Don’t Misunderstand Equity

Written by Tim Buckley, March 2025

Hampton earned a master’s degree in applied mathematics from Alabama State University.  He taught engineering at North Salem High School and currently leads the Drone Technology and Robotics laboratories at Salem-Keizer’s Career Tech Education Center.

“Equity is our common goal. Progress means bridging the gap between society’s goals and the unmet needs of families. We can identify what those needs are. Equity is achieved when everybody gets equal access to opportunities, when the pathway to success isn’t tiered.

“The weakest will receive what they need, and any extra will then be allocated to where the next greatest need is,” he added. “When those negatively affected begin to see results, they must then become the champions for the next push, not just take what they’ve gained and run away.”

“Achieving equity should not be viewed as a war,” Hampton emphasized. “If you look at equity though a systems lens, we all gain when the least among us gains. No matter where you are in the system, each one of us must have skin in the game.”

To make his point, Hampton retold this story by the actor and comedian Chris Rock:

“When I was poor, my car was always breaking down. At first, I would get out and stand at the side of the highway, next to my car, with my thumb out. I’d stand there for 20 minutes, sometimes an hour, and nobody stopped. But then I decided on a different strategy. I got behind my car and began pushing it. Immediately, somebody would stop and offer help. Sometimes, they’d even help me push.”

We’ve all driven by people stranded on the roadside. CBEL’s mission is to pull over long enough to notice what’s going on in our poorest neighborhoods. They aren’t standing idly by with a thumb out; they’re busy pushing their neighborhood from behind. They’ve got skin in the game. Noticing their need, we’ve stopped our own progress long enough to come alongside them and help push.