Addressing Systemic Racial Injustice in the United States from the War on Poverty to Social Enterprise to Black Lives Matter

Despite the many years of reform since Civil Rights movement, racial justice in United States has remained elusive because endemic nature racism and anti-Blackness at all levels American society, including structures welfare state. Using a critical race theory approach, this article examines evolution structural social policies from Great Society 1960s to devolved entrepreneurialism neoliberalism turn millennium. If large-scale programs state were seen as only entity with sufficient capacity collectively change Society, brought an austere decentralized vision policy that sought roll back collective security favor individual responsibility risk. Social enterprise emerged 1990s highly touted method achieve on grassroots level amidst rise neoliberal ideologies hollowed out core Many extolled value rigorous way apply efficient business methods without taking into account history Black enterprise. The logic ultimately deters systemic thinking it focuses abilities uplift, rather than institutional change. ends by reflecting how radical imagination movements like Lives Matter might contribute achieving re-envisioning welfare.