African American History

In the Harlem Art Workshop, 1933, children carve soap models. This is from artstor.org.

Thousands and thousands of African Americans wrote to Eleanor Roosevelt for help from 1932 to 1944.

Assume an African American character and write from the perspective of the character. What would be the obstacles faced by people of color during the Great Depression or the war years?  Explain the issues in your letter and ask for specific help on those matters.  Also in a separate paragraph below your letter, explain why you chose to write what you did. What inspired you to write on the topics, situations or events that were discussed in your letter?

One way to help you prepare for your letter is to research writing letters during the Great Depression to President and Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt.  In addition,  some websites you can look at for this Discussion: Eleanore Roosevelt and Civil Rights, George Washington University  and “Please Help US Mr. President”: Black Americans Write to FDR

You can also Google: “Black Americans write to Eleanor Roosevelt.” You will see multiple images of actual letters written to the First Lady.

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