--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Trying to learn from communities and…" description: "\"Trying to learn from communities and engage with policy makers and community organizers all across the country is really important to me.\" — Matthew De..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddf/matthew-desmond-1529_community_trying-to-learn-from-communities-and-eng_699061.jpg" --- # Trying to learn from communities and engage with policy… ![“Trying to learn from communities and engage with policy makers and community organizers all across the country is really important to me.” quote by Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddf/matthew-desmond-1529_community_trying-to-learn-from-communities-and-eng_699061.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddf/matthew-desmond-1529_community_trying-to-learn-from-communities-and-eng_699061.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddf/matthew-desmond-1529_community_trying-to-learn-from-communities-and-eng_699061.jpg) > “Trying to learn from communities and engage with policy makers and community organizers all across the country is really important to me.” [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. Emphasizes the importance of learning from grassroots communities and collaborating with policymakers and organizers nationwide. **In simple terms:** He values community‑driven policy work. Key Takeaway Engage locally, influence broadly. Themes civic engagement policy community Mood hopeful determined Type activist inspirational When to use this quote - town halls - policy workshops - community forums Key Concepts participatory research collaboration advocacy Questions to Reflect On - How can local insights shape national policy? - What barriers exist in community‑policy dialogue? A Different Perspective Impact can be limited without systemic change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Communities Engage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communities-engage-5538356/) [Community](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community/) [Community Organizers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community-organizers-1939473/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Learn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learn/) [Learn Communities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learn-communities-5538357/) [Me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/me/) [Policy makers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/policy-makers/) [Really Important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/really-important-239187/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) ## Related quotes > [Like most people, I have no wish to live in a community organized by community organizers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-steyn/like-most-people-i-have-no-wish-to-live-in-a-community-organized-by/) [Mark Steyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-steyn/) > [As I review the great history of our nation, community organizers have been at the center of so many of our great social movements.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-booker/as-i-review-the-great-history-of-our-nation-community-organizers-have/) [Cory Booker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-booker/) > [“Community organizers, whose entire goal is to move people to action, know that for our interest to be sustainable it has to be linked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shasta-nelson/community-organizers-whose-entire-goal-is-to-move-people-to-action/) [Shasta Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shasta-nelson/) > [The American movement, Tea Party, whatever you want to call it, I think that is a very hopeful moment for the country and, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-ingraham/the-american-movement-tea-party-whatever-you-want-to-call-it-i-think/) [Laura Ingraham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-ingraham/) > [You learn a lot about yourself when you have success for a while. Like, a lot of things that you think are really important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-jackson/you-learn-a-lot-about-yourself-when-you-have-success-for-a-while-like/) [Curtis Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-jackson/) > [High level policy makers and program managers do not normally listen to the voices of local people, local providers and local program managers when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-simmons/high-level-policy-makers-and-program-managers-do-not-normally-listen/) [Ruth Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-simmons/) > [“Policy-makers continue to discover that they cannot solve today’s problems with yesterday’s mindsets”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/widad-akrawi/policy-makers-continue-to-discover-that-they-cannot-solve-today-s/) [Widad Akrawi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/widad-akrawi/) > [I would like to see policy makers and international donor agencies realize that it is not enough to give money for demonstration projects. From…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-simmons/i-would-like-to-see-policy-makers-and-international-donor-agencies/) [Ruth Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-simmons/) > [We want to bring enterprise back to blighted urban areas. People there have been told nothing is ever going to change. The policy makers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/majora-carter/we-want-to-bring-enterprise-back-to-blighted-urban-areas-people-there/) [Majora Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/majora-carter/) > [Every concerned citizen and policy maker should read this book. The environmentalists will hate it. The world's destitute masses will love it. And everyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niger-innis/every-concerned-citizen-and-policy-maker-should-read-this-book-the/) [Niger Innis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niger-innis/) > [Fiscal policy is a very important part of the tool kit for policy makers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gita-gopinath/fiscal-policy-is-a-very-important-part-of-the-tool-kit-for-policy/) [Gita Gopinath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gita-gopinath/) > [Judges are required by our democratic system not to overstep their positions to become policy makers or super-legislators.