Book #16: Still Hungry in America

My goal in 2018 is to read 52 books. Here is a list of all the books I’ve read so far this year. Each book is ranked on a 5-star scale (5 is best).

***** Still Hungry in America

Talk about books that change your understanding of the world, this book really rocked me. It was originally published in 1969 and was inspired by Bobby Kennedy’s visit to the Mississippi Delta and the unimaginable suffering he saw there. That trip receives a lot of credit in the annals of history for transforming Bobby’s mission to fight for our most disadvantaged citizens.

At least for me, having never been close to extreme poverty, the human stories I read about in this book were eye-opening and revealing in ways I still can’t completely comprehend. This book was re-published because for the most part, these conditions still exist in many places in the world. I’ve found that awareness is usually the beginning of an awakening inside of someone to strive to use their advantages to help those that need it most. At least, it always has been for me.

One review nailed it: “This book is a call for reflection, a call to examine our twenty-first-century priorities. As Martin Luther King Jr. stated, ‘Why should there be hunger and deprivation in any land, in any city, at any table, when man has the resources and the scientific know-how to provide all mankind with the basic necessities of life? There is no deficit in human resources. The deficit is in human will.'”

Amazon’s description:

Originally published in 1969, the documentary evidence of poverty and malnutrition in the American South showcased in Still Hungry in America still resonates today. The work was created to complement a July 1967 U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Employment, Manpower, and Poverty hearings on hunger in America.

Reasons why you might enjoy this book:

• You want to begin to understand what its like to live in extreme poverty…in the US specifically
• You’re a photographer or student of photography. This book has such amazing, powerful images.
• You believe, like me, that its important to have your eyes opened to suffering so that you can figure out if there are ways you can use your powers to do good and help others