The Great Depression led to MASSIVE unemployment. To try and get workers some relief, President Roosevelt signed a number of social welfare programs, including the Social Security Act, into law in 1933, calling it the “New Deal.”
The problem was, a power play between Northern and Southern Democrats meant Black workers were caught in the middle.
Unemployment insurance benefits (UI) was one major program, designed to help able workers stay afloat between jobs.
But because Southern representatives refused to support a bill that helped Black workers equally, President Roosevelt made one compromise after another – with devastating consequences.
First, UI would be financed through taxes, which tripled between 1933 and 1940. This made it somewhat more expensive for employers to hire new workers, so Black workers were LAST to be hired.
Then there were the unions.
The Wagner Act of 1935 empowered unions in the workforce. But the biggest unions blocked Black workers from becoming members – so we were kept out of union jobs.
Overall, the “New Deal” was yet another empty promise for us.
Today, as state unemployment claims reach record highs amid pandemic-induced joblessness, Black workers are statistically less likely to qualify for the relief they deserve.
Even when politicians claim to want to help us, we have to be skeptical about relying on government support – racism can always creep in!