Poverty in the African American Community

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The United States developed the official poverty measures in 1960. It was developed by President Lyndon B. Johnson, who had declared a war on poverty during the Civil Rights era. (The Path of Power- The years of Lyndon B. Johnson, (Caro, 16). The poverty rate of African Americans has been declining for many years. The Census Bureau releases two reports every year that describe who is poor in the United States based on cash resources. There is also the supplemental poverty measure (SPM) which takes account for the cash resources and non cash benefits from government programs aimed at low income families. (www.Census.gov/People and household). In 2012 there were over 46.5 million people in poverty and of those numbers 10 million were African American according to the poverty reports. African Americans have been a major factor since slavery. Since the late 1660s there has been a race on poverty since the marches of the Civil Rights Movement and Dr. Martin Luther King. One of the protests was the call to March on Washington in 1963. Dr. King stated that “on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity”. (MLK speech, March on Washington, 1963) The Natural Support of African Americans in poverty is to lower food bills in families by cooking instead of buying fast foods. The culture of poverty “is perceived to be a worldview and ethos contributing to poor people staying in poverty.” (Rogers, 131) it is seen as people who are in poverty are the connection of their offspring who seem to also have a difficult time to move up higher in society. “Children learn from their parents that laziness is a way of life, as is receiving food stamps every month; children never gain the motivation to work their way... ... middle of paper ... ...rican community has a really hard time, not just due to not being able to find a job but also because of race relations and prejudice from other against them whom is often not from within their community. This can also include ageism, and homosexuality. “Racism, which involves stereotyping people based on their race, occurs on different levels.”(Rogers 160) The African American have certain support groups such as the N.A.A.C.P., Domestic Violence support Groups, Kinship Care and many church groups whom have food banks and shelter services. There is a continuing struggle to end poverty within the African American Communities. Works Cited Caro,(16). Path of Power – The Years of Lyndon B. Johnson Central for disease control and precention.com www.familyplanning.com www.MLK-Marchonwashington 1963 Rogers, Human Behavior the Social Environment (26, 49,131,407,160)

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