Moynihan the Prophet : Brave Maryland NAACP in effect says he was right

In a significant breakthrough for the NAACP, the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization, the NAACP Maryland state conference has become the first component of the group to embrace welfare reform. (The NAACP’s national leadership, yet to take a formal position on welfare reform, is expected to consider President Clinton’s proposals on the issue at its national convention in July). The Maryland endorsement eliminates a political obstacle and adds an important dimension to the growing consensus for change.

The breakup of the black family long has been a sensitive subject for African Americans. Black leaders, including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., criticized now-Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-N.Y.), then a White House aide, when he told of a 24% black illegitimacy rate and warned of future consequences in his 1965 report, “The Negro Family: A Case for National Action.” Civil rights leaders interpreted his findings as an indictment of African Americans, calling it an immoral attempt to “blame the victim.” They pressured the Johnson Administration to remove the inflammatory topic from a White House conference on civil rights, thus torpedoing Moynihan’s solutions. He had proposed a return to twice-daily mail deliveries to create more jobs, a national family allowance modeled after European and Canadian subsidies, and other remedies that were affordable then.

Government coffers now are extremely tight, and welfare has become a financial drain on federal and state governments, which share the burden. Cost motivates many politicians to champion reforms intended to reduce the rolls and mitigate the expense of providing for poor children whose parents cannot provide for them. The Clinton Administration currently is debating a panoply of changes intended to get poor parents off of welfare and into jobs. But the Administration so far has provided no clue to how the nation would pay the $6-billion price tag.

Welfare’s financial drain is not paramount to the Maryland NAACP leaders. They embrace state welfare reform that would limit benefits and require work because they believe long-term welfare stigmatizes poor women and victimizes their children. They encourage recipients to take advantage of new opportunities under the reform to get off welfare. At the same time, they insist that the state provide sufficient education, training and jobs.

Black leaders have a responsibility to participate--even though most welfare mothers are white--because black parents are represented disproportionately on welfare rolls. By joining the debate, minority leaders can ward off more punitive approaches and advocate further incentives that reward poor mothers for staying in school or going to work.

History has proven Moynihan a prophet. The 24% black illegitimacy rate he reported nearly 30 years ago has climbed to 68%. And today at least 30% of all children born in the United States are born to single mothers. Their vulnerable family status puts them at risk of poverty, welfare dependency and a host of other daunting social problems. Reversing this trend will take a concerted national effort.

The Maryland NAACP leaders deserve credit for adding their important voice to the debate. Their courageous support has delighted Maryland Gov. William Donald Schaefer, who has proposed state welfare reforms largely modeled after the Clinton Administration plan and which parallel some of the noteworthy changes endorsed by California Gov. Pete Wilson. Common to all of those proposals are a limit on how long a person can receive welfare, a requirement to find work, provision of community service jobs and a requirement that teen-age parents live with parents or guardians. Such proposals now are endorsed by the Maryland NAACP. And because of Maryland’s proximity to the District of Columbia, official Washington is paying attention.

Welfare reform is political dynamite, but any politician who dares to call himself or herself a leader cannot duck the rethinking of this important national issue.