Racism - prejudice or discrimination directed against a race based on the belief that ones race is highly superior (“Racism”). ‘Last hired, first fired’ was a phrase that was pinned to the black community during the Great Depression, and it perfectly described what they had to go through in the workplace. In the election of 1932, black votes were drastically swayed democrat by the entrance of Franklin D. Roosevelt, who wanted to provide assistance to the unemployed (Hollis). During the 20’s and 30’s era, racial violence spiked and was frequently seen in the south in the form of unethical lynching.
The NRA is known as the National Recovery Act of 1933 and was translated into the Negro Removal Act. With the rare occurrence of an African American getting hired, it was labeled as nondiscriminatory, yet blacks still didn’t receive the same treatment. Arguably, blacks and whites possessed equal opportunity within the social rankings, although racial terrorism proves those arguments to be all but true. The complications of the Great Depression affected virtually every group of Americans, although no group was hit harder than the African Americans.
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'Last hired, first fired' manifested the horrific difficulties that the African Americans had to undergo during the Great Depression. The uncontrollable racism led to unequal opportunities for blacks in the work environment. The unemployment percentage was 50% or more in comparison with 30% for the whites. Due to the new deal leaving the Africans out in every way possible, whites believed they could take advantage of the blacks by lowering their pay, just because they were desperate for work. Racism was portrayed by the white employers who made not only unequal cuts, but racist cuts.
One could easily say that the Wagner Act allowed blacks to bargain with their employers to acquire higher pay as well as join unions, including labor unions. The 1935 passage of the Wagner Act stated “…made up of three members appointed by the president and confirmed by the senate to enforce employee rights…” (“NLRB”). Primarily, the Wagner Act was drafted with a provision prohibiting racial discrimination, although it quickly turned against the Africans. Due to the new power of unions, there was a monopoly of unions’ discrimination blacks (“NLRB”). The thought of bargaining with an employer was unachievable from the start of the Wagner Act, as a result of unemployment towards the blacks, from the racist whites.
Franklin D. Roosevelt, an incoming US. President shockingly swayed African American votes from hard republican, to democratic. Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor, focused on pleasing the whole country and everyone in it, including the African Americans. In June of 1941, FDR issued the Fair Employment Practices Committee to help prevent discrimination against Africans in defense of government jobs (Britannica). In support of African Americans, it was the most important federal move to appease all the blacks. Being the race that needs the most healing, it was distinctively obvious that before FDR and his wife arrived into office, Africans were the most mistreated of them all.
Serving as a hero to the African American population in the United States, Eleanor Roosevelt herself was the civil rights champion and fought hard for equality. Quoted from a National Archive blog, “In the 1950’s her work angered the KKK so much that they put a $25,000 bounty on her”. Nothing reveals Eleanor’s commitment more than her efforts to outlaw lynching. Throughout Mrs. Roosevelts life, she received death threats from the KKK and other racist groups, all because she wanted to save innocent lives that were being ended by an even more horrific method of hanging. Even with Elea nor risking her life for the existence of African Americans, lynching’s continued to carry on as well as the racial segregation.
Critics believe Eleanor was nothing but a boaster, who only caused further issues, with her focus centered around one race. Cynthia Koch once said, “Mrs. Roosevelt lately has been revealing herself as a cunning and indefatigable conspirator against the rights and independence to the individual American” (Koch). With more than half the population angered due to the lack of attention from Mrs. Roosevelt, her loud spirit left many upset. While this claim may hold some truth, looking deeper into Eleanor’s actions, she yearned for improvements, trying to defeat lynching, overcome unfair wages and employment, along with continuing womens’ strength and rights, seems all but negative. Eleanor Roosevelt wasn’t strictly focused on the one race, African American, in fact she promoted issues that were important to the American Troops. Such as boasting soldiers’ morale, supporting women employed in the defense industries, as well as encouraging volunteerism on the home front. Critics potentially sprouted their anger on her sex rather than on the actions she has made, if this case involved a male, one could say that this argument wouldn’t have been so massive.
