A Guest Column from The Harvest Foundation Team
By Sheryl Agee, Senior Operating Officer
What do you think is easier — Learning something new or taking time to rethink and unlearn a belief you have? Often, we favor opinions that make us feel good instead of ideas that make us think hard.
The Harvest Foundation staff’s latest book study, “Poverty, By America” by author Dr. Matthew Desmond, challenged us to think hard about poverty, the systems that we as a country have built that perpetuate the cycle, and how it persists in the richest nation on Earth because the rest of us benefit from it.
While the book forces you to think differently about a morally urgent problem, it also provides opportunities for the reader to imagine solutions. It challenges you to ask yourself, how uncomfortable am I willing to be if it will benefit someone else? And, how can we not ask that question when 1 in 5 people in our own community live in poverty?
As Harvest developed a new strategic plan in 2021, the decision was made to prioritize economic mobility to better understand the systems, causes, and culture of poverty. This further lifted up our DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion) work as research shows systems in our country have further exacerbated poverty, especially for people of color. This can be clearly seen across census tracts in our own community.
As we all work to unlearn beliefs we have about “WHY” poverty exists, we are committed to continued learning and being uncomfortable as we think differently and work to be part of the solution.
Unfortunately, there’s no quick solution — No silver bullets. No big ah-ha moment that will eradicate poverty. But while there are no quick fixes, “Poverty, By America” calls us to action. It challenges us to put our own beliefs and comforts aside and work together to find solutions.
Visit endpovertyusa.org to find out more about “Poverty, By America,” and to view tools and resources related to poverty throughout the country.
