Poor Atlanta by LeeAnn B. Lands

Author:LeeAnn B. Lands
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: University of Georgia Press
Published: 2022-06-15T00:00:00+00:00

Bill Burson and the Politics of Hunger

To be sure, Bill Burson had resisted implementing hearings in the wake of the Goldberg decision. But Burson was probably the most accommodating white state agency head that poor people could hope to have running Georgia’s DFACS in the late 1960s. His efforts to fight child hunger illustrate how bureaucrats could positively influence antipoverty infrastructure and services.

A professional journalist who had covered the Korean conflict, Burson joined Georgia governor Herman Talmadge’s staff as press secretary in the early 1950s.151 Burson’s decision to serve Talmadge surprised other journalists: Burson had a reputation for political moderation (journalist Margaret Shannon described him as having “a strong New Deal Democratic streak”), and Talmadge, a revered figure in Georgia politics, was well known for his embrace of white supremacy and defense of segregation. But Talmadge liked Burson and helped protect the bureaucrat when people questioned his political leanings or might otherwise have publicly challenged him. Burson remained in public service when Lester Maddox ascended to the governor’s office, and he penned the new governor’s inauguration address, a speech that at the time was considered to be “moderate” for Maddox, an inflammatory and volatile personality who insisted on an individual’s right to do business—or not do business—with whomever he pleased, including Blacks. Maddox wanted Burson in his administration and considered him for various positions before he appointed him to lead the state welfare office in July 1967. As director, Burson spent much of his initial energy confronting childhood hunger.152

To Burson, hunger undermined human potential, and as he explained in an interview for Atlanta Journal and Constitution Magazine, “We’re not going to do much about solving education, vocational training or health problems in this state unless we solve the hunger problem first.”153 Burson was particularly incensed that upwards of 70 Georgia counties lacked food programs.154 Only 24 counties participated in the USDA food stamp program and 69 in the commodities food program, despite the more than 116,000 Georgians in need.155

In Georgia, hunger was a sizeable battle to engage. Not only was hunger itself significant, but as Burson suggested, some counties flat out refused to set up anti-hunger programs, even if such programs were heavily funded by federal offices (such as the Food and Drug Administration [FDA]).156 Some resistance resulted from entrenched racial stereotypes, and Burson accused county officials who declined to invest in food programs with trying to “starve out” unskilled Blacks so that they would relocate to cities.157 Many county officials blamed the high costs of food programs for their county’s lack of participation, though the Atlanta Constitution described the administrative costs as “nominal.”158 Burson confronted these attitudes with little diplomacy. He threatened to shut down county welfare departments and invite federal intervention. For their part, local officials accused Burson and his agency of meddling in local affairs. Other state politicians tried to get Burson fired. Some tagged him a liberal. But Governor Maddox supported Burson’s efforts to feed Georgians. “Three and a half years from now, I want it

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