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¶ … Roosevelt administration and the New Deal programs treated African-Americans. To what extent did they receive a better treatment? To what extent did the programs reinforce racial discrimination? Please provide two examples to answer each question.
Roosevelt's New Deal programs were designed to alleviate poverty, not to specifically heal racial discrimination. However, because of the historical legacy of slavery and discrimination in America, African-Americans were often disproportionately affected by the Great Depression and thus could benefit from these social service programs to an equal degree as whites. In the era before extensive legal protections such as the Civil Rights Acts, African-Americans were often the first employees let go by employers seeking to reduce their labor costs during economically trying times like the Great Depression ("FDR and the New Deal, 2014). They also were less likely to be unionized and to receive the protections given by union membership.
FDR passed anti-lynching and anti-forced labor laws which reduced crimes against African-Americans as well as anti-forced labor laws to prevent African-Americans being kept in a state of virtual slavery in the South via the sharecropping system ("FDR and the New Deal, 2014). FDR was the first president to publically call lynching organized murder ("African-Americans and the New Deal,"...
But some of the New Deal programs actually served to reinforce segregation .For example, the Fair Housing Administration allowed racial segregation to continue in terms of house sales and empowered whites to buy houses while shutting out African-Americans from more desirable neighborhoods. Still, within his own cabinet, FDR was quite progressive, appointing many African-Americans to serve in positions of power. He was the first president to appoint an African-American federal judge and promote an African-American Brigadier General in the Army ("African-Americans and the New Deal," 2014).
The New Deal's progressive employment policies had a very positive effect upon the lives of many African-Americans in an immediate sense. For example, the Works Progress (Administration (WPA) employed 350,000 African-Americans as 15% of its total workforce "African-Americans and the New Deal," 2014). African-American membership in the Civilian Conservation Corps eventually reached 11%. There was a clause for all Public Works Administration (PWA) contracts establishing a minimum quota for black workers. Culturally, African-Americans were employed by the artistic side of the New Deal in works such as the Federal Theater, Writing Projects, and Federal Music Projects. New Deal education programs increased the number of African-Americans attending primary school ("African-Americans and…
New Deal Philosophy and economy of new Deal The government of the United States became greatly involved in economic issues after the stock market had crashed in 1929. This crash visited most serious economic dislocation on America's economy. It lasted 1929-1940. This prompted President Franklin D. Roosevelt to launch the New Deal to alleviate the emergency. Very important legislations were and institutions were set up during the New Deal Era. These legislations
African-Americans Activism -- Gaining Civil Rights and Pride "We the understated are students at the Negro college in the city of Greensboro. Time and time again we have gone into Woolworth stories of Greensboro. We have bought thousands of items at hundreds of the counters in your stories. Our money was accepted without rancor or discrimination and with politeness toward us, when at a long counter just three feet away from
African-American males are more likely to face jail or prison time than men from other races and ethnicities. The violent death rate for African-American males is much greater than it is for all other segments of society. However, one area of study has not been a significant issue for young African-American males compared to their counterparts in society until recently. In the last 20 years, the pattern of the suicide
" (Thompson et al., 2000, p. 127) 4. Further research and resources There are many areas of this subject that are in need of more extensive research in order to more adequately deal with the problems involves. One example of this can be seen in the fact that, "Black women are three times more likely than white women to die during pregnancy, and twice as many black babies as white babies die
African-American Assimilation and Acculturation Self-identity and acceptance are important for any individual attempting to adapt to society and social change. Many African-American's have a difficult time adapting to cultural values and traditions in Western America. Some assume that assimilation an acculturation to Western values will remedy the social distress that exists within the African-American population. Many have described the current social status of African-Americans as in a state of distress. Much
Furthermore, as a result of these conditions there was a general failure of black business and entrepreneurships. "Black businesses failed, crushing the entrepreneurial spirit that had been an essential element of the Negro Renaissance." (the Great Depression: A History in the Key of Jazz) However this did not crush the general spirit of the African-American people and there was a resurgence of black culture and enterprise in area such as