What was the Welfare Rights Movement?
The Welfare Rights Movement was a feminist movement advocating for increased public assistance and the democratization of the welfare state. Grassroots organizations of poor women formed across the country during the postwar period. The national phase began in 1966 at the Walk for Decent Welfare, a 155-mile trek from Cleveland to Columbus. After that highly publicized protest, grassroots groups coalesced into the National Welfare Rights Organization.
The Walk for Decent Welfare
For ten days in June 1966, a group of low-income citizens and their middle-class allies walked more than 150 miles from Cleveland to Columbus to protest inadequate welfare payments. Activists and supporters across the country held rallies in their communities on the day the marchers arrived in Ohio's capital, June 30. This nationwide day of protest marked the start of the welfare rights movement's national phase.
