Various community members came together this week in an effort to understand poverty and what it means for children in Walla Walla’s school systems as part of the town’s annual Freedom From Discrimination Month. Dr. Donna M. Beegle, who grew up in poverty and dropped out of high school before earning her GED, her master’s and finally her doctorate, gave the keynote presentation, titled “Freedom From Economic Discrimination: Living in Poverty in a Changing Economy.”

Beegle addressed the general perception people have of their neighbors, classmates and students living in poverty, and challenged commonly-held perceptions of their behaviors and attitudes.

“When you attribute a person’s behavior to their personality, there’s no hope for the people. We don’t contextualize their behaviors,” she said during a talk on Monday afternoon. “We need to separate the people from the evil villain that is poverty.”

Beegle explained that people need to be seen as individuals and they cannot be blamed for their situations. She encouraged her audiences to see the potential in kids.

“We don’t need to lower the standards for children living in poverty. We need to raise them way up! Expect every kid in poverty to get doctorates!,” she said.

Although the majority of Beegle’s audiences were not Whitman students, students that did attend were inspired by her talks.

“I really like the idea of being able to see people’s full potentials and not having negative stereotypes when you first meet them. It’s something I want to be able to do,” said sophomore Ashley Davies.

Community members that did attend were educators, people in health services, social workers, Whitman and Walla Walla Community College professors, neighborhood developers and other community leaders.

“This talk was a very eye-opening experience. I think it’s an easy thing to integrate into my job,” said Cathy Coleman, who works with the Department of Social and Health Services.
Many Whitman and Walla Walla Community College professors required or encouraged their students to attend the talks.

“I certainly know some students who will use this information in their futures, whether they become teachers or not,” said Professor John Kitchens, who teaches a class titled “Educational Equality.”

Professor Melissa Clearfield’s “Developmental Psychology” class attended lectures, and Debbie Conklin, the coordinator for Whitman’s America Reads/America Counts tutor program, encouraged tutors to attend.

Beegle’s talk and the subsequent training focused on how to understand and interact with children living in poverty. She explained they are living in constant crises.

“If you contextualize their behaviors, they’re perfectly normal. How many people who are in crises are on time? If they live with 12 people and none of them can do seventh grade math, how likely is it that they’ll do their math homework?” she asked.

Beegle encouraged people to dispel myths, and presented facts and statistics that might challenge the popular perception of the causes of poverty.

“People don’t get rich off welfare checks. The average welfare check is only $498 a month,” she said. “Poverty is resolvable. It’s resolvable, but we have to put these perspectives on the table. What we need is a paradigm shift.”

Members from all across the community found her message inspirational.
“I thought it was excellent,” said Kitchens. “It was very profound work in a field where a lot of work is needed.”

Other events during Walla Walla’s Freedom From Discrimination Month will include a showing of the French film “Private Fears in Public Places,” Whitman’s annual UN Day Talent Show and the opening of a Native American/Indigenous Art Exhibit. Walla Walla Diversity Coalition organized the Freedom From Discrimination Month, but Beegle’s talk was co-sponsored by many organizations in town, including Whitman College, Walla Walla University, Walla Walla Homeless Coalition, City of Walla Walla and Children’s Home Society, among many other groups.

“I really like the way they hosted it: how integrated it was with the students and the community, because it’s kind of a subject that touches everyone, even if you’re not working with kids or dealing directly with poverty in your everyday life,” said junior Maia Hansen.