Just a few blocks away, two worlds apart

Last week I spent many hours in two higher education institutions in downtown Minneapolis.  At the first institution, I took a 2.5 day finance class for mid-career professionals at the business school. At the other, a community college, I guest lectured at a public policy class.  These two

institutions were a short walk from each other, but worlds apart.

Out of the 25 or so people in the finance class, I was the only person of color. The mantra that was repeated over and over again was that the role of a corporation was increasing shareholder value.  While at least one participant ended up in the program through the dislocated worker program, most  were settled into well paying jobs.  Politics wasn't really discussed except in relation to the instructor's desire to have a balanced federal budget. I don't really know the political leanings of most of the people in the room, but I don't think it would count as progressive.

In the evening, I went to the community college to guest lecture in a public policy class. The student body was diverse and pretty clear that the economy wasn't working for them.  They wanted to know why we couldn't have public policies that supported greater equity.  We talked about the fact that there were still very differing view points in our democracy and that it is a feat to put together political will. I used the first class I was in as an example.

Going between these two classes was jarring.  However, I wonder how we can combine these conversations. How can we shift the conversation to be about how an economy creates value for all?