Letter- Perspectives on Racism and Hardship During the Great Depression

Letter- Perspectives on Racism and Hardship During the Great Depression

Dear Mrs. Roosevelt,

I hold you with high regard for your contributions in progressing the nation towards integration. I have had the privilege to listen to radio broadcasts about ideals in eradicating racial segregation. From these perspectives, I am convinced that you have a genuine desire to propel a positive change over the issues ongoing in this country.

Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt, I am in great need of your help. I am married and a parent to a boy and a girl. I am from a black community, and I reside in Georgia. About one year ago, I was fired by my former manager, leaving my family and me barely with any income. Since then, I have been looking for job vacancies, but with no luck (Goodwin, 2013). I am the breadwinner for my family as my wife is a housewife because our daughter is of tender age and needs her full attention. Due to the economic and motherhood circumstances, my wife can hardly work for her income.

Since the Great Depression, economic conditions have deteriorated, especially for black Americans. Currently, we scarcely receive relief food, garments, or blanket supplies despite the majority of us having to live in segregated zones. The relief handlers use almost all the supplies they send for self-interest and give them away to their friends (Schlup & Whisenhunt, 2014). Usually, much of the supplies we acquire include a few cans of pickled meat. However, the whites receive huge supplies such as blankets, garments, and food. Mrs. Roosevelt, I will illustrate an example of how the relief products are supplied over here. Alfred Gilbert has huge properties such as lands, is a stockholder in a local bank, and regularly receives food and clothing supplies. This situation is just an example of many injustices in this region and needs your urgent attention.

We are starving in Georgia. I wish you could pay a visit to this region and experience the depth of our experience. Many people are poor and hungry and walk half-naked to the relief offices begging for supplies but are turned away with tears in their eyes. I do not wish to take much of your time, Mrs. Roosevelt, but it is important that you relay this matter to President Roosevelt for investigation. Sadly, we can neither access relief nor work, leaving black people to starve to death. Your presence here can stop the brutal treatment of the blacks.

Please help us, Mrs. Roosevelt, because we cannot help ourselves. We are praying for your response.

I chose to focus on the relief supplies situation in Georgia because many African Americans are starving. A lack of opportunities to secure jobs leaves them in a vulnerable survival state. The heightened discrimination levels affect not only blacks’ social status but also their survival ability.

References

Goodwin, D. K. (2013). No ordinary time: Franklin & Eleanor Roosevelt: the home front in World War II. Simon and Schuster.

Schlup, L. C., & Whisenhunt, D. W. (Eds.). (2014). It seems to me: Selected letters of Eleanor Roosevelt. University Press of Kentucky.

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Assume an African American character and write from the perspective of the character. What would be the obstacles faced by people of colour during the Great Depression or the war years?

Letter- Perspectives on Racism and Hardship During the Great Depression

Explain the issues in your letter and ask for specific help. Also, explain why you wrote what you did in a separate paragraph below your letter. What inspired you to write about the topics, situations or events discussed in your letter?