Janna Parker Discusses Poverty, Inequality, & The Basic Income Legislation
Janna Parker Discusses Poverty, Inequality, & The Basic Income Legislation
Poverty in Prince George's County is 11.5 percent
I am not sure many of you know this, but Prince George’s County has 11.5 percent of its population living in poverty.
I had a chance to interview Janna Parker, the executive director of PG Changmakers, a grassroots organization. Parker is a native of Prince George’s County, Fort Washington, to be more specific. Parker talked to me about inequality in the county, poverty, and how basic income can help people in those situations. Read the full article here.
An excerpt:
Why do you think poverty in Prince George’s County is not talked about enough?
Poverty in Prince George's County is something that we don't talk about often because for so long we've touted the fact that we were the most prosperous Black county in America. This was true in the sense that Black people living in the county had more access to wealth and financial opportunities compared to any other county in Maryland. (Note: Charles County is now considered the wealthiest Black county, but, it seems, data is based on income). However, that narrative doesn’t consider the county’s numerous pockets of poverty and how those pockets affect the county overall. The county's prosperity narrative overshadows the reality that we have underfunded schools; certain communities lack access to parks, green spaces; childcare; and healthcare facilities. But other communities in Prince George’s County have access to all these amenities.
When some people in power (politicians and business leaders) talk about poverty, they say, ‘Hey, look what I did. I did a turkey giveaway, and I did a back-to-school surprise drive. I did a food giveaway.’ All those things are great, but they should be done in conjunction with policy, legislation, and procedures that help to lift people out of poverty. So it's a multi-leveled conversation. I think Prince Georgians as a whole do not want to discuss this because it takes away from this veneer that all Black people in the county are succeeding. But that’s not the reality.