The Injustice of Place

We often think of poverty and inequality as specific to people. This book flips that notion on its head. Poverty comes from locations that repeatedly suffer from disadvantage. it traces this history through narratives of people who live and have lived in these locations. It is a great read for people seeking to understand why poverty and inequality are such difficult problems to overcome.

People often think of poverty as an urban phenomenon, but many of the most impoverished locations in the US are distinctly rural–and many of the families living in these places have faced poverty for decades.

This book took me on a tour through several of these towns in the hills of Appalachia, the Mississippi Delta, and other small towns dotted throughout the country. Along the way, I saw how perpetual poverty is derived from the deep and long-lasting history of slavery, Jim Crow, and the firm exploitation of the less fortunate. Each of these, and more, bring poverty to the… show more.