But unfortunately the reality was that the minorities had much harder times than white Americans. In 1933, the general unemployment rate in the United States was over 25 percent; at the same time, unemployment rates for various American minorities ranged up to 50 percent or more (“Great Depression and the New Deal Reference Library”1). Racial discrimination was high and minorities were the first to loose their jobs during the Great Depression. They were denied to work. They were often denied employment in public works programs, they were sometimes threatened at relief centers when applying for work or assistance, and even some charities refused to provide food to needy minorities, especially to blacks in the South.
During the time of the Great Depression, African Americans struggled the most already being the poorest people in America, but this changed with The Second World War which brought jobs and more rights to African Americans. In Chapters 10 and 11 of the book Creating Black Americans: African-American History and its meanings, 1619 to the present by Nell Irvin Painter, the author outlines the struggle for African Americans during the Great Depression, and even after during the New Deal era, then shows how they came out of it and became more successful and powerful during The Second World War. The Great Depression started with the crash of the stock market, and led to 25% of all American workers losing their jobs, most of which were African Americans.
During the 1930’s the great depression took place, while there was little to no work, there were laws being passed, and the African Americans were being separated not only in their work, but also their schooling, and the places they went while getting the leftovers from everything. While there was very little work during this time.1890-1980 is the only decade where the average earnings declined. Every white person that wanted to work had to have a job before any business where to hire an african american person. They were not allowed to work with the whites they often had to work in the fields, but were soon replaced by machines.
One of the problems that they faced was discrimination in finding employment which caused African Americans to have unemployment rates that doubled or tripled that of whites. These rates were largely due to the government ignoring African Americans during Hoover’s presidency, but this was changed with Roosevelt’s New Deal. A newspaper called The Crisis commented on the New Deal’s affects on African Americans when they stated, “[The] most important contribution of the Roosevelt administration is teh age-old color line problem in America…government has taken on meaning and substance for the Negro masses. ”(Doc I).
“Worst of all, many Americans lost hope. As former president Calvin Coolidge acknowledged in 1932, ‘In other periods of depression, it has always been possible to see some things which were solid and upon which you could base hope. . . but as I look about, I now see nothing to give ground to hope.’” (Emory). The Great Depression (lasting roughly from 1929 to 1939) was, undoubtedly, one of the most troubling and hopeless periods faced by Americans in the early 20th century; inequality prospered as minorities, especially Black people and immigrants, became scapegoats for the country’s record-high unemployment and low quality of life.
Elysia Laub May 8th, 2024 Dustin Hudak Dual Credit United States History The Extent to Which the Great Depression Affected Black Minority Groups The Great Depression was a period of economic disparity from 1929 to 1939. It followed World War I by about 11 years, but the war was the initial instigating factor of the depression. With money flying around to pay off war debts and reparations, stock markets abruptly crashed and chaos ensued, leading to astronomical unemployment, poverty, and hunger rates. While the Great Depression hit all American citizens tremendously, the effect it had on minority groups was more severe and different than most other groups.
On October 29, 1929 the Stock Market crashed in the United States. The years to follow were full of desperation and despair. Most Americans suffered greatly but two groups that were hit in similar and very different ways were African Americans and white people in America. Although the Great Depression may have brought some people together that was not the case for these two groups. African Americans and white people experienced the Great Depression in similar ways but also in different ways because of racial inequalities partly to do with everyone’s desperation to find work, this caused a divide in America.
By Nevaeh Gray 7A. Do you know about the Great Depression and how it affected African Americans? This event affected people crucially and especially African Americans. At this time the economy was already very bleak, but when this terrible event happened it just made it worse for African Americans. For example, black people were the first to get laid off and some people even excluded black people from their soup kitchens. Black people would shop at stores but they would only hire white people.
Struggles faced in the 1930’s Life was very different in the 1930’s compared to now. Americans often lived in harsh environments, with little money and a failing economy. They were forced to do anything they could to stay alive. The Great Depression changed the lives of many.
Soon after African Americans and immigrants were given jobs, they were moderately taken right from under them ,and given to white workers. In an excerpt from “Cotton Pickers Northern Countries”, it said, “But, although the Negro is warmly welcomed as a laborer, it is increasingly apparent that as a Negro he is unwelcome. . . .”. In the beginning before the climax of discrimination in the North, African Americans, and immigrants were wanted for jobs by factories, and other work fields that included hospitality, but as the excerpt says , it was an apparent ploy that was only used to legitimize the feelings of white people in the North toward African Americans , and immigrants live as second class citizens. It was also, a way for whites to create a division of African Americans and immigrants in white
Throughout the great Depression and the novel, there were shown that both women and African Americans were treated with great disrespect. Other than all the hardships of everybody during the Great Depression, African Americans had the hardest of everyone. For example, in the novel Crooks isn't permitted in the bunkhouse because of the fact that he’s “black. They play cards in there, but I can't play because I'm black”(steinbeck 68). Even the novel
That is because half of the African American population were unemployed and if they had a job they were paid much less and treated much worse.
African Americans face a struggle with racism which has been present in our country before the Civil War began in 1861. America still faces racism today however, around the 1920’s the daily life of an African American slowly began to improve. Thus, this time period was known by many, as the “Negro Fad” (O’Neill). The quality of life and freedom of African Americans that lived in the United States was constantly evolving and never completely considered ‘equal’. From being enslaved, to fighting for their freedom, African Americans were greatly changing the status quo and beginning to make their mark in the United States.
Have you ever think about how white people treat black people so badly during the great depression? White people seem black people as guilty because of their skin color, and because of the skin color, terrible things happen to a character in the story “To Kill A Mockingbird.” This sounds ridiculous, but this is what really happened in the great depression, people can do anything for their own benefits. At that time, racism was so common in the society, white people judge black people by their skin color, and white people even think about black people in a very distorted way. How can racism be so common during the time in the society?
“Multiple people would be making a tent and have meals together made of cabbages meat and beans” is what Louis Banks would say. During the depression-era, African Americans suffered from the elevated unemployment rate, which was two to three times of the whites. Whenever they went to get help from assistance programs they will get little help.
