The best books on Black Americans and the Roosevelt era

Jill Watts Author Of The Black Cabinet: The Untold Story of African Americans and Politics During the Age of Roosevelt
By Jill Watts

Who am I?

I am a Professor of History at California State University San Marcos where I teach United States Social and Cultural History, African American History, Film History, and Digital History. In addition to The Black Cabinet, I am also the author of three other books. Two of my books have been optioned for film and I have consulted on PBS documentaries. I believe that knowing history is necessary and practical, especially in these times. At this critical point, we can draw much wisdom from the lessons of Black history and the history of the presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

I wrote...

The Black Cabinet: The Untold Story of African Americans and Politics During the Age of Roosevelt

By Jill Watts

The Black Cabinet: The Untold Story of African Americans and Politics During the Age of Roosevelt

What is my book about?

When Franklin Delano Roosevelt won the Presidency in 1932, in the midst of the Great Depression, most Black Americans lived in poverty and were denied citizenship rights. As his New Deal was launched, a “Black Brain Trust” evolved within the administration and began documenting the inequalities that African Americans faced. Known as the Black Cabinet, they encountered an environment that was often hostile to change.

Black Cabinet members pushed to increase Black access to New Deal relief. Led by the dynamic educator Mary McLeod Bethune, they won several victories—the incorporation of anti-discrimination clauses into federal contracts, the creation of jobs and farming programs, and the growth of Black educational opportunities. But they also experienced defeats—FDR’s refusal to support federal anti-lynching legislation and the overall resistance to extending Black voting rights and ending segregation. The Black Cabinet never won official recognition, and with FDR’s death, it dissolved. But it had successfully laid the foundation for the later Civil Rights Movement.

When you buy a book we may earn a small commission.

The Books I Picked & Why

Farewell to the Party of Lincoln: Black Politics in the Age of F.D.R

By Nancy Joan Weiss

Farewell to the Party of Lincoln: Black Politics in the Age of F.D.R

Why this book?

Nancy Weiss traces how Black Americans, who traditionally voted Republican, abandoned the Party of Lincoln for the Democrats during the Roosevelt era. By 1932, Black dissatisfaction with the GOP had surfaced and centered on Herbert Hoover’s mishandling of the Great Depression. Although Hoover still won Black votes, Black Americans crossed over to support FDR in key electoral districts. Roosevelt’s New Deal economic programs neglected to remedy Black poverty and inequality but the President’s progressive reputation made him popular with many in the Black community. Creative campaign strategies targeting the Black community increased Black support for FDR and solidified the Democratic party’s hold on Black votes in 1936 and 1940. This important transformation shaped the future of the America political landscape and increased Black voices in the American political process.

When you buy a book we may earn a small commission.

Days of Hope: Race and Democracy in the New Deal Era

By Patricia Sullivan

Days of Hope: Race and Democracy in the New Deal Era

Why this book?

In a pathbreaking examination of the New Deal and race, Patricia Sullivan does a deep dive into how the Roosevelt administration’s policies played out and, in most cases, failed Black people. While that story is a disappointing one, she also shows how the era created opportunities for a biracial coalition of Black and white progressives to come together to push for a vision of a revitalized American Democracy based in racial equality. Sullivan offers compelling accounts of the dynamic leadership provided by the NAACP, Black New Dealers, and Black activists in challenging American racism as they worked with white allies. It was these interracial crusades that began to flourish during the Roosevelt era that would provide a model for later collaboration during the Freedom Movement campaigns of the 1950s and 1960s.

When you buy a book we may earn a small commission.

12 Million Black Voices

By Richard Wright

12 Million Black Voices

Why this book?

In this moving work, writer Richard Wright offers a personal and eyewitness testimony of the Black experience during the Roosevelt years. The text is emotional and functions simultaneously as art and history; as poetry and social criticism. A celebration of Black perseverance, he explores Black life in the farm belt and in urban areas. Born in Mississippi and a Chicago resident, Wright was uniquely positioned to offer this holistic expose on American racism and the New Deal’s failure to address discrimination and Black poverty. During the Great Depression, the Work Progress Administration’s Federal Writers Project supported him as he wrote his acclaimed novel Native Son. Accompanied by Edwin Rosskam’s photographs, Wright documents suffering, remembrance, resilience, and resistance: “What we want, what we represent, what we endure is what America is.”

