To Ask for an Equal Chance: African Americans in the Great Depression (African American History Series) PDF
Preview To Ask for an Equal Chance: African Americans in the Great Depression (African American History Series)
To Ask for an Equal Chance The African American History Series Series Editors: Jacqueline M. Moore, Austin College Nina Mjagkij, Ball State University Traditionally, history books tend to fall into two categories: books academics write for each other, and books written for popular audiences. Historians often claim that many of the popular authors do not have the proper training to interpret and evaluate the histor- ical evidence. Yet, popular audiences complain that most historical monographs are inac- cessible because they are too narrow in scope or lack an engaging style. This series, which will take both chronological and thematic approaches to topics and individuals crucial to an understanding of the African American experience, is an attempt to address that prob- lem. The books in this series, written in lively prose by established scholars, are aimed pri- marily at nonspecialists. They focus on topics in African American history that have broad significance and place them in their historical context. While presenting sophisti- cated interpretations based on primary sources and the latest scholarship, the authors tell their stories in a succinct manner, avoiding jargon and obscure language. They include se- lected documents that allow readers to judge the evidence for themselves and to evaluate the authors’ conclusions. Bridging the gap between popular and academic history, these books bring the African American story to life. Volumes Published Booker T. Washington, W. E. B. Du Bois, and the Struggle for Racial Uplift Jacqueline M. Moore Slavery in Colonial America, 1619–1776 Betty Wood African Americans in the Jazz Age A Decade of Struggle and Promise Mark Robert Schneider A. Philip Randolph A Life in the Vanguard Andrew E. Kersten The African American Experience in Vietnam Brothers in Arms James Westheider Bayard Rustin American Dreamer Jerald Podair African Americans Confront Lynching Strategies of Resistance Christopher Waldrep Lift Every Voice The History of African-American Music Burton W. Peretti To Ask for an Equal Chance African Americans in the Great Depression Cheryl Lynn Greenberg To Ask for an Equal Chance African Americans in the Great Depression Cheryl Lynn Greenberg ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD PUBLISHERS, INC. Lanham • Boulder • New York • Toronto • Plymouth, UK ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD PUBLISHERS, INC. Published in the United States of America by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc. 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706 www.rowmanlittlefield.com Estover Road Plymouth PL6 7PY United Kingdom Copyright© 2009 Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data: Greenberg, Cheryl Lynn. To ask for an equal chance : African Americans in the Great Depression / Cheryl Lynn Greenberg. p. cm. — (The African American history series) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-7425-5188-6 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-1-4422-0051-7 (electronic) 1. African Americans—History—1877–1964. 2. Depressions—1929—United States. I. Title. E185.6.G79 2009 305.89607309'04—dc22 2009010040 Printed in the United States of America (cid:2)™ The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992. For my students, who continue to inspire me Seeking no favor because of our color, nor patronage because of our needs, we knock at the bar of justice, and ask for an equal chance. —Mary Church Terrell (cid:2) Contents Chronology ix Chapter 1 No Strangers to Hardship: Black Life before the Crash 1 Chapter 2 Last Hired, First Fired: Working through the Great Depression 21 Chapter 3 Of New Deals and Raw Deals 43 Chapter 4 “Let Us Build”: Political Organizing in the Depression Era 65 Chapter 5 Weary Blues: Black Communities and Black Culture 89 Epilogue: “Should I Sacrifice to Live ‘Half American’?” 111 Documents 123 Bibliography 171 Index 177 About the Author 187 vii (cid:2) Chronology 1928 Oscar DePriest elected to House of Representatives from Chicago 1929 Stock market crash Charles Hamilton Houston becomes Vice-Dean of Howard University Law School First “Don’t Buy Where You Can’t Work” campaigns 1930 Jessie Daniel Ames organizes Association of Southern Women for the Prevention of Lynching W. D. Fard founds Nation of Islam in Detroit Communist Party organizes Unemployed Councils “Atlanta Six” arrested under slave statute against inciting insurrection for organizing protest 1931 “Scottsboro boys” accused Alabama Sharecroppers’ Union organized 1932 Powell v. Alabama (without adequate counsel accused cannot receive fair trial) Nixon v. Condon (no group granted power by the state—in this case the Republican Party—may discriminate on the basis of race regarding public elections) Organizer Angelo Herndon arrested for insurrection Don West, Myles Horton establish Highlander Folk School, Monteagle, Tennessee Franklin Delano Roosevelt elected president ix
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