Sixty years ago this week, President Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ) took a historic step forward in our nation’s fight against poverty, signing the historic Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 and marking the beginning of the War on Poverty. Alongside civil rights and anti-poverty leaders, policymakers envisioned a country that lived up to its ideals of opportunity, democracy, and a fair chance for every child.
This law marked a crucial moment in the fight for equal opportunity. After decades of civil rights organizing and political leadership from President John F. Kennedy and his brother, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, President Johnson brought the War on Poverty and Great Society into law. Ultimately, it ushered in successful anti-poverty policies, including Medicare and Medicaid and stronger education and housing programs. Our country made historic progress during this time: decreasing poverty rates and improving child and infant health. But today, millions of Americans still live below the poverty line, and one in six children under five experienced poverty in 2021.
The War on Poverty improved the quality of life for millions, but the work LBJ began sixty years ago remains unfinished. Since the 1960s, the national campaign to end poverty fell prey to racialized narratives limiting the effectiveness and reach of anti-poverty programs. Generations of policymakers used fear and promoted political narratives that disparaged caregiving work and used baseless criticisms against mothers—especially Black women. Over decades, policymakers allowed deep cuts to cash programs and eroded public benefits while wages stagnated and costs of housing, child care, and medical care skyrocketed.
Now, our American story of escaping poverty by working hard, saving up, and climbing the economic ladder is more false than true. Mobility from poverty has decreased among white adults born between 1978-1992 and the chance of reaching upper income among Black adults of the same age was below 5 percent. A missed paycheck from a volatile job can quickly turn into power shut offs, empty refrigerators, and eviction. These burdens often harm women, who are paid less for the same work and face barriers to saving. Women with children—especially Black women with children—face the highest risk of eviction. We have shifted the blame of poverty to solely personal responsibility, rather than acknowledging the structural forces—like a lack of good jobs and unaffordable housing—that create roadblocks to economic mobility, saving for the future, and avoiding debt. Recognizing the scale of the problem, Vice President Harris has raised poverty as a priority, saying in her first presidential campaign speech that she believes in “a future where no child has to grow up in poverty.”
Another story is possible.
An America without poverty is possible.
As the wealthiest nation on Earth, we possess the resources necessary to ensure opportunities for everyone. More than a century of policy decisions—from the establishment of Social Security in the 1930s, the modern food assistance in the 1960s, and the success of the Child Tax Credit in 2021—have proven it’s possible.
We have the tools to end poverty. It starts by centering those most affected by our broken policy systems: women of color. Women are the economic engines of their families and central figures in their communities. Most mothers are breadwinners and Black and Latina women are more likely to be breadwinners, earning at least half their family’s income. And they’re doing so while spending more time doing unpaid caregiving than their male counterparts and working low paid jobs with stingy benefits. For our nation and economy to thrive, the jobs that women work need to include reasonable compensation and work-supporting public policies, like paid leave and child care.
When our policies work for women of color, we’re building security for all of us and unlocking our nation’s potential. Cash policies—including the highly successful expanded Child Tax Credit and local guaranteed income pilots—help families take care of their immediate needs, like food and housing. Good jobs—with living wages and tied to an infrastructure with job supports like paid leave and affordable child care—can help build an inclusive economy and ensure that companies cannot get away with jobs that don’t pay enough to pay rent or afford doctor’s visits. Investing in affordable, safe and decent housing will support generations of Americans build wealth and build a future.
Reimaging a future in the U.S. where everyone can have the opportunity to create a better life starts with women. It means allowing people the inherent dignity in taking care of themselves and their loved ones. We can live in a country where hardship, discrimination, and instability aren’t the norm; where it doesn’t take luck to land a stable, good job; where children have the food and resources they need to thrive at school and in their young adulthood; and where our neighborhoods see the investment that we have allowed corporations to keep.
Sixty years ago, our nation started something bold, but it remains unfinished. We should recommit to the bold vision of the war on poverty by learning from our successes and mistakes. Women should be the center of a new national poverty agenda. When policies support women, they support everyone, and together, we can build a country where every individual has the freedom to reach their full potential—and flourish.