A Black American Asks FDR to End Racial Inequalities in Federal Relief
Although Franklin D. Roosevelt never endorsed anti-lynching legislation and condoned discrimination against blacks in federally funded relief programs, he still won the hearts and the votes of many African Americans. Yet this support and even [...]
An African American Describes Why New Deal Relief Is Not Reaching the Black Community (with text supports)
In this letter, an African American in Georgia anonymously writes to Franklin D. Roosevelt to tell how discrimination in his community means that black citizens are not receiving the relief they are entitled to under New Deal programs. This version [...]
A Letter from Perry Watkins on his Mistreatment in the Army
Perry Watkins was a gay African American soldier who was drafted to serve in the army during the Vietnam War. He was open about his sexuality throughout his entire career. Despite this, in 1981, the army revoked his security clearance after 13 years [...]
Jourdon Anderson Responds to his Former Enslaver (1865)
After the Civil War, many former enslavers in the South were desperate to not lose laborers and attempted to maintain control over formerly enslaved people. One such former enslaver, P.H. Anderson, contacted a formerly enslaved man named Jourdon [...]