5fish
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Here I found this summation of the New Deal and Black Americans...
www.encyclopedia.com
AFRICAN AMERICANS AND THE NEW DEAL
By the early 1930s, close to half of all African-American workers were no longer employed, and the establishment of equal job opportunities had become a crucial issue for the black community. The National Recovery Administration (NRA), established in 1933, sought to establish fair rules and codes with regard to wages, prices, and competition in the labor market. In order to try to provide workers with a better standard of living and more purchasing power to stimulate economic growth, the NRA established relatively high standards for wages. In the South, where blacks were always paid much less than whites, many employers did not want to hire blacks under the new wage structure. Nevertheless, NRA rules would not allow wage differentials. It was an impossible dilemma for an administration not willing to challenge segregation. NRA leadership did not want to allow different pay structures for blacks and whites, but in general they did not have the political will or power to force white employers to hire blacks in positions with equal pay. White employers tried to find ways around the NRA policy by changing job descriptions so that jobs were not covered by these rules, and many employers simply refused to hire blacks.
Black newspapers and community organizations tried to work with government officials to publicize violations of NRA rules and gain justice for blacks facing discrimination. But they struggled vainly to find government officials who would take meaningful action against white business owners. Some African-American workers quietly accepted lower wages when faced with the choice between less money and no money. A few black organizations even advocated for different pay rates, arguing that the lower-paying jobs would provide some security in an atmosphere in which blacks were not getting hired at all. Blacks in the labor force worked in the agricultural and domestic sectors of the economy, and these types of jobs were not deemed eligible for assistance through the NRA. Thus, not only was the NRA ineffective in helping those African Americans it did include, it excluded a large proportion of them from the outset.
The Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) of 1933 addressed a different area of the economy. This act was an attempt to improve the situation of American farmers by cutting back on agricultural production in order to cause an increase in the price of agricultural commodities. In 1935, however, approximately 40 percent of the nation’s farmers were sharecroppers and many of these people were forced to leave the land where they worked and lived when it went out of production. African-American tenant farmers, already living in poverty, debt, and oppression, received very little assistance from this program. Cotton plantations, in particular, decreased production and forced thousands of sharecroppers, black and white, from their homes. Black sharecroppers who managed to stay on their land often did not receive subsidy payments directed to them because white landowners kept the money for “debts” and rent.
Overall, other New Deal programs also accepted the status quo and allowed existing discriminatory practices to continue. The Federal Housing Authority acquiesced to the practice of segregating real estate markets in hopes of maintaining social stability through segregation. This policy contributed to the development of racial ghettos in urban areas. The Social Security Act excluded jobs in which large proportions of people of color were employed and had no specific prohibitions against discrimination, while the National Labor Relations Act established precedents allowing largely white unions to refuse admission to blacks. At bottom, the legislation establishing these programs was written with subtle exceptions and loopholes favored by a U.S. Congress containing one black representative and dominated by southern Democrats committed to the racial status quo.
If you read the summation at the link, you will see even thou Black Americans were not benefiting from Roosevelts New Deal. He work and did other things to win the Black vote from the Republicans in 1930's...
New Deal and Old Racism | Encyclopedia.com
New Deal and Old RacismAFRICAN AMERICANS AND THE NEW DEALSHIFTING ALLIANCES: AFRICAN AMERICANS TURN TO THE DEMOCRATSLATINOS AND THE NEW DEALNATIVE AMERICANS AND THE NEW DEALLOST OPPORTUNITIES AND THE MOVE TOWARD CHANGEBIBLIOGRAPHY Source for information on New Deal and Old Racism: Encyclopedia...
AFRICAN AMERICANS AND THE NEW DEAL
By the early 1930s, close to half of all African-American workers were no longer employed, and the establishment of equal job opportunities had become a crucial issue for the black community. The National Recovery Administration (NRA), established in 1933, sought to establish fair rules and codes with regard to wages, prices, and competition in the labor market. In order to try to provide workers with a better standard of living and more purchasing power to stimulate economic growth, the NRA established relatively high standards for wages. In the South, where blacks were always paid much less than whites, many employers did not want to hire blacks under the new wage structure. Nevertheless, NRA rules would not allow wage differentials. It was an impossible dilemma for an administration not willing to challenge segregation. NRA leadership did not want to allow different pay structures for blacks and whites, but in general they did not have the political will or power to force white employers to hire blacks in positions with equal pay. White employers tried to find ways around the NRA policy by changing job descriptions so that jobs were not covered by these rules, and many employers simply refused to hire blacks.
Black newspapers and community organizations tried to work with government officials to publicize violations of NRA rules and gain justice for blacks facing discrimination. But they struggled vainly to find government officials who would take meaningful action against white business owners. Some African-American workers quietly accepted lower wages when faced with the choice between less money and no money. A few black organizations even advocated for different pay rates, arguing that the lower-paying jobs would provide some security in an atmosphere in which blacks were not getting hired at all. Blacks in the labor force worked in the agricultural and domestic sectors of the economy, and these types of jobs were not deemed eligible for assistance through the NRA. Thus, not only was the NRA ineffective in helping those African Americans it did include, it excluded a large proportion of them from the outset.
The Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) of 1933 addressed a different area of the economy. This act was an attempt to improve the situation of American farmers by cutting back on agricultural production in order to cause an increase in the price of agricultural commodities. In 1935, however, approximately 40 percent of the nation’s farmers were sharecroppers and many of these people were forced to leave the land where they worked and lived when it went out of production. African-American tenant farmers, already living in poverty, debt, and oppression, received very little assistance from this program. Cotton plantations, in particular, decreased production and forced thousands of sharecroppers, black and white, from their homes. Black sharecroppers who managed to stay on their land often did not receive subsidy payments directed to them because white landowners kept the money for “debts” and rent.
Overall, other New Deal programs also accepted the status quo and allowed existing discriminatory practices to continue. The Federal Housing Authority acquiesced to the practice of segregating real estate markets in hopes of maintaining social stability through segregation. This policy contributed to the development of racial ghettos in urban areas. The Social Security Act excluded jobs in which large proportions of people of color were employed and had no specific prohibitions against discrimination, while the National Labor Relations Act established precedents allowing largely white unions to refuse admission to blacks. At bottom, the legislation establishing these programs was written with subtle exceptions and loopholes favored by a U.S. Congress containing one black representative and dominated by southern Democrats committed to the racial status quo.
If you read the summation at the link, you will see even thou Black Americans were not benefiting from Roosevelts New Deal. He work and did other things to win the Black vote from the Republicans in 1930's...
