According to the online bulletin "Ouch!", the average after-tax income of the poorest 20 percent of all American households in 1979 was $10,900. In 1997, the average for that same group was $10,800--a net increase of $100.
In Raleigh's Moore Square and around Main Street in Durham, we ignore people who we assume don't have housing. Rocky and those like him go to Love Wins or the Maurin House to find eye contact, to hear a "good morning," to be a part of their cities.
Quietly, by the guidance of our flashlights, we climbed a very long, tight spiral staircase up to the top of the Duke Chapel tower. And not just the bell-tower top, but beyond that.