When did LBJ start his War on Poverty?
Economic Opportunity Act of 1964
On March 16, 1964, President Johnson called for the act in his Special Message to Congress that presented his proposal for a nationwide war on the sources of poverty. The Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 was passed as a part of LBJ's War on Poverty. Encompassing John F. Kennedy's purpose of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 was created "to eliminate the paradox of poverty on the midst of plenty in this nation by opening…. To everyone… the opportunity for education and training, the opportunity to work, and the opportunity to live in decency and dignity."
Joseph S. Clark's and Robert F. Kennedy's tour of the Mississippi Delta
Civil rights activist Unita Blackwell defended the Head Start program, saying it was the only anti-poverty initiative that addressed the locals' problems. When quested by Kennedy about hunger, she stated that there was a problem with hunger in her county and that the shift from surplus food aid to the stamp program had worsened the situation. Wright spoke once more, asserting, "After two civil rights bills and the third year of the poverty bill, the...Negro in Mississippi is poorer than he was, he has less housing, he is badly educated; he is almost in despair." Kennedy took his greatest interest in the locals' statements. Afterwards, he told Evers, "I want to see it."