Part 4 of the TED Radio Hour episode The Case For Optimism

About Mia Birdsong's TED Talk

Activist Mia Birdsong says the stories we tell about poverty don't reflect reality. She describes people in her community who are optimistic about their futures — even if the larger society is not.

About Mia Birdsong

Family activist Mia Birdsong has devoted over 30 years to the pursuit of social justice. She is the co-director of Family Story, an organization working to bring diversity to our understanding of what makes a "good" family.

Prior to this, Birdsong was vice president of the Family Independence Initiative, which uses data to improve the lives of low-income families. She also co-founded Canerow, a resource for people dedicated to raising children of color in a world that reflects the spectrum of who they are.

Birdsong has been published in the Stanford Innovation Review, The Huffington Post, On Being and The Good Men Project.

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