Twenty-five percent of families are considered to be in poverty in Northwest Arkasnas, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
While several factors can lead to poverty, one consistent issue brought up among individuals making less than around $23,000 a year was the state of Arkansas’s minimum wage.
Throughout this study, working poor individual’s have shown hope and promise about their futures, as well as a sense of pride in the work that they do.
Courtney Boyd, interviewed by Ann Johnson, spoke with a great sense of fondness about working at McDonalds, and was looking forward the future at a time when she would become a chef.
“I love cooking and being around food. That is one reason why I work here,” Boyd said in an interview with Johnson. “We are a tight knit group, like a family,” she said.
Boyd, who is also attending community college, said to Johnson that ultimately she is content with working at McDonalds for now because they are easy and flexible with her hours.
Throughout the reporting process, there has also been a vast variety in demographics. Data has shown that more single mothers in Arkansas are in poverty than any other group, and while the majority of the interviewed workers have been women, we have also seen diversity in race and background.
Mishell Quinter, interviewed by Andrew Epperson, is a Dreamer. Having an individual like this shows that poverty can affect any individual in this region, even those who came here specifically looking for a better way of life. Bertha Lara has been in America after living in El Savador since 1999 and has never seen a penny’s worth of a raise working for Tyson. These immigrants are hard workers, proven in their interviews, but have not been able to successfully support themselves with the wages they are given.
There are also individuals who, despite being in poverty, are still pursuing their passions. Carlos Morgan, a hairdresser interviewed by Aubry Tucker, hopes to one day own his own barbershop, and it appears that although things are tight for him right now, he is still doing what he loves and finds a passion in it.
All of these individuals put a face to an issue that is typically seen with prejudice or pity. When talking about individuals in poverty, people claim that if they just worked a little harder or went to school than they wouldn’t be where they are, but this process has showed that that is not the case. These individuals are still worthy of leisure time or things that will make them happy, like Cathy Lee who, in an interview with Mary Kerr Winters said that she spends the majority of her rent on going out with friends for a drink, video games and seeing drive-in movies despite being paid $11 an hour.
The working poor in Northwest Arkansas have shown pride in the work that they do, even if it is working for minimum wage at a McDonalds, Chuck E. Cheese or a local bar.
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