In 1963, he created the North Carolina Fund, which relied on a five-year plan to put an end to segregation and economic discrimination.6 Even though poverty had been an issue for a long period of time, it had not been acknowledged.
Indeed, because of high emigration rates that were due to the slowing down of the Industrial Revolution effects, as well as the decline of agricultural job opportunities, the rate of growth in the 1960s was dropping, therefore raising the level of poverty throughout the state of North Carolina, and Durham especially because of the development of the tobacco industry.8 By creating the North Carolina Fund, Sanford was exploring opportunities to enable the local population to be part of the workforce in an evolving society.
The link between race and poverty was first acknowledged by Sanford in 1961 when he realized that many African-American factory workers were paid less than minimal wage, about half of the students dropped out of high school without having obtained a high school diploma, and most of the adults were illiterate.9 Seeing how alarming the situation was in the state of North Carolina, the governor realized that he was facing a pressing issue that was not only affecting the African-American community of Durham, but was also blocking the economic growth and spread of the industries found in that region.
People started to request that their basic needs were met, just like Ann Atwater did, with the support of Howard Fuller, when she finally decided to go talk to her landlord to demand reparations in her house.
She then was recruited as a supervisor for neighborhood workers for the Operation Breakthrough program as well as declared head of the Housing Committee for United Organizations.11 She was strongly involved in the Civil Rights Movement.
This pioneering program was to be designed and implemented by local communities that would best be able to target the needs of the lower-class population.13 The fund relied not only on providing economic support but depended greatly on social and political collaboration.
"14 This non-profit corporation was a precursor to the creation of future similar organizations, aiming to address the long, and still processing, war on poverty.15 The lack of opportunities for minorities reinforced the poverty cycle.
As Sanford said, the North Carolina Fund was going to be the "first massive statewide effort in our country to find ways to break the cycle of poverty and dependency.
As Sanford said, "A child who goes to school with no breakfast under his belt does not have equal opportunity to learn, excel, and move toward adulthood in which he will be able to use his talents and energies and intellect in a self-respecting role in society.
Terry Sanford worked with his aides to convince the Ford Foundation to invest in their anti-poverty plan: "In early 1963, as Sanford's team continued their efforts to convince the Ford Foundation that North Carolina was the right place to launch a new anti-poverty initiative, they turned for assistance not to lawmakers in Raleigh but to wealthy white philanthropists in Winston-Salem and black power brokers in Durham."
To assure program success, people directly affected by the consequences of poverty and segregation were put on the board to represent the voices of minorities.
To pursue the goal of providing a more stable socio-economic situation for the lower class of the population, the Concentrated New Employment Program was created.
Indeed, "Operation Breakthrough's reliance on federal funds offered a way of undermining the poverty agency's ability to organize and mobilize poor blacks.
"30 Operation Breakthrough also brought very strong support to the public workers by accompanying them in their working environment, creating regulations for the minimum wages they were allowed to receive.
In 1967, to further reinforce the positive developments of Operation Breakthrough, New Careers was founded.31 This program focused on improving various aspects of the community, which would strongly ameliorate the local individuals' daily lives.
The whole program focused not only on improving the socio-economic condition of the community, but also strove for a cultural and physical impact to make the population more flexible and able to access different career types.
The facilities developed by the help of Operation Breakthrough still remain prominent actors for the flourishing of Durham as an independent and growing city.
To do so, Johnson said that the initial targets had to be focused on education and health care, which were similar examples to the North Carolina Fund and Operation Breakthrough.