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Struggle & ResistanceAchievement & Excellence

August 1996

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Oppression
Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act Ends Federal Welfare Guarantee

President Clinton signed the welfare reform law replacing AFDC with TANF block grants, imposing five-year lifetime limits and work requirements. Black families represented 37% of AFDC recipients; researchers documented disproportionate cuts in states with larger Black populations. Critics including Marian Wright Edelman resigned in protest. Within five years, 2.2 million families lost cash assistance nationally.

Events

  1. August 22, 1996
    Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act Ends Federal Welfare Guarantee

    President Clinton signed the welfare reform law replacing AFDC with TANF block grants, imposing five-year lifetime limits and work requirements. Black families represented 37% of AFDC recipients; researchers documented disproportionate cuts in states with larger Black populations. Critics including Marian Wright Edelman resigned in protest. Within five years, 2.2 million families lost cash assistance nationally.

  2. August 18, 1996· debated
    Gary Webb's "Dark Alliance"

    Reporter Gary Webb links CIA-backed Contras to the cocaine pipeline that fed the crack epidemic.

Resources from this period