Knoblock, Charles. “Linda Taylor, 40, walks with her attorney T. Lee Boyd as they leave the Chicago Civic Center Tuesday during a recess in her trial.” 1977. AP Photo.

The Welfare Queen

Ronald Reagan’s presidential campaign centered the story of Linda Taylor, branded by newspapers as a “welfare queen.” There was nothing typical about Taylor or her actions, but her case became an invidious stereotype — the scheming, minority welfare swindler, living high off the government dime and honest American taxpayers. Readers were led to think of her in racialized and criminalized terms as a Black woman. This sexist and racist term became a popular trope, which is still used in derogatory ways by lawmakers attempting to dismantle or de-fund the safety net.

Josh Levin, The Queen: The Forgotten Life Behind an American Myth (Thorndike Press, 2019).

Where is it located in the Museum?

The Welfare Queen

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