Poverty, by Memphis

613 University Street,Memphis TN 38112

30 May, 2023

Description

Why is there so much poverty in the United States, the richest nation in the world? To find the answer, argues Pulitzer-Prize winning author Matt Desmond, don’t look at people experiencing poverty. Look at those who enjoy lives of plenty. In his New York Times bestseller “Poverty, by America,” Desmond challenges us to see how we benefit from poverty. And he wants us to consider what we’d to give up to abolish it. Join MLK50: Justice Through Journalism and the Institute for Public Service Reporting for a community conversation on May 30 with Desmond. This free event will be at Rhodes College’s McNeill Concert Hall, 613 University St., Memphis, TN 38112. Doors open at 6 p.m; the event begins promptly at 7 p.m. The first 200 attendees will receive a free signed copy of “Poverty, By America.” Desmond will be in conversation with Wendi C. Thomas, founder of MLK50. He’ll debunk poverty myths and expose how government policies benefit those who need support the least. It’s time, Desmond writes, to stop being “unwitting enemies of the poor.” Of the nation’s largest metro areas, Memphis is among the country’s poorest. At its foundation are racial segregation and low-wage jobs. Yet this same city has an incredible heritage of movement-making, which is what it'll take to end poverty. Presenting Sponsor: The Lynne & Henry Turley Memphis Center at Rhodes College This event will be videotaped. __ About the author: Matthew Desmond is the Maurice P. During Professor of Sociology at Princeton University and the founding director of the Eviction Lab. His last book, “Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City,” won the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and the PEN/John Kenneth Galbraith Award, among others. The recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, Desmond is also a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine. MLK50: Justice Through Journalism is a nonprofit newsroom in Memphis focused on the intersection of poverty, power and policy. Our award-winning team of journalists examine the systems that make it hard for workers to make ends meet and interrogate those who profit from the status quo. We are – as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was – committed to economic justice both in our journalism and in our employment practices. Our vision echoes King’s dream: A nation where all residents – especially workers – have enough resources to thrive, and where public and private policy supports their success. The Institute for Public Service Reporting is a professionally staffed newsroom on the campus of the University of Memphis dedicated to civic-minded journalism. Our robust, independent investigative reporting and in-depth explanatory journalism aims to promote a vibrant democracy, foster inclusiveness, and enrich the lives of the people of Greater Memphis, including its many underserved communities. We do this while providing hands-on training to university students who will become our community’s next generation of journalists.