Great Depression

Racism, Immigration, and Labor

Racism, exclusion, and poverty were an integral part of life for minorities and ethnic groups at every level of society, and manifested in multiple ways. The conditions of American life changed dramatically for everyone, with more than half of the population living in cities rather than on farms, and the electrification of a majority of homes for the first time. But these changes did not have the same effects for the more than 120 million Americans who experienced the 1930s. Those African Americans who did not leave the south had the lowest life expectancy in the nation, averaging 45 years in contrast to the national average of 60 years. These differences between region and population demonstrate the need to focus attention on the specific experiences that characterized life for American minority groups.

Transcript

• Only a few years ago, we were a discouraged people. Because we were the first to lose our jobs when Old Man Depression came along and the last to get them back, we struggled vainly to regain our bearings while depression, fear, and failure stalked the nation. A tenth of the population of the United States, we formed, as a race, over a sixth of the unemployed. One out of every four of us was on relief. In vain, we sought for something to restore our confidence, our hope, our courage. Without jobs, we had no money. Without money, we could not purchase food for the hungry mouths at home. Our only hope lay in charity. Hunger drove our people to the bread lines. Anxiously, we waited, waited for some sign of better days. Then, came the federal government's work program. One by one, it took us out of the bread line. It gave us a new chance to take a normal place in the life of our community. It made us self-supportive. It changed the haggard, hopeless faces of the bread lines into faces filled with hope and happiness, for now, we work again. Unskilled laborers, the forgotten men of past generations, now worked steadily at decent wages. The nation over, they're building and repairing schools, public buildings, community centers and airports to meet the changing needs of our modern world. In one project in the nation's capitol, 1200 men are employed and improving Bowling Field, grading, constructing runways, building hangars and administration buildings. In addition to the hundreds of unskilled laborers who were removed from relief rolls, many skilled workers are employed in this important improvement project. Hundreds of homes have been freed from the bondage of poverty as their breadwinners find security and hope in their new jobs. In New York City, a WPA housing demolition project is underway which will greatly improve the living conditions of families of moderate needs. In many other cities of the country, old tenements and firetraps are being torn down to make way for modern buildings containing comfortable, sanitary apartments. At Colonial Park in Harlem, as in many other congested areas, WPA workers have constructed a huge swimming pool and are now completing a bathhouse which will accommodate 4100 persons.

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