Tuesday, May. 9, 2017 – Tuesday, May. 9, 2017

06:30 PM – 07:30 PM
US/Central

Winner of the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Nonfiction!

Presented by Matthew Desmond, John L. Loeb Associate Professor of the Social Sciences and co-director of the Justice and Poverty Project, Harvard University

Even in the most desolate areas of American cities, evictions used to be rare. But today, most poor renting families spend more than half of their income on housing, and eviction has become ordinary, especially for single mothers. In his 2016 book Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City, Matthew Desmond provides a ground-level view of one of the most urgent issues facing America.

Desmond was awarded a MacArthur “genius grant” in 2015 for “revealing the impact of eviction on the lives of the urban poor and its role in perpetuating racial and economic inequality.” Hear him talk about the realities of extreme poverty and economic exploitation in the United States, and promoting fresh ideas to solve this devastating, uniquely American problem.

This program is free! Reserve your seat online via the Kinder Institute.

About the Kinder Institute Forum Lecture Series
The Kinder Institute Forum Lectures are organized by Rice University’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research. Established in 2010, the institute advances the understanding of critical issues facing Houston and other leading U.S. urban centers through scientific research, educational programs, and public outreach with the goal of developing more humane and sustainable cities.

About the Speaker
Matthew Desmond is the author of four books: On the Fireline: Living and Dying with Wildland Firefighters (2007), Race in America (with Mustafa Emirbayer, 2015), The Racial Order (with Mustafa Emirbayer, 2015), and Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City (2016).