The African-American Experience in the
Civilian Conservation Corps
by Olen
Cole, Jr.
Order
this Book now
Between 1933 and 1942, nearly
200,000 young African Americans participated in the
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), one of
Roosevelt’s most successful New Deal agencies. In an
effort to correct the lack of historical attention paid
to the African-American contribution to the CCC, Cole
examines the contributions of African Americans to the
CCC as well as its impact on its African-American
participants.
Though federal legislation establishing the CCC held that
no bias of "race, color, or creed" was to be
tolerated, Cole demonstrates that the very presence of
African Americans in the CCC, as well as the placement of
the segregated CCC work camps in predominantly white
California communities, became significant sources of
controversy. Cole assesses community resistance to all
black camps, as well as the conditions of the state park
camps, national forest camps, and national park camps
where African-American work companies in California were
stationed. He also evaluates the educational and
recreational experiences of African-American CCC
participants, their efforts to combat racism, and their
contributions to the protection and maintenance of
California’s national forest and parts.
Perhaps most important, Cole’s use of oral histories
gives voice to individual experiences: former Corps
members discuss the benefits of employment, vocational
training, and character development as well as their
experiences of community reaction to all-black CCC camps.
An important and much neglected chapter in American
history, Cole’s study should interest students of
New Deal politics, state and national park history, and
the African-American experience in the 20th century.
Olen Cole, Jr., is associate professor of history at
North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State
University in Greensboro, North Carolina.
1999. 128pp. 6 X 9.
10 b&w photos, map, 3 tables, notes, bibliography,
index.
ISBN 0-8130-1660-6 Cloth, $49.95s
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"A long overdue addition to New Deal/African American historiography. . . , offering readers an insightful history of the African American experience in one of the New Deal's most successful agencies."--
Choice
"Emphasizes the
unique participation of African Americans in the CCC and
their efforts to negate racism. . . . Extremely
useful."--Charles Johnson, Jr., Morgan State
University
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