During the Great Depression lynching was a gruesome method of hanging, all to entertain white men and families. To show the audience and the families surrounding that one was a protector, white men hung African American bodies in a way that was extremely slow and painful. Lynchings filled the newspapers spelling out the dirty details written by cruel, evil, and racist white men. In the eyes of a white male in the 20’s through 50’s, lynching was acceptable and desirable because the action was never put upon themselves. Receiving terrible and unethical treatment, African Americans had their life on risk caused by the acts of racial terrorism and unfair manipulation.
Many whites felt threatened by the risk of black prominence; the highest fear was sexual intercourse between the races. White men believed that the African American men were sexual predators and wanted interrogation in order to surround themselves with white females. In the Act of Racism, black men were subject to accusation with wrongful sexual behavior, although over 50% of sexual predators in the 20’s were white and male. By accusing not only Africans, but strictly males of living as a sex predator, they result in unruly acts of lynching.
Some people may argue that African Americans weren’t the whole population of victims who were lynched. Out of all the lynchings’, about 2,000 were white causalities. Due to political reasons, majority of whites were lynched in the west. With such a large number of lynchings, whites made up almost 30% of the lynching population, meaning the act wasn’t based completely towards one race. Although the critics have accurate numbers, information was left behind and forgotten, missing the fact that African Americans had around 4,000 more deaths from unnecessary lynchings. Jerome Wilson, a black man, was once at a scene of a shooting incident involving a white man which resulted in the man losing his life. Mr. Wilson was charged guilty although he was innocent and was later dragged into jail and lynched to death, all in front of a massive amount of people. With more vigorous research the black population was less than 10% of the human the race, unlike the percentage of black lynchings which consisted of above 75%.
Blacks of the Great Depression suffered far worse than any other race during the time of stress. They were racially targeted in terms of employment and daily life. Suffering from racial terrorism caused by the action of lynching, African lives were at risk constantly. The research provided exposes the lack of respect and knowledge of unruly racism one hundred years ago as well as now. With the Black Lives Matter movement currently in motion, many supporters have an absence of specific details to strengthen their case, but with extensive research one shall receive proper information. Some may believe blacks were treated equally and many will object. Although learning to accept others for being ‘different’ is all it takes to end discrimination and racism towards anyone and everyone.
Work Cited
- Channel, Smithsonian. “How the New Deal Left Out African-Americans.” YouTube, YouTube, 26 Dec. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9hFVr-zmIg.
- “Eleanor Roosevelt's Battle to End Lynching.” National Archives and Records Administration, National Archives and Records Administration, fdr.blogs.archives.gov/2016/02/12/eleanor-roosevelts-battle-to-end-lynching/.
- Klein, Christopher. “Last Hired, First Fired: How the Great Depression Affected African Americans.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 18 Apr. 2018, www.history.com/news/last-hired-first-fired-how-the-great-depression-affected-african-americans.
- Koch, Cynthia. “They Hated Eleanor, Too.” FDR Foundation, fdrfoundation.org/they-hated-eleanor-too/.
- “Lynching in America.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/emmett-lynching-america/.
- Lynch, Hollis. “African Americans.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 7 Dec. 2018, www.britannica.com/topic/African-American.
- “NLRB.gov.” NLRB, www.nlrb.gov/how-we-work/national-labor-relations-act.
- “Race During the Great Depression - American Memory Timeline- Classroom Presentation |Teacher Resources.” Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/presentationsandactivities/presentations/timeline/depwwii/race/.
- “Slavery by Another Name.” Google Books, books.google.com/books?id=2v BYWrjl9IC&printsec=frontcover&dq=slavery%2Bby%2Banother%2Bname&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiXs-miqJzhAhX-JTQIHVz0DVoQ6AEIKjAA#v=onepage&q=slavery%20by%20another%20name&f=true.
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