ASSIGNMENT
RESPOND TO THIS DISCUSSION: One effect of the Great Depression on men of color and women was a lowered standard of living due to a sharp decrease in employment opportunities. This resulted in the inability to secure gainful employment, as these groups were often the last to be hired and the first to be let go (Stern and Axinn, 2018). President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal legislation helped to ameliorate the effects of the Great Depression by providing jobs and wages to millions of Americans, including men of color and women. One of the most prominent and influential figures advocating for change in the early 20th century was Forrester Blanchard Washington, who was an African American social worker who advocated for improved economic, civil, and social rights for African Americans (Barrow, 2007). During the New Deal era, Washington was selected to be the Director of Negro Work under the Federal Emergency Relief Act (FERA). However, after a brief time, Washington resigned from the position after his efforts to enact change for African Americans fell on deaf ears as it related to the New Deal policy agenda of the time (2007).
Implemented in 1935, the Social Security Act provided crucial benefits for millions of elderly, disabled, and unemployed Americans, including men of color and women. Specifically, the Act provided funding for a retirement system, as well as unemployment and disability insurance. However, the Social Security Act led to a two-class system because it was designed to provide benefits to some classes of people while leaving out other classes. The Act excluded domestic and agricultural workers, who were largely composed of men of color and women. This exclusion meant that these groups were not able to receive the benefits that were available to other classes of workers, which quickly resulted in a racial division of the class structure (Stern and Axinn, 2018). The Social Security Act is still in place today. Thankfully, the exclusion of certain classes of workers was ultimately eliminated, which allowed for all races and workers from all industries to receive benefits; however, it would be decades before this would occur.
Barrow, F. H. (2007). Forrester Blanchard Washington and His Advocacy for African Americans in the New Deal. Social Work, 52(3), 201-8. http://library.capella.edu/login?qurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.proquest.com%2Fscholarly-journals%2Fforrester-blanchard-washington-his-advocacy%2Fdocview%2F215269341%2Fse-2%3Faccountid%3D27965
