By Peniel E. Joseph
Fifty years ago today, President Lyndon Johnson gave one of the most important State of the Union speeches in American history.
Championing the cause of racial and economic equality, he promised, “This administration today, here and now, declares unconditional war on poverty in America.” A half-century later, it’s time for America to declare a new war on poverty.
Like the best presidential addresses, Johnson’s “War on Poverty” speech was enormously ambitious. He argued that a nation as rich and powerful as the United States had a political and moral obligation to lift millions out of poverty, help create jobs for inner-city youth, protect the elderly and provide food for the hungry. | Read the complete article at The Root
Photo credit LBJ Library, Photo by Cecil Stoughton. President Lyndon Johnson signs the Economic Opportunity Act on May 21, 2964.
