Work

Welfare and the Problem of Black Citizenship

Year: 1996

Type: article

Abstract: Racial politics has so dominated welfare reform efforts that it is commonplace to observe that "welfare" has become a code word for race.When Americans discuss welfare, many have in mind the mythical Black "welfare queen" or profligate teenager who becomes pregnant at taxpayers' expense to fatten her welfare check.'Although most welfare recipients are not Black, Black single mothers do rely on a disproportionate share of Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC).'It is likely, then, that the current campaign to slash funding for welfare programs, couched in a rhetoric that condemns welfare's social harms and recipients' irresponsibility, reflects a worsening racial crisis in America.At the same time, the exclusion from the

Source: The Yale Law Journal

DOI: 10.2307/797297

Authors: Dorothy E. Roberts, Linda Gordon, Jill Quadagno

Institutions: Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Florida State University, University of Wisconsin–Madison

Language: English

Topic: Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics

Subfield: Gender Studies

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Reduced inequalities, Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: green

OpenAlex ID: W150653624