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?
Museum Map
LOBBY
THE
WISHING
TREE
WISHING
TREE
THE SNAP CAFÉ
AUDITORIUM
TERRACE RESTAURANT
The Hunger Museum
We Can Solve Hunger —
The Proof is in Our History
The Proof is in Our History
- 1.Welcome
- 2.Museum Lobby
- 3.The Age of Mass Migration - Landing
- 4.The Age of Mass Migration - Main
- 5.Immigration from Europe
- 6.On the Breadline
- 7.Beginnings
- 8.An Unequal Recovery
- 9.Hunger, Justice, and Civil Rights - Landing
- 10.Hunger, Justice, and Civil Rights - Main
- 11.Walk for Decent Welfare (Columbus, OH)
- 12.Televising the War on Hunger - Landing
- 13.Televising the War on Hunger - Main
- 14.President Lyndon B. Johnson
- 15.Senator George McGovern and Senator Robert Dole
- 16.Dr. Jean Mayer and the White House Conference
- 17.1975-1996: The Unmaking of the Great Society
- 18.Government Cheese
- 19.The Welfare Queen
- 20.The Return of the Welfare Queen
- 21.Crises of New Proportions - Landing
- 22.Crises of New Proportions - Main
- 23.COVID-19
- 24.Welcome to the SNAP Café
- 25.SNAP Cafe – Create a meal
- 26.Wishing Tree
MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger