Freedom Is Not Enough: The War On Poverty And The Civil Rights Movement In Texas
by William S. Clayson /
2010 / English / PDF
1.9 MB Download
Led by the Office of Economic Opportunity, Lyndon Johnson's War on
Poverty reflected the president's belief that, just as the civil
rights movement and federal law tore down legalized segregation,
progressive government and grassroots activism could eradicate
poverty in the United States. Yet few have attempted to evaluate
the relationship between the OEO and the freedom struggles of the
1960s. Focusing on the unique situation presented by Texas,
Led by the Office of Economic Opportunity, Lyndon Johnson's War on
Poverty reflected the president's belief that, just as the civil
rights movement and federal law tore down legalized segregation,
progressive government and grassroots activism could eradicate
poverty in the United States. Yet few have attempted to evaluate
the relationship between the OEO and the freedom struggles of the
1960s. Focusing on the unique situation presented by Texas,Freedom Is Not Enough examines how the War on Poverty
manifested itself in a state marked by racial division and
diversity-and by endemic poverty. Though the War on Poverty did not
eradicate destitution in the United States, the history of the
effort provides a unique window to examine the politics of race and
social justice in the 1960s. William S. Clayson traces the rise and
fall of postwar liberalism in the Lone Star State against a
backdrop of dissent among Chicano militants and black nationalists
who rejected Johnson's brand of liberalism. The conservative
backlash that followed is another result of the dramatic political
shifts revealed in the history of the OEO, completing this study of
a unique facet in Texas's historical identity.
Freedom Is Not Enough examines how the War on Poverty
manifested itself in a state marked by racial division and
diversity-and by endemic poverty. Though the War on Poverty did not
eradicate destitution in the United States, the history of the
effort provides a unique window to examine the politics of race and
social justice in the 1960s. William S. Clayson traces the rise and
fall of postwar liberalism in the Lone Star State against a
backdrop of dissent among Chicano militants and black nationalists
who rejected Johnson's brand of liberalism. The conservative
backlash that followed is another result of the dramatic political
shifts revealed in the history of the OEO, completing this study of
a unique facet in Texas's historical identity.