On September 5, the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center in Hartford awarded its annual Stowe Prize to writer and professor Matthew Desmond, whose work highlights the impact of evictions on poor people in America. Desmond is the author of the 2017 Pulitzer Prize winning book Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City, which follows eight families facing eviction in Milwaukee, WI. The real genius of Desmond’s contribution ) is that it highlights the ways in which the costs of evictions, although brutally imposed on the poor, are also borne by the wider community. This includes Hartford, which has one of the nation’s highest eviction rates.
Giovanna Shay
Posted inCT Viewpoints
East Hartford taking on racial disparity in school discipline
Studies show that implicit racial bias is widespread in the U.S. They also show that it can be checked more effectively if we are made aware of our tendencies to be biased. By raising awareness of the problem of disproportionate minority contact, the ongoing dialogues in East Hartford can help adults to make fairer decisions regarding students and youth.