Welfare In Black And White Summary

Although slavery was declared over after the passing of the thirteenth amendment, African Americans were not being treated with the respect or equality they deserved. Socially, politically and economically, African American people were not being given equal opportunities as white people. They had certain laws directed at them, which held them back from being equal to their white peers. They also had certain requirements, making it difficult for many African Americans to participate in the opportunity to vote for government leaders. Although they were freed from slavery, there was still a long way to go for equality through America’s reconstruction plan.

The American Welfare System Many people have different opinions on the way our government is run. Welfare programs are something not a lot of people agree with. Some see it as a helping hand and others see it as a handout to people who are too lazy to get a job. There are over 80 programs that help out millions of families everyday. During the Great depression the government was overwhelmed with needy families that were facing hard times.

The two stories illustrate that African-Americans are not given an equal chance in terms of gaining opportunities for a successful life. However, it may be possible that one key factor among all can develop a whole problematic image on success and why White Americans think of the African-American society as to not having the capability for a chance towards success. At the time, the economy could have been at a huge disadvantage for the African-Americans because majority of them did not have the chance to rise up from it in terms of creating revenue for themselves. The whole world around them built this image and it is hard to come out of when no one can give opportunities for them to improve and grow. Harlon L. Dalton expresses how unfair the

The segregation of the northern and southern states subdued the United States from growing in to the nation we see today. African Americans of the south were subject to the brutal white supremacy that was accepted by the white citizens, so change was a futile notion. Many regions in the Deep South were not fixed on allowing African Americans equal rights in any way possible. These states expressed their beliefs through the enactment of Jim Crow Laws throughout the region. Unlike its counterparts of the Antebellum South, Pensacola, Florida became desegregated in a way unlike many of those states in the 20th century.

Following the ending of the Civil War in 1865, America was in an era known as the Reconstruction. The Reconstruction lasted until 1877. Citizens were attempting to rebuild our nation following one of the deadliest war in American History. In this time, the Fourteenth Amendment and Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution were ratified. Although slaves were freed, African Americans still faced intense racial prejudice and discrimination.

The 1996 Welfare Reform Act abolished Federal Cash Assistance and Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) programs, all of which many believed locked people in the perpetual cycle of state- assisted poverty. There were three research findings on the “efficacy of the 1996 reform, all gave a summary of the most influential studies conducted by US researchers. Nearly all reached the same conclusions: First, Welfare Reform under the Clinton administration did result in a significant shift into new employment by the long-term welfare recipients. Secondly, the overall strong growth conditions were linked to the U.S. during the late 1900s. Third, the growth in income and employment experienced by the American poor welfare to work transition

These programs were put in place by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and were intended to provide economic relief and recovery for all Americans. However, African Americans did not benefit from these programs to the same extent as white Americans. (Document 6) Furthermore, discriminatory practices by government officials and private employers meant that African Americans were often the last to be hired and the first to be laid off, even in New Deal-funded projects. Increasing job opportunities, in addition to establishing a fair work environment, would lower unemployment rates for African Americans and poverty rates in black communities during the Great Depression.

The Bureau could not provide African Americans with land, but it did contribute to education. Formerly enslaved African Americans were educated with the help of Northern charities. This was a positive outcome during

Reagan’s campaign against poor Black people was successful in sharpening discrimination at a national level, even after the Civil Rights Movement worked to end discrimination within the system. Tillotson strongly argues that conservative ideology is “anti-African American agency and as an ideology it poses a significant threat to the internal security of African Americans” (51). Also that it has “destroyed to a large degree any efforts at an equal playing field for poverty stricken citizens of African ancestry in America” (Tillotson 50). Tillotson includes W.D. Wright’s argument that welfare segregates African Americans in ghettos by acting as a “substitution for educating masses of Black people” (40), and failing to properly train them for good paying jobs. Furthermore, even if they were skilled, they are already closed out of the job market based on skin color, the only place available for Black folks to remain is as an exploited underpaid cheap labor

As Barton Bernstein focuses on in his piece “The New Deal: The Conservative Achievements of Liberal Reform,” the New Deal left individuals including poor workers of most/all races, nearly all African-Americans and women of all races behind. As Bernstein says of the New Deal, “Its efforts on behalf of humane reform were generally faltering and shallow, of more value to the middle classes, of less value to organized workers, of even less to the marginal men. ”(Bernstein 14). And, as previously mentioned, these ‘marginal men’ included various groups of people, all of which sharing a common necessity for government assistance. Despite the often-heralded progressiveness of the New Deal, one cannot dispute that any help that the New Deal did provide them proved insufficient.

The New Deal, World War II, and post-World War II marked significant periods in American history as the federal government created various programs to relieve the nation from the Great Depression and spur economic growth. However, as Ira Katznelson points out in his book, “When Affirmative Action Was White,” these programs held disparities that disproportionately benefited white Americans. This essay will examine how New Deal, World War II, and post-World War II programs represented affirmative action for white Americans. In “When Affirmative Action Was White,” Katznelson explores how New Deal programs represented affirmative action for white Americans.

The parts that stood out to me in this book were that the rate of neonatal deaths is higher in the United States than in any other developed country. I found this interesting because the idea that the old-fashioned theory has created some of the modern political beliefs of why a person may end up in a disadvantaged situation. Another part that stood out to me was when Abramsky hypothesized that if funds were spent on programs supporting individuals from the selected groups then less money would be spent on other government funded programs. Lastly, when Abramsky discussed the statistics about Bill Clinton lowering poverty rates from 15.1% to a little over 11% and then when Bush took over, the poverty rates rose again.

African-American historian W.E.B Dubois illustrated how the Civil War brought the problems of African-American experiences into the spotlight. As a socialist, he argued against the traditional Dunning interpretations and voiced opinions about the failures and benefits of the Civil War era, which he branded as a ‘splendid failure’. The impacts of Civil War era enabled African-Americans to “form their own fraternal organizations, worship in their own churches and embrace the notion of an activist government that promoted and safeguarded the welfare of its citizens.”

Pertaining to the rights of African Americans a new south did not appear after the reconstruction. While they were “free” they were often treated harshly and kept in a version of economic slavery by either their former masters or other white people in power. Sharecropping and the crop-lien system often had a negative impact on both the black and white tenants keeping them in debt with the owner. Jim Crow laws, vigilantes and various means of disfranchisement became the normal way of life in the South. It was believed that white people were superior to black people and when they moved up in politics or socially they were harassed and threatened.

In the 1930s, many white farm owners would pull black students out of school to work for them even if they did not need them. They did this because they did not think they deserved an education. Many students had to drop out of school to work for their family, because the family was not making enough money to live off of. Many of the African Americans that attended school never got past the fourth grade.