Melissa Harris Perry Launches Weekly Poverty Segment 'Below The Line' (VIDEO)

WATCH: Melissa Harris-Perry Launches New Segment

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Melissa Harris-Perry launched a new segment on her self-titled weekend MSNBC program.

During the election, Harris-Perry had a recurring segment titled, "This Week in Voter Suppression." Now that the election is over, she said, the program will start a new segment focused on poverty titled "Below The Line."

"In this new series, we'll bring you regular stories of people living below the line," Harris-Perry told her viewers over the weekend. "The policies and decisions that create the poverty in which they live, what they are doing to survive in tough circumstances, and what we can do as a nation to affect poverty. We recognize that it's a tough topic and that many in politics prefer to not talk about it all, but that's exactly why we want to talk about."

Harris-Perry ran through some statistics. She said the poverty rate in the United States remained at 15 percent last year, with 21.9 percent of those living in poverty below the age of 18; 13.7 percent between the ages of 18 and 64; and 8.7 percent over the age of 65.

"Let me be crystal clear. Those aren't numbers, those are people," she said.

Before You Go

Rupert Murdoch, Wendi Deng, Lachlan Murdoch

The Murdochs

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot