The Color of Welfare: How Racism Undermined the War on Poverty

by Jill Quadagno

Thirty years after Lyndon Johnson declared a War on Poverty, the United States still lags behind most Western democracies in national welfare systems, lacking such basic programs as national health insurance and child care support. Some critics have explained the failure of social programs by citing our tradition of individual freedom and libertarian values, while others point to weaknesses within the working class. In The Color of Welfare , Jill Quadagno takes exception to these claims, placing race at the center of the "American Dilemma," as Swedish economist Gunnar Myrdal did half a century ago. The "American creed" of liberty, justice, and equality clashed with a history of active racial discrimination, says Quadagno. It is racism that has undermined the War on Poverty, and America must come to terms with this history if there is to be any hope of addressing welfare reform today.
From Reconstruction to Lyndon Johnson and beyond, Quadagno reveals how American social policy has continually foundered on issues of race. Drawing on extensive primary research, Quadagno shows, for instance, how Roosevelt, in need of support from southern congressmen, excluded African Americans from the core programs of the Social Security Act. Turning to Lyndon Johnson's "unconditional war on poverty," she contends that though anti-poverty programs for job training, community action, health care, housing, and education have accomplished much, they have not been fully realized because they became inextricably intertwined with the civil rights movement of the 1960s, which triggered a white backlash. Job training programs, for instance, became affirmative action programs, programs to improve housing became programs to integrate housing, programs that began as community action to upgrade the quality of life in the cities were taken over by local civil rights groups. This shift of
emphasis eventually alienated white, working-class Americans, who had some of the same needs--for health care, subsidized housing, and job training opportunities--but who got very little from these programs. At the same time, affirmative action clashed openly with organized labor, and equal housing raised protests from the white suburban middle-class, who didn't want their neighborhoods integrated. Quadagno shows that Nixon, who initially supported many of Johnson's programs, eventually caught on that the white middle class was disenchanted. He realized that his grand plan for welfare reform, the Family Assistance Plan, threatened to undermine wages in the South and alienate the Republican party's new constituency--white, southern Democrats--and therefore dropped it.
In the 1960s, the United States embarked on a journey to resolve the "American dilemma." Yet instead of finally instituting full democratic rights for all its citizens, the policies enacted in that turbulent decade failed dismally. The Color of Welfare reveals the root cause of this failure--the inability to address racial inequality.

Genres: Sociology, Nonfiction, Politics, History, Race, Read For School, College

272 pages, Paperback

First published July 28, 1994

Reviews

[Ehi · Rating 5 out of 5]

The color of welfare is a very insightful book, when you first start off reading this book you just might be confused. Keep reading, it goes deep into what happened/whats still happening in the world, in the early 1990s. Some things that I did not know before reading The color of welfare like: the economic opportunity act of 1994, the OEO. The Color Of Welfare provides a perceptive view of the war on poverty and the turbulent race politics. Jill Quandagno really took a lot of time to research to write this book, she wanted to tell a story that has not been told before. Child care programs, family assistance, job training, and housing programs, that have been shaped by the politic of race. Jill Quandagno's thesis that racism has done more than any other fact to limit generous and dignified public social provision in the untied states. She, Quandagno shows how Roosevelt in a time of support from southern congressmen excluded African Americans from the core programs of the social security act. She contends that though anti-poverty programs for job training,community action, health care, housing, and education accomplished much, they were not fully realized because they became interwind with the civil rights movement of the 1960s, which triggered white blackish. The book is here to show the world everything , and its not hiding anything.

[Liam Philbin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely well-argued and sourced. I think the most impressive part of this book is how grounded it is in its sources and hard arguments as opposed to following general theoretical approaches which would be the undoing of a book titled as this one.

(To be clear, I mean that Quadagno has taken a topic of extreme ideological controversy and made it approachable and legible to any portion of the political spectrum). Masterful work

[Jay Cole · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorites. Extremely helpful
in articulating the root issues at the heart of the the debate over welfare and government intervention. While the author draws clear conclusions, as evidenced by the title of the book, it never comes across as heavy-handed. And, in fact, I feel like I understand the different positions much better as a result of the authors articulation and insight.

[Jim Stephens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another vital chapter in systemic racism.

[Fran D · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5⭐️

My prof recommended this book to me at the end of last semester. Still incredibly relevant today as it was when it came out. Explores how racism has been fundamentally intertwined with social welfare programs and has contributed to many of the stereotypes and problems we still have. Very evidence-based and you can tell the author has done a lot of work around this subject as a whole.

[Sidney Rodriguez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very insightful.

[brass · Rating 4 out of 5]

phenomenal.