bertha, Theresa and Baakir are the rule, not the shiny exception. I am the exception.
我与这些人一起工作 并学习他们的优点 超过20年之久。 我组织了反对监狱系统的活动, 这对贫困人群有很大的影响, 尤其是在黑人,土著和拉丁裔 影响惊人。 我曾与一群满怀希望与憧憬 的年轻人一起共事, 尽管他们在学校 受到种族主义者的歧视, 或在社区里受到警察的暴力对待。 一些家庭让我受益良多, 他们正在施展着创造力和毅力 以此来共同创造他们出路, 并且他们不仅仅专注于赚钱, 他们致力于教育、家庭、健康、社区, 等这些我们都共同关注的领域。 我所到之处, 看到人们虽然贫困却不潦倒。 我也看到了那些努力奋斗 来实现自己美好理想, 所以他们能给自己、给家庭、给社区 创造出更好地生活。 乔巴娜、辛西娅、柏莎、特丽萨和贝吉尔 都只是其中一员, 而非闪耀的个例。 我才是个例外。
I was raised by a quietly fierce single mother in Rochester, New York. I was bussed to a school in the suburbs, from a neighborhood that many of my classmates and their parents considered dangerous. At eight, I was a latchkey kid. I'd get myself home after school every day and do homework and chores, and wait for my mother to come home. After school, I'd go to the corner store and buy a can of Chef Boyardee ravioli, which I'd heat up on the stove as my afternoon snack. If I had a little extra money, I'd buy a Hostess Fruit Pie.
我自幼在纽约的罗切斯特 由严厉的单亲妈妈抚养成人。 我每天都从社区里乘公共汽车 去往位于郊区的学校, 而我的很多同学和他们的父母 都觉得这样上学很危险。 八岁的时候, 我成了挂钥匙儿童。 每天放学我都自己回家, 然后做作业、做家务, 然后等着妈妈回家。 放学后,我会到家附近的商店去 买一罐Chef Boyardee意大利水饺, 放在烤炉里热一下, 就成了我的午后点心。 如果我得到一些零钱, 我会买一个“女主人水果派”
(Laughter)
(笑声)
Cherry. Not as good as a buttermilk drop.
樱桃做的。 不如酪乳酥好吃。
(Laughter)
(笑声)
We were poor when I was a kid. But now, I own a home in a quickly gentrifying neighborhood in Oakland, California. I've built a career. My husband is a business owner. I have a retirement account. My daughter is not even allowed to turn on the stove unless there's a grown-up at home and she doesn't have to, because she does not have to have the same kind of self-reliance that I had to at her age. My kids' raviolis are organic and full of things like spinach and ricotta, because I have the luxury of choice when it comes to what my children eat.
小的时候,我们家很穷。 但现在,我的家在 加州奥克兰大 一个快速中产阶级化的社区中。 我有了自己的事业, 而我的丈夫是个企业主。 我有一个退休账户。 我的女儿甚至禁止开烤箱 除非家中有大人在 而她其实不需要那么做, 因为她不需要有像我小时候那样 有独立自主能力。 我的孩子们吃天然有机的意大利水饺, 全是菠菜和意大利干酪之类的馅儿。 因为我有能力选择奢侈一些的食物 给我的孩子们吃
I am the exception, not because I'm more talented than Baakir or my mother worked any harder than Jobana, Sintia or Bertha, or cared any more than Theresa. Marginalized communities are full of smart, talented people, hustling and working and innovating, just like our most revered and most rewarded CEOs. They are full of people tapping into their resilience to get up every day, get the kids off to school and go to jobs that don't pay enough, or get educations that are putting them in debt. They are full of people applying their savvy intelligence to stretch a minimum wage paycheck, or balance a job and a side hustle to make ends meet. They are full of people doing for themselves and for others, whether it's picking up medication for an elderly neighbor, or letting a sibling borrow some money to pay the phone bill, or just watching out for the neighborhood kids from the front stoop.
我是那个例外, 不是因为我比贝吉尔更有才能, 也不是因为我的母亲比乔巴娜, 辛西娅和柏莎更努力工作, 更不是因为她比特丽萨更关心我。 边缘社区充斥着聪明 而有天赋的人们, 他们奔忙着,工作着以及创新着。 就像那些最受尊敬 和最多报酬的CEO们一样。 那里的人们充满了韧性, 每天都不停歇, 送他们的孩子上学 做那些薪水低廉的工作。 或者接受让他们债台高筑的教育。 那里的人们穷尽所能, 对最低薪的工作也全力以赴, 或是协调工作与副业 使收支平衡。 有许许多多这样 不仅为自己也为他人着想的人, 他们会为上了年纪的邻居带药, 借钱给付不起电话账单 的兄弟姐妹, 或是在门廊前照看着 邻居家的孩子。
I am the exception because of luck and privilege, not hard work. And I'm not being modest or self-deprecating -- I am amazing.
我之所以例外 是因为幸运和特权, 并非来自于努力工作。 当然我不会 自谦或者妄自菲薄—— 我很了不起。
(Laughter)
(笑声)
But most people work hard. Hard work is the common denominator in this equation, and I'm tired of the story we tell that hard work leads to success, because that allows --
但是大部分人都在努力工作。 努力工作是成功整式 中的一公分母, 我也疲于提及我们常说的 努力工作将导向成功, 因为这——
Thank you.
谢谢你们。
(Applause)
(掌声)
... because that story allows those of us who make it to believe we deserve it, and by implication, those who don't make it don't deserve it. We tell ourselves, in the back of our minds, and sometimes in the front of our mouths, "There must be something a little wrong with those poor people." We have a wide range of beliefs about what that something wrong is. Some people tell the story that poor folks are lazy freeloaders who would cheat and lie to get out of an honest day's work. Others prefer the story that poor people are helpless and probably had neglectful parents that didn't read to them enough, and if they were just told what to do and shown the right path, they could make it.
……因为这类话让已经成功的我们 认为这一切都是应得的, 言外之意是, 那些没成功者都是咎由自取。 我们常常,在脑海中, 在嘴上告诉自己, “可怜之人必有可恨之处。” 我们对这个可恨之处 深信不疑。 有些人可能会说 穷亲戚都是些不速之客 他们天天撒谎欺骗而不干一件正事。 另一些人则更加愿意相信 穷人大多是无助的 或许有着不称职的父母 对他们疏于管教, 如果你告诉他们如何做 并指出一条明路, 他们会成功的。
For every story I hear demonizing low-income single mothers or absentee fathers, which is how people might think of my parents, I've got 50 that tell a different story about the same people, showing up every day and doing their best. I'm not saying that some of the negative stories aren't true, but those stories allow us to not really see who people really are, because they don't paint a full picture. The quarter-truths and limited plot lines have us convinced that poor people are a problem that needs fixing. What if we recognized that what's working is the people and what's broken is our approach? What if we realized that the experts we are looking for, the experts we need to follow, are poor people themselves? What if, instead of imposing solutions, we just added fire to the already-burning flame that they have? Not directing -- not even empowering -- but just fueling their initiative.
所有我听过的 妖魔化低收入单身母亲 或者缺席父亲的故事, 都有可能是人们 看待我的父母的眼光。 关于同一群人 我曾听过五十个不同的故事, 每天极尽所能把每件事做到最好。 我并不否认 这些负面的故事的真实性, 但这些故事 使我们无法看到真实的他们, 因为这些故事只代表事情的一面。 这些片面的真相和 狭隘的情节使我们坚信 贫困人群是 我们亟需解决的问题。 要是我们承认 有问题的并非工作者, 有问题的是我们的晋升途径 会如何? 要是我们意识到我们所研究 所探寻, 所需要理解的, 恰恰是穷人本身会如何? 要是, 将那些强加给他们的解决方案, 换做在他们 已经燃起的火焰中添把火 又会如何? 不那么直接—— 甚至不是给予—— 只是激起他们的自主性。
Just north of here, we have an example of what this could look like: Silicon Valley. A whole venture capital industry has grown up around the belief that if people have good ideas and the desire to manifest them, we should give them lots and lots and lots of money.
在北部这个地方, 我们就有一个 这样的列子: 硅谷。 整个风投产业成长源于一个 坚实的信条 那就是如果人们的想法足够好, 且渴望去实现它, 我们就应该给他们 投入许多许多许多的钱。
(Laughter)
(笑声)
Right? But where is our strategy for Theresa and Baakir? There are no incubators for them, no accelerators, no fellowships. How are Jobana, Sintia and Bertha really all that different from the Mark Zuckerbergs of the world? Baakir has experience and a track record. I'd put my money on him.
