Discrimination during the Great Depression – K. Priester

Although many were fighting to survive together no matter their race or affiliation discrimination ran rampant. Those who were facing hard times chose to take their frustrations out on the man or women who was different. This bred resentment and violence towards those who were on the receiving end of the discrimination.

The Great Depression brought bad feelings toward the nation’s elite, typically white men, and allowed for a more diverse leadership to emerge. During this period, Will Rogers, a Cherokee Indian and a movie star became an advisor to President Roosevelt. Although discrimination did not go away, and in many circumstances it increased, people of many cultures and socio-economic backgrounds were thrown together with similar circumstances rooted in unemployment. Discrimination was not reserved for race minorities, but included women. White women could expect to earn 61% what a white man earned. A black woman earned only 23% what a white man earned. Black Americans, men and women, suffered twice as much as whites during the Great Depression. In 1932 black unemployment was 50% compared to only 25% for white unemployment. Mexicans also expected to earn less than their white counterparts. It was common for Mexican children to earn a third of the families’ total income, often working hard physical labor in the agriculture industry.