1. What was the experience of racism
for blacks in the North in the
1930's?
By Saron Kebede

2. Significance
● Racism spreaded out from south to north.
● Tensions increased in the North as African-
Americans migrated there, especially during
WWII and the Great Depression.
● The migration of blacks to the North led to
the election of President Roosevelt which in
turn led to improvement of segregation
laws.

3. The Great Depression
● Black community suffered worse than White
community; 50% or more unemployment for
Black workers and 30% for white workers
● National Recovery Act (NRA): created by the
liberal Roosevelt administration
○ its goal was nondiscriminatory hiring and
an equal wages for Whites and Blacks
○ RESULT: rare hiring and unequal wages for
Blacks
○ Almost every labor organization gave no
opportunity for Blacks to participate.
● Blacks were either excluded or forced to
organize in separate unions and when they try
to organize, they are often the target for
lynch mobs.

4. Connection to The Piano Lesson
● the book was centered on racism and the problems
black people faced during the 20th century.
● Winning Boy: "Now that's the difference between the
colored man and the white man. the colored man can't
fix nothing with the law."
○ White people's control of the law was the main advantage they had
over black people.
○ hints at the Jim Crow laws: "separate but equal" treatment of both
White and Blacks races. This law Applied to separating Restaurants,
Bathrooms ,schools, hotels and even the United States military, until
integrated by Harry S. Truman after WWII.

5. Jim Crow law
● 1874- 1975
● anti-blacks law
● challenged by Rosa parks
in 1955

6. Bibliography
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~ug02/newyorker/race.html
http://socialistworker.org/2012/06/28/blacks-and-the-great-depression
http://www.123helpme.com/preview.asp?id=124944
http://www.shmoop.com/the-piano-lesson/race-quotes.html
http://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/what.htm
http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1559.html