Nate Sherry addresses income disparity in Marin County.
When Marin County is mentioned in conversation, what typically comes to mind are the mansions, the coastlines and the state’s top-performing schools. What they do not notice are the households scraping by, the under-resourced schools in certain school districts or the communities living in the shadows of such excesses. As a resident student in Marin, however, it has dawned on me that this county’s wealth gap is not just a statistic — it’s a day-by-day reality affecting lives in different ways.
The contrast is most striking if you compare a place like Tiburon with Marin City. They are worlds apart in terms of opportunity, a short drive from one another. Marin City, a former hub for Black workers in warships in World War II, continues to suffer the long-term consequences of redlining, disinvestment and segregation by race.
Less affluent communities have schools with little in the way of resources, while more affluent communities enjoy great schools and enhancement programs for their students. But the reality is, inequality affects us all in Marin. If families are notable to live in the county in which they are employed, we lose service workers, nurses and teachers. If the public services are strained, we all lose as a community. This is what makes me a proponent of what author and policy advocate Heather McGhee calls the “Solidarity Dividend”-the idea if we stand with one another, regardless of background or class, in fighting issues, we all benefit.
I envision a Marin in which every student has what they need, affordable housing a top priority for the whole community, and in which we stop pretending poverty is someone else’s problem once and for all. My generation will not be silent in the presence of inequality. By speaking, educating or organizing, I know I, along with others can help eliminate Marin’s wealth gap. Because equity is not charity, it’s justice. And it’s about time. With a Perspective, I’m Nate Sherry.