Saying Goodbye and Thanks!

by Leigh Graham · 2010-01-15 07:02:00 UTC
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Today is my last day blogging at Poverty in America. In January 2009, I began as the sole editor and writer for this new cause and site at Change.org, and am happy and relieved to turn it over today to a growing team of anti-poverty activists, who I have no doubt will continue to agitate and grow this site into the robust social justice effort it deserves to be. I am so close to finishing my PhD; I can "see" the proverbial finish line I hope to cross this summer. So I'm leaving PiA to concentrate my efforts on completing my dissertation on housing recovery activism and conflicts in post-Katrina New Orleans. If I'm going to spend most of my day hunched over my PC, at this point it needs to be in the service of finishing this manifesto thesis and MIT.

PiA is the smallest cause in terms of membership here at Change.org, and I hope in time it will grow at the pace its fellow causes have over the last 15 or so months. But our petite size does not reflect the passion our community brings to this issue. In particular, I have come to depend on regular commenters like Danetta and Jan for pushing our conversations forward. There are countless others like them -- I hope you know who you are! -- whose contributions to this site are immeasurable. You've inspired me to work everyday to translate our struggles, victories and concerns into informative, digestible and entertaining content that motivates your efforts. If it wasn't for Change.org, I would not have "met" activists like Diane or Rachel or Aaron or Leatrice, nor would I have had my assumptions and arguments helpfully challenged by advocates like Charlie.

I will miss blogging here and I will really miss this community. I am a better writer and more informed activist for having worked here. I am proud to have been one of the earliest members of the Change.org team, and I wish the best of luck to the new faces here and bid farewell to those still at it. You can continue to follow me on Twitter at uspoverty, and I encourage you to visit my personal blog The Redstar Perspective, where I will likely eventually resume blogging (sporadically, I'd expect, but check out my archives!). I will also probably start turning up in the comment threads more often here. I will still have a Change.org member profile if you'd like to send me a message. You can also email me at redstarperspective [at] gmail.

I leave you now with a lookback at my greatest hits of 2009: the exploitation of low-wage workers, the total unaffordability of housing for minimum wage workers, the high rates of unemployment among the disabled, the shame of being unemployed, incentives to discourage teen pregnancy, the stimulus, victim-blaming, and primers on poverty all got you talking and taking action. Keep up the good fight, people!

Photo credit: psd

Leigh Graham
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