Credible Workers and Deserving Mothers: Crafting the “Mother Tongue” in Welfare Rights Activism, 1967–1972

Abstract

This essay explores the use of the mother tongue on the part of poor, primarily black women who were welfare recipient-activists in the late 1960s. In contrast to the “feminine style” described by Campbell as “inductive, even circuitous” and “somewhat tentative” in tone (Campbell, 1986, p. 440), the mother tongue is direct, unequivocal, and at times irreverent or indecorous for the given speaking situation. Recipient-activists used the mother tongue to refute prevailing stereotypes such as the “welfare chiseler” and the “welfare queen.” The study complicates notions of the feminine style by calling attention to the influence of race and class on rhetorical intervention in public policy debates.

Keywords:

• Feminine Style
• Mother Tongue
• Race
• Welfare Rights

Notes

Quoted in May, 1965, p. 13.

Social Security and Welfare Proposals, 1969, p. 1013.

Jeppesen (2009) and Katz (1989) represent two of the very few studies on poor people's rhetorics.

In 2008, the National Communication Association's annual conference theme was “The Engaged Discipline.”

In the 2010 case, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, the Supreme Court decided in favor of unlimited corporate expenditure to support independent political organizations.

See Foss and Griffin's (1995) advocacy of “invitational” rhetoric. Also noteworthy, an Institute for Civil Discourse has been formed at the University of Arizona to promote a “research and policy regarding civil discourse consistent with First Amendment principles” (para. 1).

Johnnie Tillmon founded ANC Mothers Anonymous located in Watts, California, in the early 1960s. She later went on to become the first chair of the National Welfare Rights Organization (see White, 1999, pp. 223–226).

The place of housework within a capitalist system—and whether or not it constituted productive or unproductive labor—was debated by women in the Communist Party, among other places. In her book, In Woman's Defense, Mary Inman argued in contrast with other female CPers that housework was productive labor deserving of pay (see Weigand, 2001).

The Welfare Fighter, during its run from 1969–1972, regularly featured articles on the successes of both local WROs and the national organization, including stories of important legal victories won at the federal level.

For recent scholarship on the disciplining effects of calls for civility, see Dow (1995), Fulkerson (1996). Lozano-Reich and Cloud (2009), Pollock, Artz, Frey, Pearce, and Murphy (1996), and Tonn (2005). Note that discussions over the limitations of traditional means of communication for disempowered groups have been present among communication scholars since the 1960s (Andrews, 1969; Barnlund & Haiman, 1960; Griffin, 1964; Haiman, 1967; Scott & Smith, 1969; Simons, 1972).

Given space limitations, the issue of standpoint was not introduced in the present study. For a start, see Alcoff (2006), Hartsock (1983), and Lukacs (1968). Work among standpoint theorists has been diverse with studies focusing on the impact of standpoint on reception (Droogsma, 2007; Harris & Donmoyer, 2000; Kinefuchi & Orbe, 2008) and production (Ellingson, 2000) of cultural texts; while others have grappled with the “commonality-diversity” problematic—recognizing differences among women even as they speak of a common women's experience (K. E. Bell, Orbe, Drummond, & Camara, 2000; Dougherty & Krone, 2000; Hallstein, 2000, p. 3; Harding, 1991; Wood, 1992). Black feminists have challenged tendencies toward reducing the female experience to a white experience highlighting black women's unique position as “outsider-within” (Collins, 1986, 1991; hooks, 1984, 1989; Moraga & Anzaldua, 1983).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Mary E. Triece

Mary E. Triece is a Professor at the School of Communication, University of Akron.