Pictured are Congresswoman Marcia L. Fudge (D-OH), who is also chair of the Congressional Black Caucus of Blacks in Congress, and U.S. House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner (R-OH)

WASHINGTON, D.C-Congresswoman Marcia L. Fudge (pictured) (D-OH), a Warrensville Heights Democrat whose majority Black 11th congressional district includes parts of the cities of Cleveland and Akron, Ohio and suburban parts of both Cuyahoga and Summit counties, and who also leads the Congressional Black Caucus of Black in Congress, told Cleveland Urban News.Com Thursday evening that America's 'War on Poverty' has become a war on the country's poor.

The federal lawmaker's comments come on the heels of the 50th anniversary of the unofficial war on poverty, which was January 8, and growing concerns that Congress is turning back the clock on Civil Rights gains to the Black community and others with cuts to federal programs impacting the poor, including food stamps, social security, medicaid, and unemployment benefits.

"Here we are today, 50 years later, and too many Americans are still living on the 'outskirts of hope' because the war on poverty has now become a 'war on the poor,' said Fudge in a press release to Cleveland Urban News.Com, Ohio's most read digital Black newspaper and one of the most read online Black news venues in the country.

The 'War on Poverty' is the unofficial name for federal legislation pushed by President Lyndon B. Johnson that became law through Congress in 1964 and is officially known as the Economic Opportunity Act, which established federal funds targeted against poverty.

The poverty rate for all African Americans harbors at 28 percent, which increased from 25 percent in 2005, according to U.S. census reports. Black families with children under 18 headed by a single mother have the highest rate of poverty at 48 percent compared to only eight percent of married-couple Black families, data show.

Fudge delivered remarks yesterday on the floor of Congress to mark the anniversary of America's fight to eradicate poverty and she directed her comments to House Speaker John Boehner (pictured) (R-OH), whose eighth congressional district, like Fudge's 11th district, is among Ohio's 16 congressional districts. Boehner's congressional district includes suburban areas of Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio.

But unlike Fudge, a Black Democrat, Boehner is a conservative Republican leading efforts to cut federally funded programs for the poor and middle class, and it annoys Fudge, whose constituents are for the most part middle class and poor, but mainly poor.

"Mr. Speaker, today I rise to commemorate the 50th anniversary of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty," said Fudge. "In 1964, President Johnson stood in this Chamber and addressed a Congress that represented a nation where more than 25 percent of Americans lived in poverty and in  his address, President Johnson launched an agenda that led to the creation of medicare, medicaid, job corp, head start and nutrition and assistance for those who struggle to put food on the table." Click here to read a copy of Rep. Fudge’s remarks as delivered

Fudge said that Johnson's war helped Americans out of poverty and that Congress is working diligently to undermine his efforts.

"In the last year alone, Congress has agreed to indiscriminate across the board cuts known as sequestration in an effort to balance the budget, and the House passed a farm bill that cut SNAP by $40 billion," Fudge told her congressional colleagues. "Sequestration hurts the very people who need help the most by greatly reducing critical funding to programs like WIC and Head Start."

By Kathy Wray Coleman

WASHINGTON, D.C.-Yesterday marked the 50th anniversary of the "War on Poverty" in America, the unofficial name given to federal legislation first introduced by United States President Lyndon B. Johnson during his State of the Union  address on January 8, 1964. That legislation is officially called the Economic Opportunity Act, which established the Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) to administer the local application of federal funds targeted against poverty.

President Barack Obama (pictured) said that while much has been done to seek to eradicate poverty in America, much has not.

"As Americans, we believe that everyone who works hard deserves a chance at opportunity, and that all our citizens deserve some basic measure of security," said Obama in a press release to Cleveland Urban News.Com, Ohio's most read digital Black newspaper, and one of the most read digital Black newspaper's in the country. " And so, 50 years ago, President Johnson declared a War on Poverty to help each and every American fulfill his or her basic hopes."

The president went on to say that "we created new avenues of opportunity through jobs and education, expanded access to healthcare for seniors, the poor, and Americans with disabilities, and helped working families make ends meet."

The poverty rate for all African Americans harbors at 28 percent, which increased from 25 percent in 2005, according to U.S. census reports. Black families with children under 18 headed by a single mother have the highest rate of poverty at 48 percent compared to only eight percent of married-couple Black families, data show.

Pictured are East Cleveland School Board of Education President Una H.R. Keenon (in red sweater), East Cleveland School Board Member Tiffany Fisher (in blue attire), and Sheba-Marcus Bey (in green sweater), whom East Cleveland Public Library Board of Trustees fired last week without either a formal complaint or a hearing, and not even a performance review since her hiring seven months ago. On Tuesday, two of the library trustees responsible for the firing were themselves ousted by the school board, which appoints library board members under state law.

By Kathy Wray Coleman, Publisher, Editor-n-Chief,