Kimberly Mcglonn: Questioning the criminalization of poverty and struggle that perpetuates systemic injustice
Dr. Kimberly McGlonn is the founder of Grant Blvd (Instagram: @grantblvd; Facebook: Grand Blvd Clothing), which is a clothing brand committed to creating opportunities in sustainable fashion for marginalized folks in Philadelphia. Dr. McGlonn's 17 years of classroom teaching about marginalization and colonialism have shaped her insights into the intersections of environmental and social justice.
In this podcast episode, Dr. McGlonn sheds light on the connections between climate justice and mass incarceration; why we need to go beyond demonizing individual ‘criminals’ to contextualizing isolated events with the greater system; and more.
To start, get a glimpse below into the conversation between Dr. McGlonn and Green Dreamer Podcast's host, Kamea Chayne.
Musical feature: Trust The Sun by I Need Angels by Adrian Sutherland & Midnight Shine
“The privilege [of those in power] protects their criminality from even being demonized or vilified in the way that it deserves to be. Instead, the public lens is centered on the petty crimes of people who are ultimately navigating the brutality of poverty.”
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This is a conversation on Green Dreamer with Kamea Chayne, a podcast and multimedia journal illuminating our paths towards ecological regeneration, intersectional sustainability, and true abundance and wellness for all. This preview has been edited for clarity. Subscribe to Green Dreamer Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any podcast app, and support Green Dreamer on Patreon so we can keep the show going and accessible to a wider audience!
On criminality being tied more so to power than morality:
"When we talk about criminals, we can talk about white-collar criminals. We can talk about people who robbed the U.S. government and specifically taxpayers millions of dollars in the 2008 Financial Crisis. [We can talk about] people who steal millions of dollars because of the way they evade taxes—that's theft, and it's legal theft.
Because the people who have been given so much power, our legislators, are essentially protecting themselves, and because they are so caught up in this system of criminal behavior, they get a pass. Their criminality gets whitewashed.
Their privilege protects their criminality from even being demonized or vilified in the way that it actually deserves to be. Instead, the public lens is centered on the petty crimes of people who are ultimately navigating the brutality of poverty."
On Black women leading change and revolution:
"The people who created the problem should not be empowered to be the ones who are leading the decisions about change, reformation, or revolution. They're too far away from the problems to see how they created an impact.
That's why I think when we talk about Black women as leaders, we have such a powerful opportunity moving forward and such a missed opportunity looking back to tap into people who can see, based on the intersections of marginalization, exactly what needs to be fixed."
Final words of wisdom:
"Let's keep pushing; let's stay encouraged. Let's make sure that when there are all of these things that we can't control, that we take action where we have control.
We vote with our dollars, we vote with our ballots, and we see that we have a lot of power to create peace and to ease suffering for one another."
