Welfare is vital now for many black families, and should be expanded to address harmful stereotypes.

Controlling images have formed the backdrop for policies over the span of time from slavery to post-Civil War reconstruction and up through the current experiences of welfare reform (Quadagno 1996; Roberts 2002; Windsor 2008). Such policies helped create and maintain structural barriers (such as poverty and inability to obtain a High School degree or meaningful employment) that continually posed great challenges in the lives of the participants. In response, participants developed alternative coping strategies. Sometimes these strategies (such as illegal activities that supplemented their income) were critical in relieving their distress. However, many of these coping strategies also contributed to both their distress and oppression by exposing them to violence and harsh punishments imposed by criminal and welfare policies. Oppressive policies are based on racist, patriarchal expectations. Participants resisted, internalized, and/or coped with these assumptions. In resisting they refused to adhere to controlling images and developed their own theories about their identity and experiences. For instance, Bernice experienced the combined brutality of violence, poverty, substance misuse, and drug traffic but consistently refused to accept the ideology that justified her oppression. Bernice’s resistance involved the following steps to building her own counter narrative: (a) making sure she completed high school, (b) avoiding drug dealers and the violence resulting from the drug traffic present in her community, (c) caring and providing for her children’s basic needs, (d) seeking meaningful employment, and (e) internalizing the importance of African American culture and community. Despite her efforts, she continued to struggle with poverty. To cope with the hard reality of her life, she reframed her experiences by claiming she is a stronger woman because of the challenges she had to deal with. This coping strategy allowed her to feel that the distress she encountered had meaning and purpose. At the same time, it helped her in confronting the injustices of growing up in an oppressive society as an impoverished African American woman. This analysis also revealed resistance and the resources available to participants in coping with great challenges. They counted on family and community support, welfare programs including housing, food stamps, cash assistance, and an ever present hope that, no matter how bad things may get today, the future will be brighter.

At the macro level, controlling images help justify the prejudice that biases social policy, thwarts opportunity and taints daily interactions. Thus, fighting the public use of controlling images and their impact on impoverished African American’s lives presents a powerful mechanism for building social justice. By fostering critical thought, educators, service providers, and policy makers are central to addressing the macro-cultural problems that cause oppression. Specifically, policies must challenge mainstream assumptions by educating the public about the insidious affect of stereotypes, stimulate the creation of meaningful employment for the poor, and focus on family preservation as opposed to family separation. Moreover, comprehensive intervention programs are needed at the community level to foster educational attainment, employment, mental health treatment, and family preservation (also see Freire 2000; Gentlewarrior, Martin-Jearld, Skok, and Sweetser 2008). Service providers must continue to advance methods that inform the public and challenge stereotypes about impoverished Black women through research and practice.