1st Edition

Rethinking the Welfare Rights Movement

By Premilla Nadasen Copyright 2012
    216 Pages
    by Routledge

    216 Pages
    by Routledge

    The welfare rights movement was an interracial protest movement of poor women on AFDC who demanded reform of welfare policy, greater respect and dignity, and financial support to properly raise and care for their children. In short, they pushed for a right to welfare. Lasting from the early 1960s to the mid 1970s, the welfare rights movement crossed political boundaries, fighting simultaneously for women's rights, economic justice, and black women's empowerment through welfare assistance. Its members challenged stereotypes, engaged in Congressional debates, and developed a sophisticated political analysis that combined race, class, gender, and culture, and crafted a distinctive, feminist, anti-racist politics rooted in their experiences as poor women of color.

    The Welfare Rights Movement provides a short, accessible overview of this important social and political movement, highlighting key events and key figures, the movement's strengths and weaknesses, and how it intersected with other social and political movements of the itme, as well as its lasting effect on the country. It is perfect for anyone wanting to obtain an introduction to the welfare rights movement of the twentieth century.

    Chapter 1: Origins of the Welfare Rights Movement  Chapter 2: Key Campaigns  Chapter 3: The Welfare Rights Movement and National Politics  Chapter 4: Welfare Rights and Feminism  Chapter 5: Assessing the Welfare Rights Movement

    Biography

    Premilla Nadasen is Associate Professor of African American History at Queens College, City University of New York.

    'Although there are other studies that cover the movement, Nadasen's book is a concise yet detailed introduction to the subject. Summing up: Highly Recommended.' -R. D. Screws, Minot State University, CHOICE