--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was once said that the poor are…" description: "\"“It was once said that the poor are 'constantly exposed to evidence of their own irrelevance.' Especially for poor African-American families - who live..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e54/matthew-desmond-1529_community_it-was-once-said-that-the-poor-are-const_198414.jpg" --- # It was once said that the poor are 'constantly exposed to… ![“It was once said that the poor are 'constantly exposed to evidence of their own irrelevance.' Especially for poor African-American families - who live in neighborhoods with rates of violence and concentrated poverty so extreme that even the worst white neighborhoods bear little resemblance…” quote by Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e54/matthew-desmond-1529_community_it-was-once-said-that-the-poor-are-const_198414.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e54/matthew-desmond-1529_community_it-was-once-said-that-the-poor-are-const_198414.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e54/matthew-desmond-1529_community_it-was-once-said-that-the-poor-are-const_198414.jpg) > ““It was once said that the poor are 'constantly exposed to evidence of their own irrelevance.' Especially for poor African-American families - who live in neighborhoods with rates of violence and concentrated poverty so extreme that even the worst white neighborhoods bear little resemblance - living in degrading housing in dangerous neighborhoods sent a clear message about where the wider society thought they belonged.”” [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote describes how extreme poverty and violent environments convey a societal message of marginalization to poor African‑American families. **In simple terms:** Poverty and violence signal societal exclusion. Key Takeaway Recognize systemic signals of exclusion. Themes poverty race urban decay social inequality Mood critical empathetic Type analytical advocacy When to use this quote - housing policy - community development - education reform - public health initiatives Key Concepts structural racism environmental stress social stigma Questions to Reflect On - What policies can change the narrative of exclusion? - How does environment shape self‑worth? A Different Perspective Addressing symptoms without changing underlying structures is limited. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Community](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community/) [Family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family/) [Poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poverty/) ## Related quotes > [“It was once said that the poor are “constantly exposed to evidence of their own irrelevance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/it-was-once-said-that-the-poor-are-constantly-exposed-to-evidence-of-2/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [The South Bronx has long been ground zero for racially concentrated poverty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritchie-torres/the-south-bronx-has-long-been-ground-zero-for-racially-concentrated/) [Ritchie Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritchie-torres/) > [Blacks are about seven times more likely to live in neighborhoods of concentrated poverty than whites.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/blacks-are-about-seven-times-more-likely-to-live-in-neighborhoods-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Nature never said to me: Do not be poor; still less did she say: Be rich; her cry to me was always: Be independent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-chamfort/nature-never-said-to-me-do-not-be-poor-still-less-did-she-say-be-rich/) [Nicolas Chamfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-chamfort/) > [“Abe said something interesting. He said that because everyone's so poor these days, the '90s will be a decade with no architectural legacy or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/abe-said-something-interesting-he-said-that-because-everyone-s-so/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [“Poor May!" he said. "Poor? Why poor?" she echoed with a strained laugh. "Because I shall never be able to open a window without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/poor-may-he-said-poor-why-poor-she-echoed-with-a-strained-laugh/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [“Love is for middle class", Fellows said."The poor can't afford it, and neither can the rich.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-ashley/love-is-for-middle-class-fellows-said-the-poor-can-t-afford-it-and/) [Jennifer Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-ashley/) > [“must have looked forsaken standing there because she clucked her tongue against the roof of her mouth and said, “Poor Miss Sarah.” I did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/must-have-looked-forsaken-standing-there-because-she-clucked-her/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“She cleared her throat once or twice, and said something about poor people should eat a lot of herrings, as they were most nutritious,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-comyns/she-cleared-her-throat-once-or-twice-and-said-something-about-poor/) [Barbara Comyns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-comyns/) > [“My mom often said "We're not poor, we just don't have much money.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/les-cochran/my-mom-often-said-we-re-not-poor-we-just-don-t-have-much-money/) Les Cochran > [Someone said drink the water, but I will drink the wine Someone said take a poor man, the rich don't have a dime Go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-sinatra/someone-said-drink-the-water-but-i-will-drink-the-wine-someone-said/) [Frank Sinatra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-sinatra/) > [“I also remember that my father was one of the people who voted to get the Dauntless out of the factionless sector of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/i-also-remember-that-my-father-was-one-of-the-people-who-voted-to-get/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [“No one described him better than he did when someone accused him of being rich. “No, not rich,” he said. “I am a poor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/no-one-described-him-better-than-he-did-when-someone-accused-him-of/) [Gabriel García Márquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [If we continue to tolerate this level of poverty in our cities, and go along with eviction as commonplace in poor neighborhoods, it's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/if-we-continue-to-tolerate-this-level-of-poverty-in-our-cities-and-go/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [I don't think we can fix poverty without fixing housing, and I don't think we can address housing without understanding landlords.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/i-don-t-think-we-can-fix-poverty-without-fixing-housing-and-i-don-t/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) ## More by Matthew Desmond > [I don't think we can fix poverty without fixing housing, and I don't think we can address housing without understanding landlords.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/i-don-t-think-we-can-fix-poverty-without-fixing-housing-and-i-don-t/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [If we continue to tolerate this level of poverty in our cities, and go along with eviction as commonplace in poor neighborhoods, it's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/if-we-continue-to-tolerate-this-level-of-poverty-in-our-cities-and-go/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [You see one eviction, and you're overcome, but then there's another one and another one and another one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/you-see-one-eviction-and-you-re-overcome-but-then-there-s-another-one/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [When I talk to booksellers, they tell me how hard it is to hand-sell some of my books because I do keep popping around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/when-i-talk-to-booksellers-they-tell-me-how-hard-it-is-to-hand-sell/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [Housing being a top-order issue for cities is something that's not trivial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/housing-being-a-top-order-issue-for-cities-is-something-that-s-not/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [I think that we value fairness in this country. 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