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-grassley/judges-are-required-by-our-democratic-system-not-to-overstep-their/) [Chuck Grassley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-grassley/) > [Children have in the past and continue to influence policy makers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-bellamy/children-have-in-the-past-and-continue-to-influence-policy-makers/) [Carol Bellamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-bellamy/) > [The job of a judge is to figure out what the law says, not what he wants it to say. There is a difference…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-thomas/the-job-of-a-judge-is-to-figure-out-what-the-law-says-not-what-he/) [Clarence Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-thomas/) > [Women are never again going to be mindless coffee-makers or mindless policy-makers in politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/women-are-never-again-going-to-be-mindless-coffee-makers-or-mindless/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) ## 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. We value equal opportunity. Without a stable home, those ideals really fall apart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/i-think-that-we-value-fairness-in-this-country-we-value-equal/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [Exploitation. Now, there's a word that has been scrubbed out of the poverty debate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/exploitation-now-there-s-a-word-that-has-been-scrubbed-out-of-the/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [I think there are ways that graduate students can fact-check their work. I think there are ways that we can do this that don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/i-think-there-are-ways-that-graduate-students-can-fact-check-their/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [Fire itself is very beautiful, and there's an attachment to fire that firefighters have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/fire-itself-is-very-beautiful-and-there-s-an-attachment-to-fire-that/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [“Sherrena nodded reassuringly and said, almost to herself, “I guess I got to stop feeling sorry for these people because nobody is feeling sorry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/sherrena-nodded-reassuringly-and-said-almost-to-herself-i-guess-i-got/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [Everywhere else, we are someone else, but at home, we remove our masks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/everywhere-else-we-are-someone-else-but-at-home-we-remove-our-masks/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [A community that sees so clearly its own disadvantage or its own hardships also has a harder time seeing its potential: its ability to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/a-community-that-sees-so-clearly-its-own-disadvantage-or-its-own/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [“It was once said that the poor are 'constantly exposed to evidence of their own irrelevance.' Especially for poor African-American families - who live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/it-was-once-said-that-the-poor-are-constantly-exposed-to-evidence-of/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [A universal voucher program would change the face of poverty in this country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/a-universal-voucher-program-would-change-the-face-of-poverty-in-this/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [“Wildland firefighters do not enjoy the cultural prestige that structural firefighters do. They do not wax their fire engines and cruise down the local…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/wildland-firefighters-do-not-enjoy-the-cultural-prestige-that/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) [Explore all 230 Matthew Desmond quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) ## More Community quotes > [Race is the idea that a human being is more superior than another human being, race in society grants illusional rights to mistreat each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-limn/race-is-the-idea-that-a-human-being-is-more-superior-than-another/) [Jeremy Limn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-limn/) > [But we are convinced that if we are to play a meaningful role nationally, and in the community of nations, we must be second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-sarabhai/but-we-are-convinced-that-if-we-are-to-play-a-meaningful-role/) [Vikram Sarabhai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-sarabhai/) > [In the hearing world, I'm constantly having to lip-read and trying to understand what's going on. 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They're a distortion, a caricature of the real thing. It's about trust, connection,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umair-haque/the-social-media-channel-isn-t-about-beauty-contests-and-popularity/) [Umair Haque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umair-haque/) > [We're at a point in history were we have to become a part of the neighborhood of inhabited planets, like a neighborhood of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/we-re-at-a-point-in-history-were-we-have-to-become-a-part-of-the/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [I have to feel the audience. I enjoy that feeling of community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-gahan/i-have-to-feel-the-audience-i-enjoy-that-feeling-of-community/) [Dave Gahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-gahan/) > [It rolls off my back. Ridicule doesn't mean anything - even from people you're supposed to wear knee pads around, like the scientific community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-schultz/it-rolls-off-my-back-ridicule-doesn-t-mean-anything-even-from-people/) [Dwight Schultz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-schultz/) > [Jeff Chu's pilgrimage across America to discover his own place as a gay man in the Christian church as well as attitudes about being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-freitas/jeff-chu-s-pilgrimage-across-america-to-discover-his-own-place-as-a/) [Donna Freitas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-freitas/) > [I think that most of us, anyway, read these stories that we know are not "true" because we're hungry for another kind of truth:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/i-think-that-most-of-us-anyway-read-these-stories-that-we-know-are/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [Human life consists of doing certain things ... to take part in the life of the community; to be able to talk about subjects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amartya-sen/human-life-consists-of-doing-certain-things-to-take-part-in-the-life/) [Amartya Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amartya-sen/) > [Parents who are stressed or disturbed will have more difficulty in meeting their children's needs. 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