African Americans - The New Deal

Social Sercurity Act

1935- excluded agricultural and domestic workers therefore many provisions didn't apply to the bulk of work done by African Americans

Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA)

40 percent of all black workers made their living as sharecroppers and tenant farmers. Many could not afford to pay rents and little was done for the 200,000 who were evicted. When federal programmes reduced crop production and paid farmers for not producing crops to maintain prices with reduced supply, there was often no money paid directly to the poorer African American tenants.

African Americans in Federal employment

50,000 African Americans in federal employment increased to 200,000 in 1946 although majority were in low level unskilled occupations.

Federal Emergency Relief Administration

African Americans benefited from poor relief and job creation projects administered by the Federal Emergency relief Administration. Over a quarter of a million African Americans were given literacy help via federal aid projects. Employment training was also provided by the National Youth Administration which was advised by the influential African American reformer Mary McLeod Bethune.

Unemployment

African Americans suffered disproportionately from unemployment

The National Recovery Administration (NRA)

Attempted to establish fair rates of pay and better conditions - did not encourage similar requirements in the north and in the south regulations were evaded by many employers.

Federal Arts Projects

Gave federal support to AA culture, intellectuals, writers and musicians which helped to boost the status of AAs and paved the way for post war changes. Lena Horne, Duke Ellington and Richard Wright were all aided by the federal arts projects and cemented the influence of the so-called 'Harlem Renaissance' in the arts in the 1920s.

Farm Sercurity Administration

Gave help to African Americans who were hit particularly hard by the drop in food and raw materials after 1929.

The Wagner Act 1935

Gave more power to the unions - many trade unions used this to further discriminate against AAs

NAACP

Grew in membership in the late 1930s

Welfare benefits

In 1935 30% of African American families were on welfare relief compared with 10% of white families.

Segregation

Remained prevalent in most institutions and the armed forces through the second world war (until 1948 and Trumans executive order)

Robert Weaver - federal aid

Robert Weaver (AA) became Special Advisor on the Economic Status of the Negro in 1934 and later the head of the influential Public Works Administration. His appointment led to grants of $45 million to build schools, hospitals and homes for African Americans. Unusually there was a provision made for a certain number of African American workers in federal projects for house building.

Voting rights

Roosevelt did nothing to increase the African American voting rights

Roosevelt

Spoke out against lynchings, though no law was passed against them. There were also some appointments of African Americans to New Deal offices - Mary McLeod Bethune - director of the National Youth Administration. Roosevelt's record on civil rights was modest at best. Instead of using New Deal programs to promote civil rights, the administration consistently bowed to discrimination. In order to pass major New Deal legislation, Roosevelt needed the support of southern Democrats. Time and time again, he backed away from equal rights to avoid antagonising southern whites.

Eleanor Roosevelt

Supported African American organisations and openly disapproved of segregation.

The Civilian Conservation Corps

The CCC did offer some relief to unemployed African Americans however the labour camps were segregated and the type of work was not the same - African Americans received the worst and most poorly paid work. Where African Americans and white workers were employed in the same federal projects like the Tennessee Valley Dam, they were segregated to avoid racial tensions.

Overview

The New Deal helped somewhat but was predominantly for white workers - R

Unions

These were strengthened by the Wagner Act which tended to ensure that big employers used unionised labour which acted against the interests of African Americans who were often merely casual workers and were not members of unions in large numbers.