Talk Justice, an LSC Podcast, Episode 7: The Face of Poverty in America, An Interview with Chris Arnade

WASHINGTON – Legal Services Corporation (LSC) Vice Chair Father Pius Pietrzyk interviews Chris Arnade, author of “Dignity: Seeking Respect in Back Row America” in the latest episode of “Talk Justice,” a podcast produced by LSC.

Leaving behind a 20-year career on Wall Street, Arnade decided to document poverty and addiction in the Bronx and later across the country. Using interviews and photography, he chronicles the lives of people living in low-income communities and the communities they form. His book looks at the resilience of what he calls “America's Back Row”—those who lack the credentials and advantages to get ahead. 

"It really was a learning process for me,” Arnade explains in the podcast. “I had to learn to listen and shut up for once. What I was learning is that there are these ‘non credential’ forms of meaning that we in the ‘front row’ just don't consider: the value of faith, the value of hometown, the value of family. And we'll get to race in a second. These identities that you could have, that you don’t have to have a resume for.”

Talk Justice episodes are available on LSC's website and on Spotify, Stitcher , Apple and other popular podcast apps. The podcast is sponsored by LSC’s Leaders Council.

Future episodes of Talk Justice will explore the important role libraries and law libraries play in expanding access to justice to low-income Americans and legal aid’s importance to American business.