As we stand on the precipice of the cliff overlooking another Great Depression, we need to consider that the Depression wasn’t only rough on the working class. It was also a period of extreme racism, not only by people to each other, but by the government against communities of color.
As the government started to give people a hand up, it saw fit to ignore some darker hands, for a while, until people fought to get their fair share and a fair shake.
I have to wonder if the progressives of the 1930s were thinking back to the previous big depression, the Long Depression of 1873 to 1896, during which time Chinese workers were lynched, and evicted, and eventually excluded from immigrating. During which time the Plains Indians were nearly wiped out, by a genocidal war. During which time Jim Crow laws hardened into a terrorist state for Black people. Perhaps they were, but I suspect many were not.
What can we do different, this time?
Leave a Reply