Moynihan Report
The Moynihan Report, formally titled "The Negro Family: The Case for National Action," was published in 1965 by Daniel Patrick Moynihan, a social scientist who later served as a U.S. senator. The report posited that the instability of family structures within Black communities contributed significantly to issues like unemployment, welfare dependency, and crime. Moynihan described these challenges as a "tangle of pathology," building upon earlier sociological theories which viewed lower-class culture as disorganized. The report sparked considerable controversy, particularly among Civil Rights leaders, who criticized it for promoting a culture-of-poverty narrative that they felt shifted blame onto the poor rather than addressing systemic barriers such as discrimination and unequal access to resources. Critics argued that this perspective overlooked the broader societal factors contributing to poverty, such as inadequate education and employment opportunities. The ongoing debate surrounding the Moynihan Report highlights the complexities of discussing race, poverty, and family dynamics in America, making it a significant yet contentious piece of social policy literature. Its implications continue to resonate in discussions about public policy and social equity today.
Moynihan Report
One explanation for high levels of impoverishment in black communities was published in The Negro Family (1965), by Daniel Patrick Moynihan, a white social scientist of Irish descent who later became a US senator. By postulating that “the family structure of the lower-class Negroes is highly unstable,” the Moynihan Report argued that family deterioration was at the heart of high unemployment, welfare dependency, low achievement, and crime. In Moynihan’s view, black communities were enmeshed in a “tangle of pathology.” The report relied heavily on earlier observations by E. Franklin Frazier (1932), who conceptualized lower-class culture as disorganized and pathological. This thesis has since been used by others who contend that disadvantaged poor and minority groups encourage cultural practices that fuel their continued poverty.
Reaction to the Moynihan Report was generally negative on the part of leaders of the Civil Rights movement—especially clear when the report’s conclusions were dismissed by those participating in the November 1965, meeting of the White House Conference on Civil Rights. The idea that poverty is caused by subcultural patterns has implications for public policy. Instead of focusing on federal efforts to ensure good jobs, housing, education, health care, and income maintenance, those who hold this view focus on improving the character of individuals and families. Critics of the report said that this culture-of-poverty theory was a form of victim blaming that ignored societal and institutional structures—such as unequal access to jobs, segregated education, and unaffordable, deteriorating housing—that make groups who are discriminated against more susceptible to poverty and the problems it causes for families and communities. Poor and minority people have the same values as those in more advantaged sectors of society, but their barriers to achievement are much greater.
This perspective continues to offend and enrage many people, including African Americans, civil rights workers, and progressive community and government activists.
Bibliography
Geary, Daniel. Beyond Civil Rights: The Moynihan Report and Its Legacy. Philadelphia: U of Pennsylvania P, 2015. Print.
George, Robert P., and Yuval Levin. "Family Breakdown and Poverty." Education Next 15.2 (2015): 30–35. Print.
Greenbaum, Susan D. Blaming the Poor: The Long Shadow of the Moynihan Report on Cruel Images about Poverty. New Brunswick: Rutgers UP, 2015. Print.
McLanahan, Sara, and Christopher Jencks. "Was Moynihan Right?" Education Next 15.2 (2015): 14–20. Print.
Weiner, Greg. American Burke: The Uncommon Liberalism of Daniel Patrick Moynihan. Lawrence: UP of Kansas, 2015. Print.