poverty
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Watch: Viola Davis Says Nobody Talks About Poverty
It’s no secret that Viola Davis came from meager beginnings. It’s also an understatement to call the brilliant actress’s upbringing meager. Davis has said it before and says it again, “I always say that I was a rung lower than poor; I was ‘po.’” Davis opened up about poverty at the Women in the World…
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I’m Not Ashamed of Being Broke and You Shouldn’t Be Either
I am not ashamed of being broke. Broke people make the world go round. Broke people are the original recyclers, the pioneers of creative reuse, the inventors of the most delicious, innovative foods and the people who keep hope alive in this country. I would like to restore broke to its original glory like Fred…
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Ben Carson Thinks Poverty Is Just a ‘State of Mind’ Passed Down From Parents to Their Children
Dr. Ben Carson, secretary of housing and urban development, said in an interview released Wednesday that poverty is a “state of mind” children learn from their parents, and that a “certain mindset” contributes to people living in poverty. Carson, who was being interviewed on SiriusXM Radio by longtime friend Armstrong Williams, said, “I think poverty…
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The Pretrial Profit System: How Corporations Make Billions Arresting Poor Blacks
In 2008, 18-year-old Demorrea Tarver was out with some friends when he was stopped by the police. Officers found a handgun in the handbag of a minor who was riding with Tarver (Tarver said he didn’t know about the gun) and a small amount of marijuana. The cops arrested Tarver and charged him with three…
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Special ‘Wraparound’ Services for Black Children Aren’t the Solution to Bad Policy Decisions
We’re not going to “nonprofit” our way out of poverty, housing unaffordability and economic injustice. Historic discrimination and structural inequality have laid the groundwork for multiple life-sucking neighborhood factors that black children face every day: Poverty, crime, unemployment, unaffordable housing, inaccessible health care and limited transportation make it difficult for children to learn. The rise…
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Why We Need To Raise the Minimum Wage To $15
“Anyone who has struggled with poverty knows how extremely expensive it is to be poor.” — James Baldwin I’m not poor, but I’m not rich; according to my W2, I’m middle-class. I’ve never had sleep for dinner, but I’m very familiar with poverty because I’ve witnessed it firsthand. In my neighborhood, nobody was “fly on your eyeball,…