Measuring Poverty Through the Eyes of the Great Society

Poverty is defined as the circumstances or condition in which an individual or community is lacking the fundamental needs for minimum standard of well-being in life, particularly, as a result of a persistent lack of income. One of the constant barriers in the African American community is poverty. Although there have been many attempts to reduce the level of poverty, it is still an underlining issue in our community. Moreover, one of the leading contributions to poverty was the Great Society.

For the research that will be conducted, poverty will be measured through federal programs from the Great Society introduced by President Lyndon Johnson, which is a series of social programs established to reduce or eliminate poverty in urban environments. The federal programs that will be highlighted from the Great Society will be The Department of Housing (HUD), The Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). A brief description of these programs includes HUD, which deals with developing the housing in urban area for low-income individuals, The Economic Opportunity Act was established to help the improvement of education, while TANF is explained as a financial assistance to help individuals pay for food, shelter, utilities, and other expenses. Lastly, SNAP is defined as a food voucher issued by the government to individuals with low income.

However, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, 11.5 percent of African Americans reside in government housing that was created through HUD while 13.6 percent received TANF. Henceforth, researchers have also recorded that over 25 percent of African Americans receive SNAP to provide food for their families ...

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