Black and on Welfare

Personally, it was difficult for me to relate to this reading because I’ve never had any sort of encounter with welfare. I didn’t really have any previous knowledge or concern of how the welfare program worked. If I’d heard the word “welfare” I would think that someone was unemployed, couldn’t get a decent job, and somehow received just enough money to get by. Although my understanding of what welfare is and how it works is still a bit hazy, Sandra Golden’s essay helped me to somewhat be aware of what welfare is, how it works, and who receives it. After reading Golden’s Black and on Welfare and listening to input from my classmates, I was able to get a better look into the welfare system.
From the reading, it seemed to me that the welfare system was flawed mainly in how it directed its attention, or lack thereof, to individuals in the system; especially Black female individuals. Caseworkers did not appear to give credit to Black females but instead looked down on them and saw them as lazy and not wanting to work. However, these women wanted to work in order to provide for themselves and their families. Though these women had a desire to work their caseworkers along with the welfare system put them in jobs or “organizations that provided no on-the-job training or in positions within organizations that had no growth potential.” I found this to be unfair. I think that an individual’s caseworker should pay attention to them and get to know them better in order to recognize that person’s strengths and abilities in order to be able to place them in jobs where they can be successful.
I believe Golden’s recommendations for the welfare system can help better the system so it in turn can help and better understand individuals. To see that people can have strengths in other literacy type areas rather than just academic literacy alone. I believe that when caseworkers make a connection with their clients then they can really help them and welfare will become more of a stepping stone rather than something people have to depend on entirely.

Kirah Brace