Describe the experiences of African-Americans during the Great Depression and as they took part in World War II.

In the 1920s, African American culture had flourished
thanks to the Harlem Renaissance and several groups were created to fight against racism
and segregation (Marcus Garvey's Universal Negro Improvement Association was one of
them). The years of the Great Depression, however, threw back African Americans into
poverty and segregation. Because of the general economic depression, African Americans
were employed only in the most humble and least well-paid jobs. Unemployment and racism
were extremely high in the North too. It was estimated that their life-expectancy was
ten years less than for whites. The years of the Hoover Administration did not lead to
any progress for African Americans and the President himself demonstrated racial
insensitivity rejecting anti-lynching laws and nominating John J. Parker, a supporter of
black disfranchisement, to the Supreme Court (his appointment was eventually rejected by
the Senate).

The case of the Scottsboro Boys was an example
of how racism was still institutionalized. In 1931, nine African Americans were arrested
and charged with raping two white women. An all-white jury convicted the boys within two
weeks of their arrest and sentenced them to death. Although evidence that the women were
lying was soon available the case went on until
1950.

African Americans were an important part of the New
Deal coalition and the election of Roosevelt marked an improvement for them. New Deal
relief agencies and programs helped African Americans to face their economic hardships.
The President appointed a group of African American advisers to the White House, the
so-called "Black Cabinet". Yet, because of the widespread racism, the New Deal record in
race relations remains mixed. Federal financial aid to white planters who took land out
of cultivation were rarely shared with black sharecroppers who were instead evicted out
of the land. Roosevelt was also unwilling to alienate white southerners so he refused to
support laws against lynching and to allow African Americans to
vote.

The massive enrollment of African Americans in the
American Army during the Second World War allowed them to achieve important steps toward
racial equality. Yet, African Americans still had to serve in segregated units and at
several military bases racial riots broke out.