Government Assistance, A Way for the Monster to Oppress the Victim

 Joshua Buckley 

Ms. Harris 

ENGL 2016-44378 

17 November 2022 

Government Assistance, A Way for the Monster to Oppress the Victim 

Big government has always had its fix on the general populace through SNAP, WIC, and general welfare. For the most part, these programs can be an act of good for those who truly need it (sometimes the government doesn't give these programs to negate help), but with the government targeting primarily black neighborhoods, they are oppressing a group of people from not letting them grow and flourish into functioning members of society. A primarily white government is controlling those who are primarily black from working their way out of these rough neighborhoods. They give Black people the minimum to survive and instill poor behavior into these communities. 

Government aid affects most people of color but arguably affects black women the most. Janelle Jones is a Chief Economist at the Department of Labor and she says that “If Black women — who, since our nation’s founding, have been among the most excluded and exploited by the rules that structure our society — can one day thrive in the economy, then it must finally be working for everyone” (CBPP). Jones of course is referencing the TANF program, which was passed in 1996, with the intention of helping these communities rise up and leave these dangerous areas through the means of work. Madison Allen argues something similar, stating that blacks have a harder time getting on these programs because some states require a drug test, and with drug epidemics like that of the crack-cocaine epidemic in the 1980s and 1990s that targeted black families due to unorganized policing in these areas, this is obviously another way the government targets these groups is with the denial of programs (CLASP). Beyonce's Lemonade is a great example of articulating the disadvantage black women have. The best example in the film is when Beyonce is drowning. Not only is this a subtle nod to the class theme ( the sea is haunted) but to the overwhelming feeling black women have in the United States, especially that of single black mothers. These programs are often enticing to black single mothers (roughly 63 percent of the American population). With these programs come both a consequence and a caveat. 

Next, these programs affect the black family. Some of which affect spouses and children. For example, the federal government purposely negates any help for these black communities and instead gives them government assistance which only shadows their own growth. Sanform Schram is a political science professor at CUNY hunter. He says, “I do think the federal government has been complicit in the perpetuation of race-based discrimination that has led to African Americans lagging behind whites. No question about it.” (Insider). Another example is how the ASFA targets black children, especially those in children's homes. Black children make up 21 out of every 1,000 kids, whereas 5 out of every 1,000 are white. Many studies have concluded that this is the result of government aid and repressing blacks into a low, socio-economic neighborhoods. For the targeted black families, the overall theme is reminiscent of Equiano. When Equiano first meets the white man, he is scared not because he was on the ship as the “cargo”, but because he was scared of the unknown. The same way, these black families are

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afraid of the unknown (a white government). The government is unknown because their intentions are not known. 

Obviously Government aid is synonymous with the Black Gothic (the fear of the unknown is the biggest example). Although the monster takes many shapes and forms, racism is a multi-formed creature. Sometimes it’s blunt, and other times, it's subtle and enticing. Hopefully, one day we can have a government that not only accurately represents those less fortunate but a government that is represented by those who have risen above poverty.

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Works Cited 

“Children in Single-Parent Families by Race and Ethnicity: Kids Count Data Center.” KIDS COUNT Data Center: A Project of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2020, https://datacenter.kidscount.org/data/tables/107-children-in-single-parent-families-by-rac e-and-ethnicity#detailed/1/any/false/1729,37,871,870,573,869,36,868,867,133/10,11,9,12 ,1,185,13/432,431. 

“Racism in Public Benefit Programs: Where Do We Go from Here? .” CLASP, 1 Apr. 2022, https://www.clasp.org/blog/racism-public-benefit-programs-where-do-we-go-here/. Roberts, Dorothy. “Welfare and the Problem of Black Citizenship - University of Pennsylvania.” Welfare and the Problem of Black Citizenship , 1996, 

https://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2283&context=faculty_sch olarship. 

Ward, Marguerite. “How Decades of US Welfare Policies Lifted up the White Middle Class and Largely Excluded Black Americans.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 

https://www.businessinsider.com/welfare-policy-created-white-wealth-largely-leaving-bla ck-americans-behind-2020-8. 

White, Christina. “Federally Mandated Destruction of the Black Family: The Adoption and Safe Families.” Scholarly Commons, 2006, 

https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1003&conte xt=njlsp. 

| By Ife Floyd, et al. “TANF Policies Reflect Racist Legacy of Cash Assistance.” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 4 Aug. 2021,

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https://www.cbpp.org/research/family-income-support/tanf-policies-reflect-racist-legacy of-cash-assistance.

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