When you buy a book we may earn a small commission.

The Firebrand and the First Lady: Portrait of a Friendship: Pauli Murray, Eleanor Roosevelt, and the Struggle for Social Justice

By Patricia Bell-Scott

The Firebrand and the First Lady: Portrait of a Friendship: Pauli Murray, Eleanor Roosevelt, and the Struggle for Social Justice

Why this book?

In this engaging read, Patricia Bell-Scott explores the close relationship shared between Black feminist activist, lawyer, and writer Pauli Murry and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. This is a story of two divergent lives becoming intertwined as both women fought for self-definition and for their respective causes. One of the most brilliant minds of the twentieth century, Murray did not hesitate to criticize the Roosevelts. Nonetheless she was not only able to secure support from Eleanor Roosevelt for civil rights causes but also transform, in many instances, the First Lady’s thinking on racial affairs. This book takes us beyond FDR’s death and demonstrates the lasting impact that Black leaders, who emerged during the 1930s and 1940s, and Eleanor Roosevelt subsequently made on Black American lives specifically and the nation as a whole.

When you buy a book we may earn a small commission.

Black Culture and the New Deal: The Quest for Civil Rights in the Roosevelt Era

By Lauren Rebecca Sklaroff

Black Culture and the New Deal: The Quest for Civil Rights in the Roosevelt Era

Why this book?

Sandwiched between the creative outpourings of the Harlem Renaissance and the Cold War, Black cultural expression during the Roosevelt years is often overlooked. Lauren Skalroff corrects this by exploring the various venues where Black artists contributed during the New Deal era. Black cultural workers encountered overwhelming discrimination as they navigated the world of art, theater, music, writing, radio, film, and other cultural outlets that were controlled by white Americans. But the New Deal’s arts programs did offer some opportunities for Black artistic autonomy and genuine expression. In some cases, Black artists were able, to a degree, to challenge negative stereotypes. Sklaroff builds the story chronologically and takes the reader through WWII showing how culture and political activism were intricately linked during two of the nation’s most historically challenging times.

When you buy a book we may earn a small commission.

Closely Related Book Lists

The best books on women in the civil rights movement

Katherine Mellen Charron Author Of Freedom's Teacher: The Life of Septima Clark Katherine Mellen Charron

The best books on how African Americans shaped democracy in America

Christina Proenza-Coles Author Of American Founders: How People of African Descent Established Freedom in the New World Christina Proenza-Coles

The best books to read about the history of women's rights

Ellen Carol DuBois Author Of Suffrage: Women's Long Battle for the Vote Ellen Carol DuBois

The best books about Black women disruptors

Katie McCabe Author Of Mighty Justice: My Life in Civil Rights Katie McCabe

Distantly Related Book Lists

The best books on the struggle for equality in the USA

Charles Postel Author Of Equality: An American Dilemma, 1866-1896 Charles Postel

The best books about Black culture and history in the Civil Rights era

Jonathan Shandell Author Of The American Negro Theatre and the Long Civil Rights Era Jonathan Shandell

The best books on the history of African American education

Marybeth Gasman Author Of Making Black Scientists: A Call to Action Marybeth Gasman

The best books about the amazing fight for women’s voting rights

Anne B. Gass Author Of We Demand: The Suffrage Road Trip Anne B. Gass

Random Book Lists

The best books on Japanese carpentry and construction

Azby Brown Author Of The Genius of Japanese Carpentry: Secrets of an Ancient Woodworking Craft Azby Brown

The best books for understanding Putinism

Mark Lawrence Schrad Author Of Vodka Politics: Alcohol, Autocracy, and the Secret History of the Russian State Mark Lawrence Schrad

The best books on D-Day airborne operations

Flint Whitlock Author Of If Chaos Reigns: The Near-Disaster and Ultimate Triumph of the Allied Airborne Forces on D-Day, June 6, 1944 Flint Whitlock

The best books about Hadrian’s Wall

Douglas Jackson Author Of Hero of Rome Douglas Jackson