Overthrowing the Queen: Telling Stories of Welfare in America

The title calls forth something promising, and the author does not disappoint. Anyone familiar with the image of the welfare queen might understand the hold it has on the US attitude regarding public assistance for individuals and families in need. For those unfamiliar with the legend, the author presents not only an insightful examination of its widespread deployment to create political and social advantages, but also an engaging and thoughtful case about the detriment the welfare queen legend has on those receiving public aid as well as those needing it but refusing to accept it because of the stigma attached. The book reminds readers of the humanity of all while acknowledging the ongoing political benefit of the welfare queen legend when wielded by politicians. This continued use for political gain perpetuates the negative image of those on public assistance and simultaneously creates a barrier for those who need the assistance but fear being stereotyped if they seek help. Although Americans might like to imagine they will never be on public assistance, in fact, many are only a few paychecks away from needing these vital yet maligned programs, which are designed to provide a bridge over hard times. Any course on storytelling, oral history, or in disciplines such as Black studies or sociology should assign sections from this book.The welfare queen is represented as an African American woman who has become a monster in the American consciousness, and the welfare queen legend has its roots in deep-seated anti-poor sentiment. She is trotted out regularly at private social events and in more public settings to disparage those who are economically poor and on public assistance. When the legend of the welfare queen is activated, all historical baggage of a lazy moocher who is gaming the government system is brought to bear in order to tap into societal angst and resentment and target two specific groups: Black women and the poor. The image is so powerful that mere reference to anyone in the “inner city” or “urban areas” who may not want to work immediately conjures up the stereotype without ever uttering the phrase.In Overthrowing the Queen: Telling Stories of Welfare in America, Tom Mould examines the stronghold of the welfare queen as a social and political stereotype whose beginnings precede Ronald Reagan's unsuccessful 1976 presidential bid. However, during this run for the presidency, Ronald Reagan's exaggeration of the story of a woman who was found to have defrauded the public aid system takes root as the well-known, unnamed figure. Reagan and mainstream media successfully craft her existence as the welfare queen, and she becomes further codified as an object in welfare reform legislation enacted under former President Bill Clinton's presidency several years after Reagan leaves office. The legend of the welfare queen lives on 40 years later, as Mould deftly explores, and is wielded by many for various reasons.Mould presents numerous points of data on key talking points in the construction of the welfare queen—such as the recipients of public assistance, causes of poverty, public aid assistance and the working poor, and levels of fraud and its perpetrators—to lay a foundation interrogating the notion of widespread, recipient-committed welfare fraud. Mould summarizes the data regarding recipients: “All in all, people of color are disproportionately represented for reasons tied heavily to structural inequalities and generational poverty. The vast majority of aid recipients are working, trying to find work, disabled, or caring for a child. . . . And finally, official fraud levels are low among recipients, with the bulk of fraud in the welfare system perpetrated by providers, not recipients” (p. 32). Recipient stories illustrate the impact of narrative on creating community and coping with the onslaught aimed at public aid recipients. Stories include those of rough and tough beginnings, hardship, and loss that knocked them down but did not keep them on the ground; stories of perseverance, overcoming, growth, and hard work; stories of community that saw a need and acted through agencies created to provide support to those needing a hand up; and stories of success.The book presents recipient narratives, as well as narratives about recipients from non-recipients, who are often white. Narratives about recipients consistently cast them as societal outsiders possessing any number of undesirable traits and behaviors, marking them ultimately as unworthy. They regularly portray women recipients as African American, immoral, addicted to drugs, and engaging in other criminal behavior.Mould also explores the vicious circle of going on welfare. A deserving non-recipient is one who is too proud or self-reliant to accept any aid. However, the moment that deserving persons go on welfare, they immediately become stigmatized as undeserving. One disturbing but not surprising aspect of politicized welfare narratives shared in intimate settings, as well as through memes, cartoons, jokes, and other social media posts, is that recipients often internalize the “hegemonic narratives and stereotypes” as truth that overshadows their own personal experiences (p. 179).Mould also incorporates a doubt-centered approach to analyzing narratives about welfare recipients. This method “encourages an audience-centered approach . . . highlights the dialogic nature of legend,” and “reveals chinks in the defenses that narrators construct to establish credibility for their stories” (p. 247). He deploys three concepts (doubts about the facts, doubts about the interpretation, and doubts about the generalizability) of a doubt-centered lens to aid in interrogation of the tidy narratives about public aid recipients.So, will the welfare queen be overthrown? “No time soon” seems to be the answer the author leaves with us. He writes: “The power and danger of the welfare queen legend is that she is everywhere. Debunk one story, and a person merely needs to pivot to another” (p. 291).Nevertheless, Mould offers a possible pathway to rid the American psyche of the welfare queen legend. Three key steps are “(1) identify the canonical narratives, (2) identify the fears and anxieties, and (3) identify alternative narratives that sidestep or alleviate those fears and counter the canonical narratives” (p. 293). While the pathway offers possibilities, the verdict remains clear. The pervasiveness, stereotyping, and easy scapegoating provided by images of the welfare queen make the road to recasting public aid recipients in a more accurate light daunting and long and winding, though not a hopeless endeavor. Of the legend's stronghold, the author asserts, “[the] other answer to the question of how the welfare queen remains alive and well today must be searched for not solely among political elites or even the mass media but among us all, among the folk” (p. 44). The queen's longevity is due quite simply to the fact we cannot get enough of her. Her existence satisfies something the folk want and need. Mould's assertion serves as an invitation for everyone to examine why the welfare queen legend continues to captivate.