对吗?但是我们对 特丽莎和贝吉尔是怎么做的呢? 他们没有孵化器, 没有加速器,没有奖金。 那么巴娜,辛西娅和柏莎呢? 她们的世界真的与 马克扎克伯格有着天壤之别吗? 贝吉尔经验丰富 有着很好的业绩。 我为他投资。
So, consider this an invitation to rethink a flawed strategy. Let's grasp this opportunity to let go of a tired, faulty narrative and listen and look for true stories, more beautifully complex stories, about who marginalized people and families and communities are.
所以,将现在当做 一个重新审视错误决策的邀请。 让我们紧抓这次机会 忘掉那些陈旧且漏洞百出的故事 去倾听和寻找真正的故事, 那些更加美好而曲折的故事, 它们叙述着那些边缘化的 人们、家族、团体。
I'm going to take a minute to speak to my people. We cannot wait for somebody else to get it right. Let us remember what we are capable of; all that we have built with blood, sweat and dreams; all the cogs that keep turning; and the people kept afloat because of our backbreaking work. Let us remember that we are magic. If you need some inspiration to jog your memory, read Octavia Butler's "Parable of the Sower." Listen to Reverend King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail." Listen to Suheir Hammad recite "First Writing Since," or Esperanza Spalding perform "Black Gold." Set your gaze upon the art of Kehinde Wiley or Favianna Rodriguez. Look at the hands of your grandmother or into the eyes of someone who loves you. We are magic. Individually, we don't have a lot of wealth and power, but collectively, we are unstoppable. And we spend a lot of our time and energy organizing our power to demand change from systems that were not made for us. Instead of trying to alter the fabric of existing ways, let's weave and cut some fierce new cloth. Let's use some of our substantial collective power toward inventing and bringing to life new ways of being that work for us.
我想花点时间 对这些与我一样的人说。 我们不能等待着 别人会去修正它。 谨记,我们的才干; 我们用血汗和梦想造就的一切; 那些不停运转的齿轮; 和那些熙来攘往的人群 都是因为有我们艰苦工作身影。 谨记我们就是传奇。 如果你需要某些灵感去 牵动你的记忆, 去读奥克塔维亚.巴特勒的 《播种者格言》 去听瑞伍德.金的 《一封来自伯明翰监狱的信》 听苏海尔.哈马德背诵的 《第一行诗》 或是艾斯帕伦沙.斯波尔丁表演的 《黑金》 凝视凯欣德·威利创作的 关于菲安娜.洛奇戈的艺术作品。 看看你祖母的双手 或是注视你所爱之人的双目。 我们就是传奇。 作为单独的个体, 我们没有太多的财富与权势, 但作为一个整体, 我们是无法阻挡的。 我们花费了大量的时间和经历 组织力量去改变那些 本就不是为我们而设计的系统。 不要试着去修改 一匹布料存在的方式, 而是去编制和裁切新的布料。 让我们运用集体的力量 去为我们的生活发明和创造 一些为我们所服务的方式。
Desmond Tutu talks about the concept of ubuntu, in the context of South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation process that they embarked on after apartheid. He says it means, "My humanity is caught up, is inextricably bound up, in yours; we belong to a bundle of life." A bundle of life. The Truth and Reconciliation process started by elevating the voices of the unheard. If this country is going to live up to its promise of liberty and justice for all, then we need to elevate the voices of our unheard, of people like Jobana, Sintia and Bertha, Theresa and Baakir. We must leverage their solutions and their ideas. We must listen to their true stories, their more beautifully complex stories.
戴斯蒙德.图图讲过 乌班图的概念, 南非在真相与和解的进程下 他们着手于种族隔离之后的重建。 他说这意味着, “你我的人性, 不可避免地将相互依存相互维系; 我们同属一种生命。“ 同一种生命。 真相与和解的进程 始于倾听那些被忽视的呼声。 如果这个国家要向所有人 兑现她所承诺的自由与公正, 那么我就需要倾听 那些被忽视的呼声, 来自于那些像 乔巴娜、辛西娅、柏莎 特丽莎和贝尔金 这样的人们。 我们必须借助他们的 方式和他们的想法。 我们必须倾听他们 最真实的故事, 那些更加美好又曲折的故事。
Thank you.
谢谢大家。
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