Biting the Hand That Feeds Them: Organizing Women on Welfare at the Grass Roots Level : Praeger : 9780275929220 : 0275929221 : 10 Apr 1989 : This book examines the successful organizing and mobilization activities of urban poor women for social change and how they struggled to convince the larger society of the legitimacy of their cause. Challenging traditional views of poverty, women on welfare began demanding structural changes in the institution of social welfare in this country, but lacking the support of others their efforts were unsuccessful. To explore this issue an analysis is made of the Brooklyn Welfare Action Council (B-WAC), a grassroots cooperative established in 1967 and disbanded in 1973. Its purpose was to obtain social and economic benefits for its members through the promotion of changes within the system. The Brooklyn Council distinguished itself by being the sole welfare rights group controlled by and addressing the needs of the recipients. Demonstrations at welfare