I Was Poor Once

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/18/opinion/i-was-poor-once.html

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To the Editor:

Re “What Do We Think Poverty Looks Like?” (Sunday Review, July 9):

Tracie McMillan is so right: What we think poverty looks like depends in large part on the world in which we live — and whether we’ve been forced to make difficult decisions about how to survive when things don’t go as planned.

As an African-American woman, I’m all too familiar with the ways in which poverty is covered and its depiction as a predominantly black issue, despite what the data tell us. I also, like Ms. McMillan, have kept a “souvenir” of my time in poverty — an unopened can of dried whole egg solids.

The eggs, along with cheese and other food products, were distributed by the Department of Agriculture, obtained by my mother many years ago when we had little else, and hidden by me, because I hated the taste and would rather go hungry.

Today, I am one among a legion of people who can say, “I was poor but now I’m not.” Many are unwilling to utter those words and remember those times. If they did, it would do much to improve our understanding of poverty — and quite possibly, support realistic solutions.

RENÉE WILSON-SIMMONSNEW YORK

The writer is director of the National Center for Children in Poverty, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.