The Lyndon Baines Johnson Museum of San Marcos, in partnership with the Department of Political Science, held its 2020 Spring Lecture on March 5th. The speaker, Dr. David Zarefsky, a professor at Northwestern University and a specialist incommunications and history, is the author of several books including President Johnson’s War on Poverty and Lincoln, Douglas, and Slavery: In the Crucible of Public Debate. More than forty people attended his lecture on “War on Poverty – 50 Years Later” which explored the efforts by the Johnson and Kennedy administrations to address the problem of poverty in America.
In his talk, Dr. Zarefsky spoke about different definitions of poverty and how they influenced the debates in the 1960s surrounding the war. He began by discussing the different approaches employed by the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. He emphasized the importance of aggressiveness of President Johnson’s approach and the legislation that resulted from it.
Political science student, Kelly Torpey noted the lecture was “extremely rewarding” and added she gained a “better understanding of LBJ’s social reform policy.”
The lecture was preceded by a reception honoring Dr. Zarefsky and followed by a question and answer session. After the program concluded, Dr. Zarefsky stayed to talk with people individually about his lecture.
