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A traveling exhibition on a 10-city national tour to raise attention about the eviction crisis across the country is coming to the Birmingham Public Library for 10 weeks, begins Thursday, October 21.
“Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City,” a national traveling exhibition inspired by Matthew Desmond’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book, brings visitors into the world of low-income renter eviction. The exhibition challenges visitors to face the enormity of one of 21st-century America’s most devastating problems, while providing context for the crisis and a call to action.
The Central Library is hosting the full “Evicted” traveling exhibit.
The tour is timely as evictions are in the national spotlight due to job losses related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The eviction moratorium that was put in place by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) last year and extended several times by Congress, expired on July 31, 2021, after the U.S. Supreme Court put a stop to them.
A recent report found the state of Alabama has given out just $23.3 million in rent assistance out of the $263 million in federal funds the state received to assist affected families as evictions resume across Alabama. The federal dollars are meant to pay rent and utilities of tenants facing financial hardships caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, but some advocates, tenants and landlords have complained about delays in receiving the money.
You can check out “Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City” at Jefferson County Library Cooperative (JCLC) member libraries, including the Birmingham Public Library, by clicking here.
Evicted was at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. from April 14, 2018, through May 19, 2019. The touring exhibition has been redesigned for smaller venues and is on a tour to raise awareness.
The National Building Museum worked with sociologist and author Matthew Desmond to create the exhibition based on his 2017 book Evicted, which won the Pulitzer Prize and was named by the New York Times as one of the best nonfiction books of the decade.
The Alabama Center for Architecture (ACFA) curated a companion piece to the “Evicted” exhibit focused on eviction, housing, and poverty in Alabama and its four largest metropolitan areas – Birmingham, Montgomery, Huntsville and Mobile.
An opening night reception will be held October 21, from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Central Library Grand Reading Room, 2100 Park Place. Free, but registration in advance is required.
To RSVP, click here https://bplolinenews.blogspot.com/2021/10/central-library-hosting-evicted-poverty.html
