As one black AFDC mother from Los Angeles explained to Sargent Shriver when he visited the city in August 1966: How much do you think the human mind and body can stand? [. . .] You think there is something nice about being on welfare and having a social worker come snooping under your bed, to see if you got a man there? It don’t leave no dignity. You know it would be real nice if some of you people could change yourselves and be poor for a while. You see what the poor people have to go through. Who wants welfare? Who wants to have someone look down their nose at you all the time to give you a
...more
