The Great Depression: Crash Course Black American History #28

During economic crises, marginalized communities are more susceptible to the harm and struggle that come with these downturns. Today we'll talk about the Great Depression, which lasted from 1929 until the US entered World War II. This depression profoundly changed the US economy, and we'll focus on how the depression impacted Black Americans.

VIDEO SOURCES
● Cheryl Lynn Greenberg, To Ask for an Equal Chance: African Americans in the Great Depression (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2009).
● Keisha N. Blain, Set the World on Fire: Black Nationalist Women and the Global Struggle for Freedom (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2018).
● Robin D.G. Kelley, Hammer and Hoe: Alabama Communist During the Great Depression (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1990).
● Erik McDuffie, Sojourning for Freedom: Black Women, American Communism, and the Making of Black Left Feminism (Durham: Duke University Press, 2011).
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[whatwelearned]

As a somewhat middle-class white guy in the U.K, we learnt very little about this at school. I'm very glad that resources such as Crash Course put out such quality content for free.

[kevinxu]

One other new deal era program that I find really cool and relevant is the Library of Congress' collection of audio interviews of former slaves. They are still used today(ie Atun Shei's YouTube videos) to call out the harsh nature of slavery to neo-confederates who want to pretend otherwise

[chaoSefat]

I am a Bangladeshi. I wanted to learn black American history a lot. Thanks for making this series

[pavarottiaardvark]

What really sucked for southern farmers was that it was already a terrible decade - a Boll Weevil outbreak did huge damage to crops, and the Mississippi suffered major flooding in 1927. Just one blow after another.

[solarmesiah]

The book "the color of law", breaks down a bunch of the laws and policies that hindered, and in some ways continues to hinder progress for black Americans.

[cjhampton]

Mr. Smith! This series is excellent! Thank you and the team at crash course for doing your due diligence and telling the important and yet often overlooked history of this country

[michaelschlobohm]

As an 8th grade social studies teacher, THANK YOU for this resource. Many of my students connected to this than anything I could have spoke to.

[Ches]

history doesn't repeat, but it rhymes.

[VashdaCrash]

This one ended on a very grave note, but it as clear and powerful as highest.

[netsquall]

Gonna say it now

This is the best Crash Course series yet. I love John and World History and the Astronomy series and lots of others but this one taught me more about things viscerally close to home. And I'm not even American.

[Ahuka]

This is a fantastic series. Good on Crash Course for producing this.

[VincoMalus]

Breathtakingly elegant analysis/&dissection of American History🎥👑Pls keep doin wat ur doin🤝🏿🙌🏿

[autumnlvzzz]

Thank you for showing us the history of African Americans. In school I have never learned about how the Great Depression effected African Americans. 😁

[pavarottiaardvark]

There was a legendary production of MacBeth run by the Federal Theatre Project as part of these programmes. An all black cast, directed by Orson Wells, put on a production set in Haiti. Dubbed "The Voodoo MacBeth", it was wildly successful and went on tour, where they company insisted that it not play to any segregated crowds. Alas, no full recordings of the play survive.

[justinblechinger]

How does this not get more likes and views great work

[stax]

It's always important to take a deeper look at policies. Here in Canada, there has always been a lot done to oppress First Nations folk without explicit language, and it's easy to see if you look or at least care for your fellow human beings.
This show has been a great step in education, and I hope more people open their eyes to policies that are blatantly racist even if the policy doesn't say so.

[AnonymityLDAF]

This is one of the best (if not the best) crash course series….and that says A LOT. Keep it up!

[lmdmt]

Thank you for this series, I'm learning a lot

[makouras]

This series gives an invaluable insight into history, congratulations to everyone working to make this happen

[lovemoves]

Excellent & beautifully presented 🏆