HAGERSTOWN, Md. – An author who traversed America to document what he calls “America’s back row” will be featured at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 26, at Hagerstown Community College. Author Chris Arnade will appear in the Kepler Theater to discuss his book, “Dignity: Seeking Respect in Back Row America.” His book is HCC’s campus Big Read book selection for 2024.
In his book, Arnade writes about the people he got to know, from Alabama and California to Maine and Nevada, which gave him a new respect for the dignity and resilience of what he calls “America’s back row” – those who lack the credentials and advantages of the so-called meritocratic upper class. With stark photo essays and unforgettable true stories, Arnade cuts through what he calls “expert” pontification on inequality, addiction and poverty to allow those who have been left behind to define themselves on their own terms.
Arnade is a freelance writer and photographer whose work has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Guardian, The Washington Post, The Financial Times and The Wall Street Journal, among many others. He has a Ph.D. in physics from Johns Hopkins University and worked for 20 years as a trader at an elite Wall Street bank before leaving in 2012 to document addiction in the Bronx.
Copies of the book are available locally through HCC’s Campus Store and the Brish Library. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, visit www.hagerstowncc.edu/bigread.
