The Politics of Survival : : Black Women Social Welfare Beneficiaries in Brazil and the United States / / Gladys L. Mitchell-Walthour.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Columbia University Press Complete eBook-Package 2023
• VerfasserIn: Mitchell-Walthour, Gladys L.,
• Place / Publishing House: New York, NY : : Columbia University Press, , [2023]; ©2023
• Year of Publication: 2023
• Language: English
• Series: Black Lives in the Diaspora: Past / Present / Future
• Physical Description: 1 online resource :; 15 b&w illustrations

Poor Black women who benefit from social welfare are marginalized in a number of ways by interlocking systemic racism, sexism, and classism. The media renders them invisible or casts them as racialized and undeserving “welfare queens” who exploit social safety nets. Even when Black women voters are celebrated, the voices of the poorest too often go unheard. How do Afro-descendant women in former slave-holding societies survive amid multifaceted oppression?Gladys L. Mitchell-Walthour offers a comparative analysis of how Black women social welfare beneficiaries in Brazil and the United States defy systems of domination. She argues that poor Black women act as political subjects in the struggle to survive, to provide food for their children and themselves, and challenge daily discrimination even in dire circumstances. Mitchell-Walthour examines the effects of social welfare programs, showing that mutual aid networks and informal labor play greater roles in beneficiaries’ lives. She also details how Afro-descendant women perceive stereotypes and discrimination based on race, class, gender, and skin color. Mitchell-Walthour considers their formal political participation, demonstrating that low-income Black women support progressive politics and that religious affiliation does not lead to conservative attitudes.Drawing on Black feminist frameworks, The Politics of Survival confronts the persistent invisibility of poor Black women by foregrounding their experiences and voices. Providing a wealth of empirical evidence on these women’s views and survival strategies, this book not only highlights how systemic structures marginalize them but also offers insight into how they resist such forces.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- CONTENTS -- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS -- INTRODUCTION -- 1 THE POLITICS OF SURVIVAL -- 2 SUPPORT OF SOCIAL WELFARE PROGRAMS, STIGMA, AND RESISTANCE -- 3 PERCEPTIONS OF CLASS, SKIN COLOR, AND GENDER DISCRIMINATION -- 4 ARE POOR BLACK WOMEN TO BLAME FOR CONSERVATIVE POLITICIANS? -- 5 CONCLUSION Are Poor Black Women the Hope for Progressive Politics? -- APPENDIX -- NOTES -- REFERENCES -- INDEX