Conference Proceedings

Welcome and Introductions
Bo Beaulieu, Southern Rural Development Center

Keynote Address: Poverty in Rural America: What Do We Know and What Do We Need to Know?
Bruce Weber, RUPRI Rural Poverty Research Center

Setting the Stage

• High Poverty in the Rural South: Progress and Persistence in the 1990s
  John Cromartie, ERS/USDA
• Is There a Gorilla in the Room? Conceptualizing Poverty and Reconceptualizing Rural Poverty
  Rosalind P. Harris and Julie N. Zimmerman, University of Kentucky

Panel: The Grassroots Perspective

• Appalachia
  Judy Jones, University of Kentucky Center for Rural Health
• Black Belt
  Sokoya Finch, Florida Family Network
• Mississippi Delta
  Miriam Karanja, Arkansas Women’s Business Development Center

Poverty and Vulnerable Populations
Moderator: Jack Shaw, Office of Community Development, USDA Rural Development

• Working Poor in the Rural South
  Bradford F. Mills, Brian E. Whitacre, Christiana Hilmer, Virginia Tech

• Children and Their Basic Needs
  Debra L. Prince, Mississippi State University

• Material Hardship Among Families Across Time and Place
  Jane M. Mosley and Kathleen Miller, University of Missouri-Columbia
  Heather Koball, Columbia University

Poverty and Vulnerable Populations (continued)

• Food Banking in the Deep South: Profiles of Clients and Directors
  Patricia A. Duffy, Marina Irimia-Vladu and Joseph J. Molnar, Auburn University
  Suzie Cashwell, Western Kentucky University
  John Bartkowski, Mississippi State University
  • Paper
    
    
• 'Reforming' the Border: Opportunities and Obstacles to Reducing Persistent Poverty in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas
  Mark H. Harvey, University of Wisconsin

Economic Restructuring in the Rural South
Moderator: Ntam Baharanyi, Tuskegee University

• Regional Innovation Systems as the Key to Global Competitiveness: Implications for Rural Areas and Workers
  David L. Barkley, Mark S. Henry and Santosh Nair, Clemson University

Economic Restructuring in the Rural South (continued)

• Prospects of Agricultural Entrepreneurship among Resource Limited Farmers in the Central Appalachian Tobacco Belt
  M'Kiaira Kimathi Miriti and Eric Scorsone, University of Kentucky
  
• The Social and Economic Impact of Job Loss in Robeson County: Jobs for the Future
  Leslie Hossfeld, University of North Carolina at Pembroke
  Mac Legerton, Center for Community Action

Panel: The Persuasive Nature of Poverty: State Challenges, State Responses

• Points of Progress, Pockets of Poverty
  Bruce McGowan and Walter Huston, Alcorn State University
  
• The Causes of Enduring Poverty in Alabama's Black Belt
  Andrew A. Zekeri, Tuskegee University
  • Paper
  • Table 1: Selected Demographics of United States, Alabama, and Five Black Belt Counties
    
    
• Gender Relations, Housing Distress, and Persistent Poverty in Appalachia
  Joanna M. Badagliacco, University of Kentucky
  
• Poverty in the Mississippi Delta: A Community-Based Approach to Understanding the Problem and Exploring Diverse Alternatives
  John J. Green, Delta State University

The Black Belt Region of the South
Moderator: Mark Henry, Clemson University

• Rural Economic Development and Persistent Poverty in the South
  Matt Bishop and Joe Whorton, University of Georgia
  
• The American Black Belt Region: A Forgotten Place
  Veronica Womack, Georgia College and State University

Policies for Addressing Poverty: Past, Current and Future Strategies

• The Influential Sectors Program: A Look at Strategic Poverty Issues in Two Congressional Districts of South Carolina
  Leo Richardson, South Carolina Institute on Poverty and Deprivation
• Total Effort Approach: A Strategy to Alleviate Poverty in the Southern United States
  Fisseha Tegegne, Enefiok Ekanem, Safdar Muhammad and Surrendra Singh, Tennessee State University
• Rural Poverty and the Cost of Living: Implications of Current Discussions on Changing How We Measure Poverty
  Dean Jolliffe, Economic Research Service, USDA
  • Paper
    
    
• The Politics of Poverty in the Black Belt
  Lukata Mjumbe, Office of Congressman Artur Davis, Seventh Congressional District of Alabama