Surviving the System: The Myth of Welfare

This workshop blends historical research, cultural analysis, and modern examples to trace how economic circumstances helped shape social conditions within the Black community in the late 60s, 70s, and beyond. ​

We will examine the “New Deal” policies created to help poor families put food on the table and provide a roof over their heads through housing vouchers and food stamps, but with one major caveat: to receive this so-called federal help, mothers had to agree to break up their families by removing the father from the home. ​

You will meet the scapegoated myth of the “Welfare Queen,” who was blamed for all the minimum-wage jobs in America and the reason for the decline of the middle-class family.​

We will investigate the mass manipulation systems at work that uphold white supremacy and patriarchy.​