The New Deal for African-Americans


This is a section of an article from the May 26, 1934, Issue No.42 of The Reflector.

When Franklin D. Roosevelt took office in March 1933 at least 13 million men and women were unemployed, industrial production had fallen by 43 per cent from its 1929 level, farm prices had virtually hit the floor, and the banking system was on the verge of total collapse.

On the other hand, the Depression exposed longstanding social injustices and economic imbalances which had been obscured by the prosperity of the 'Roaring Twenties.'

African-Americans, who for many years had loyally voted with the Republican Party, switched to the Democratic Party as a result of the popular New Deal reforms. Though discriminated against by nearly every New Deal agency, especially in the South, they were almost never excluded from assistance altogether. The New Deal provided African-Americans with immediate economic assistance that stood between them and complete destitution.



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