Federal Council of Negro Affairs
Encyclopedia
The Federal Council of Negro Affairs was an informal collection of African Americans that advised President Franklin D. Roosevelt
during the Great Depression
and his New Deal
acts. He appointed a large number of blacks to second-level positions and by the mid-1930s there were about 45 blacks working in the New Deal agencies. Roosevelt and the Council were responsible for the shift of black votes from the Republican Party
to the Democratic Party
. It is speculated that Eleanor Roosevelt
influenced the President to appoint many of the Black leaders. Eleanor Roosevelt along with the cabinet worked hard to ensure that blacks received 10 percent of welfare funds.
Although the Council did focus on Civil Rights, Franklin D. Roosevelt felt that there were larger problems to be addressed than racial inequality, perhaps in an effort to keep the support of Southern Congressional Democrats. Roosevelt also declined to support legislation making lynching
a federal offense, and banning the poll tax in the south. The Council argued that blacks were underrepresented in the aid the government was providing. The Agricultural Adjustment Administration helped farmers but did not help farm workers, as farm owners were given incentive to cut farm production. Programs such as the Works Projects Administration (WPA), and the National Youth Administration
(NYA) set aside 10 percent of funds to blacks and set up separate all-black units with the same pay and conditions, to which black voters responded favorably.
Mary Mcleod Bethune served as the organizer for the Council as well as the Director of Negro Affairs in the National Youth Administration
. Rayford Wittingham Logan
drafted Roosevelt’s executive order prohibiting the exclusion of blacks from in the military in World War II. Other leaders included William H. Hastie
, Robert C. Weaver
. The leaders associated with the Black Cabinet
are often credited with laying the foundation of the Civil Rights' Movement.
Much of the work the Council did was to create jobs for African Americans, who made up about twenty percent of the poor in the Depression Era. Most of the black community did not benefit from some of the New Deal Acts. Relief programs The WPA created agencies which created agencies that blacks could work for, most notably the Federal Writers' Project
, which paid its workers $20 a week. Under Roscoe E. Lewis, the Virginia Writers’ Project sent out an all-black unit of writers to interview ex-slaves. The works of the Federal Writers' Project stands as one of the most enduring and noteworthy achievements of the WPA.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
and his New Deal
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of economic programs implemented in the United States between 1933 and 1936. They were passed by the U.S. Congress during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were Roosevelt's responses to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians call...
acts. He appointed a large number of blacks to second-level positions and by the mid-1930s there were about 45 blacks working in the New Deal agencies. Roosevelt and the Council were responsible for the shift of black votes from the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
to the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
. It is speculated that Eleanor Roosevelt
Eleanor Roosevelt
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She supported the New Deal policies of her husband, distant cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and became an advocate for civil rights. After her husband's death in 1945, Roosevelt continued to be an international...
influenced the President to appoint many of the Black leaders. Eleanor Roosevelt along with the cabinet worked hard to ensure that blacks received 10 percent of welfare funds.
Although the Council did focus on Civil Rights, Franklin D. Roosevelt felt that there were larger problems to be addressed than racial inequality, perhaps in an effort to keep the support of Southern Congressional Democrats. Roosevelt also declined to support legislation making lynching
Lynching in the United States
Lynching, the practice of killing people by extrajudicial mob action, occurred in the United States chiefly from the late 18th century through the 1960s. Lynchings took place most frequently in the South from 1890 to the 1920s, with a peak in the annual toll in 1892.It is associated with...
a federal offense, and banning the poll tax in the south. The Council argued that blacks were underrepresented in the aid the government was providing. The Agricultural Adjustment Administration helped farmers but did not help farm workers, as farm owners were given incentive to cut farm production. Programs such as the Works Projects Administration (WPA), and the National Youth Administration
National Youth Administration
The National Youth Administration was a New Deal agency in the United States that focused on providing work and education for Americans between the ages of 16 and 24. It operated from 1935 to 1939 as part of the Works Progress Administration . Following the passage of the Reorganization Act of...
(NYA) set aside 10 percent of funds to blacks and set up separate all-black units with the same pay and conditions, to which black voters responded favorably.
Mary Mcleod Bethune served as the organizer for the Council as well as the Director of Negro Affairs in the National Youth Administration
National Youth Administration
The National Youth Administration was a New Deal agency in the United States that focused on providing work and education for Americans between the ages of 16 and 24. It operated from 1935 to 1939 as part of the Works Progress Administration . Following the passage of the Reorganization Act of...
. Rayford Wittingham Logan
Rayford Logan
Rayford Whittingham Logan was an African-American historian and Pan-African activist. He was best known for his study of post-Reconstruction America, a period he termed "the nadir of American race relations"...
drafted Roosevelt’s executive order prohibiting the exclusion of blacks from in the military in World War II. Other leaders included William H. Hastie
William H. Hastie
William Henry Hastie, Jr. was an American, lawyer, judge, educator, public official, and advocate for the civil rights of African Americans...
, Robert C. Weaver
Robert C. Weaver
Robert Clifton Weaver served as the first United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development from 1966 to 1968. He was the first African American to hold a cabinet-level position in the United States.As a young man, Weaver had been one of 45 prominent African Americans appointed by...
. The leaders associated with the Black Cabinet
Black Cabinet
The Black Cabinet was first known as the Federal Council of Negro Affairs, an informal group of African-American public policy advisors to United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt. It was supported by the first lady Eleanor Roosevelt...
are often credited with laying the foundation of the Civil Rights' Movement.
Much of the work the Council did was to create jobs for African Americans, who made up about twenty percent of the poor in the Depression Era. Most of the black community did not benefit from some of the New Deal Acts. Relief programs The WPA created agencies which created agencies that blacks could work for, most notably the Federal Writers' Project
Federal Writers' Project
The Federal Writers' Project was a United States federal government project to fund written work and support writers during the Great Depression. It was part of the Works Progress Administration, a New Deal program...
, which paid its workers $20 a week. Under Roscoe E. Lewis, the Virginia Writers’ Project sent out an all-black unit of writers to interview ex-slaves. The works of the Federal Writers' Project stands as one of the most enduring and noteworthy achievements of the WPA.