8 Ways That Racism Made the Great Depression Worse for Black People

Black People Were Killed for Their Jobs Jobs were, no doubt, scarce during the Great Depression (1929-1941). In some cases, whites killed Black employees in order to create jobs for unemployed whites. In fact, the Encyclopedia of the Great Depression, published by U.S. History in Context, elaborates on an instance in which white unionized workers along with railroad brotherhoods “intimidated, attacked and murdered firemen in order to take their jobs.” In addition, the number of Black people being lynched also rose. Blacks Were Hired Last With the entire nation suffering, white people were given the “Negro jobs” that they had previously deemed inferior. According to an article written by Lee Sustar, the labor editor of Socialist Worker and a frequent contributor to the International Socialist Review, "Blacks faced unemployment of 50 percent or more, compared with about 30 percent for whites." As it happens, a racist group, the Black Shirts, roamed Atlanta advocating the dismissal of Black workers as a means of hiring white workers. Black Workers Were Paid Less Than White Workers Sustar confirms that the National Recovery Act of 1933, which was part of the New Deal, did not stick to its initial promise of “an equal minimum wage for whites and Blacks.” In addition, employers often refused to hire Black individuals and ensured that whites were paid more than Blacks. Sustar expresses that "Black wages were at least 30 percent below those of white workers, who themselves were barely at subsistence level." Women Were Forced to Turn to the 'Slave Market' of the Depression Era The Encyclopedia of the Great Depression conveys that, at the time, “working-class white women employed women at starvation wages.” Robert L. Boyd, a professor of sociology at Mississippi State University, explains in his text, Race, Labor Market Disadvantage, and Survivalist Entrepreneurship: Black Women in the Urban North during the Great Depression,"that they actually offered their services at the so-called ‘slave markets’ — street corners where Negro women congregated to await White housewives who came daily to take their pick and bid wages down." via dailymail.co.uk The New Deal Did Nothing to Improve Black Housing and Living Conditions Prejudice During the Great Depression, an article published by the International School of Kuala Lumpur, reveals that the Federal Housing Authority, under the New Deal, turned down Black individuals for mortgages, especially if they wished to live in white neighborhoods. As a result, many Black people were homeless or forced to scramble for housing that was either temporary or gravely filthy. In fact, a number of African-Americans died due to unsanitary living conditions. Photographed by Gordon Parks Food and Water Were Especially Scarce for Black People While the rest of the nation was suffering, Black people encountered obstacles that made the task of feeding themselves and their families extremely difficult and sometimes impossible. Relief charities often withheld food from disadvantaged Black people. Prejudice During the Great Depression adds that, in addition, many soup kitchens refused to serve Black men, women and children. Consequently, some African-Americans died of starvation. Photographed by Russell Lee There Was an Attack on Southern Black Farmers Toward the beginning of the Great Depression, many Black sharecroppers left their posts to pursue jobs in Northern cities and Southern urban areas. A post on encyclopedia.com confirms, “For those black sharecroppers still working, discrimination in pay was common. White sharecroppers received an average income of $417 a year compared to $295 for .” In addition, The Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA), yet another agency of the New Deal, proved to disadvantage Southern Blacks of the agriculture industry as well. The Encyclopedia of the Great Depression elaborates on an instance in which “the AAA paid farmers to withdraw cotton lands from production”; as a result, “county officials barred African Americans from representation and deprived them of government checks.” Black Unions Suffered African-Americans were usually banned from white unions. Sustar explains that, as a result, they had to form their own. The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters is perhaps the most well known and successful union of the time. Yet, the demands of most Black unions were often ignored. In addition, Sustar states that Black people who attempted to organize Black workers were often faced with the threat of lynching.

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