Equity & Diversity Series

War on Poverty

Progress and Persistent Inequity

President Lyndon B. Johnson launched the War on Poverty in 1964. Fifty years later, the faces and dynamics of child poverty in the United States have changed dramatically, but the nation’s approach to ending it is still based largely on the policies and programs laid out then.This series of articles in Education Week, to be gathered over 18 months, reflects on the anniversary of the War on Poverty and its impact on the lives of children, especially those living in poverty.

Education Timeline: Head Start's Journey
Explore an interactive timeline of important developments throughout the 50-year history of the War on Poverty's landmark program for young children.
Christina A. Samuels, August 5, 2014
Federal The Evolution of Head Start: An Audio Interview
On the cusp of Head Start's 50th anniversary, Edward F. Zigler reflects on the program's formation, its strengths, and his hopes for Head Start's future.
Christina A. Samuels, August 5, 2014
Dashawn Smith, 6, left, looks over at his friend Malachi Davis, 10, outside the Potomac Gardens public-housing complex in Washington. The fence was erected around the property to keep out drug dealers and other criminals. While the federal housing programs expanded through the War on Poverty provide stability for assisted families, their children still often live in concentrated poverty.
Dashawn Smith, 6, left, looks over at his friend Malachi Davis, 10, outside the Potomac Gardens public-housing complex in Washington. The fence was erected around the property to keep out drug dealers and other criminals. While the federal housing programs expanded through the War on Poverty provide stability for assisted families, their children still often live in concentrated poverty.
Swikar Patel/Education Week
Equity & Diversity 50 Years Later, Housing Programs' Reach Is Limited
The housing programs expanded through the War on Poverty provide stability for many assisted families, but their children still often grow up in concentrated poverty and struggle academically.
Evie Blad, March 25, 2014
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12 min read
An aerial photograph shows a section of Levittown, N.Y., in 1948, shortly after construction of the mass-produced suburb was completed on Long Island farmland, 25 miles east of Manhattan in New York City.
An aerial photograph shows a section of Levittown, N.Y., in 1948, shortly after construction of the mass-produced suburb was completed on Long Island farmland, 25 miles east of Manhattan in New York City.
Levittown Public Library/AP-File
Equity & Diversity Opinion Segregated Housing, Segregated Schools
Richard Rothstein writes about the oft-overlooked history of government-sanctioned segregated housing policy and its continuing impact on schools and minority achievement.
Richard Rothstein, March 25, 2014
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7 min read
Education War on Poverty: Progress and Persistent Inequity
Education Week reflects on the 50th anniversary of the War on Poverty and its impact on the lives of children, especially those living in poverty.
January 23, 2014
Equity & Diversity Analysis Points to Growth in Per-Pupil Spending—and Disparities
Since the War on Poverty, the average gap in per-pupil spending between two states grew by 256 percent, an Education Week analysis finds.
Andrew Ujifusa & Michele McNeil, January 22, 2014
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5 min read
Then and Now: Children play at recess outside of Hays-Porter Elementary School in Cincinnati's West End neighborhood. The yearbook photo on the left depicts the neighborhood around 1990. on the right, Aaryn hill, 9, and her 2nd grade classmates stand in the same spot earlier this month. The school is still largely racially and economically segregated, despite decades of government anti-poverty efforts.
<b>Then and Now:</b> Children play at recess outside of Hays-Porter Elementary School in Cincinnati's West End neighborhood. The yearbook photo on the left depicts the neighborhood around 1990. on the right, Aaryn hill, 9, and her 2nd grade classmates stand in the same spot earlier this month. The school is still largely racially and economically segregated, despite decades of government anti-poverty efforts.
Photos from left: Hays-Porter Elementary School, Swikar Patel/Education Week
Equity & Diversity Still Segregated After 50 Years: A Visit to Cincinnati's West End
Fifty years after the War on Poverty began, schools serving children in Cincinnati's West End are still largely segregated by economics and race.
Sarah D. Sparks, January 22, 2014
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8 min read
In the Trenches: President Lyndon B. Johnson and his wife, Lady Bird, center left, leave a home in Inez, Ky., on a visit to the state’s Appalachian region in April 1964. They visited a father of eight who said he had been out of work for nearly two years.
<b>In the Trenches:</b> President Lyndon B. Johnson and his wife, Lady Bird, center left, leave a home in Inez, Ky., on a visit to the state’s Appalachian region in April 1964. They visited a father of eight who said he had been out of work for nearly two years.
AP-File
Equity & Diversity 50 Years Later, War on Poverty Yields Mixed Success
While child poverty remains a stubborn enemy, the federal anti-poverty initiative launched by President Lyndon B. Johnson has led to health and IQ gains for disadvantaged students.
Sarah D. Sparks, January 22, 2014
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11 min read