Johnnie Tillmon was a warrior who battled rent, hunger and poverty to win rights for all low-income people. Her advocacy laid the foundation for the National Welfare Rights Organization (NWRO). As the chairperson, she directed one of the most radical and revolutionary movements ever to be led by women on welfare. During her later tenure as ED, her leadership laid a strong foundation for future advocacy on behalf of America’s poor. Her ideas are more important than ever, as the battle over income disparity and one’s right to the city has reached a boiling point.
Tillmon’s impact went far beyond her tenure in leadership. She was an incredibly effective and intentional writer. In 1972, she helped lead the revolution in the spring issue of Ms. Magazine. This article brought attention to the titanic obstacles women encountered when forced to depend on welfare. This work became iconic in feminist literature, galvanizing awareness of the intersection of gender and poverty.
Propped up by Tillmon’s vision, NWRO went on to develop unique “projects of survival” specifically tailored to meet the needs of its members. These initiatives allowed women to combine their scarce resources and cut through the often-maze-like government bureaucracy. With a politically active and spiritually enlivened membership of over 20,000 paid dues members, the organization became an indispensable political and spiritual home. At its zenith, it flaunted over 100 grassroots local chapters.
The women who helped found NWRO soon became leaders in many areas. They were these amazing collective action evangelists and advocates but strategists that knew the power of diversity. Tillmon proposed four strategic principles that remain relevant for grassroots movements today: the poor must unite across their differences and assume strong leadership within these efforts.
In 1971, a local NWRO chapter in Nevada pulled off a pretty incredible march. Nearly 1,000 women descended on Caesars Palace in Las Vegas to demand to be heard. This protest was just the start of a multi-year campaign of civil disobedience that ultimately won new and better welfare benefits. The protests changed the conversation in a remarkable way. They convinced a federal judge to restore those benefits.
As a basis for their work, NWRO demanded a “guaranteed adequate income.” This effort set the stage for the expanded child tax credit that was passed on a temporary basis in 2021. This progressive policy pulled an estimated four million children above the poverty line. That’s the biggest one-year drop in official child poverty in American history.
Tillmon’s style of grassroots organizing still inspires today. It was soon known as “the Tillmon model” by veterans of the welfare rights movement. This activist model prioritized strategic organizing, joint struggle, and teaching of those impacted by poverty, and it greatly inspired activists around the country.
Tillmon’s powerful vision for women’s liberation makes clear just how high the stakes are for her organizing. She once stated,
“For a lot of middle-class women in this country, Women’s Liberation is a matter of concern. For women on welfare, it’s a matter of survival … As far as I’m concerned, the ladies of NWRO are the frontline troops of women’s freedom. Both because we have so few illusions and because our issues are so important to all women–the right to a living wage for women’s work, the right to life itself.” – Johnnie Tillmon
This quote encapsulates the essence of NWRO’s mission: to advocate for fundamental rights that impact not only women on welfare but society as a whole.
As today’s movements fight to redress the systemic burdens of poverty and inequality, there is much that can still be learned from Tillmon and NWRO. The organization’s long history is an example that when we act together, we can bring about real transformation. Today’s activists have much to learn from the tactics employed by NWRO. In doing so, they are continuing to chart a path through formidable obstacles to achieving equitable treatment for all marginalized communities.