But, as one historian has written, it was “less than adequate when measured against the disproportionate relief needs of blacks.” CCC Camps and Work ProjectsĪt first, African American enrollees were to be assigned to CCC camps without regard to race. By 1935, African American participation in the CCC did reach 10 percent, which might be considered equitable in relationship to the black population in 1930. Frank Persons that enrollees be selected without regard to race, CCC administrators in many states refused to select a proportionate share of blacks. Yet despite instructions from National Selection Director W. The law establishing the CCC contained a provision that “no discrimination shall be made on account of race, color or creed.” Oscar De Priest, a black congressman from Chicago, insisted on this measure. They lived in barracks (usually wooden cabins) and got two standard CCC uniforms. Enrollees received food, clothing, shelter, medical care, and educational and recreational opportunities. The enrollee kept the remaining $5 to use as he chose. Each enrollee earned a monthly salary of $30 (a fairly good salary for the 1930s), of which $25 was sent home to his family to help buy food, clothing, and fuel. His family had to be receiving some form of government financial assistance. The enrollee (the official term for a CCC participant) was to be employed in the corps for no longer than 18 months. (Some people called the CCC “Roosevelt’s Tree Army,” because its focus included the planting of millions of trees.) The CCC provided conservation jobs for unemployed men, ages 18 to 25, in semimilitary work camps, usually in rural areas. In 1933 over a third of the 14 million known unemployed were under age 25. President Roosevelt responded to the Depression in March 1933 by convincing Congress to create the CCC. The widespread racism and segregation of the time made the suffering of African American youth even worse. Because of competition for jobs, those without experience or a specific skill found it very difficult to find work. This work benefited forestland and agricultural areas across North Carolina.Īlthough most Americans experienced economic hardship during the Depression, some groups and populations suffered more than others. They lessened soil erosion by laying topsoil to prevent land- and mudslides, by landscaping, and by planting trees and shrubs. Workers put out forest fires, too, saving timber, property, and possibly even lives. They removed dead trees to prevent forest fires. These men built truck trails and roads in the Nantahala National Forest, helping to provide easy access to the Great Smoky Mountains. African American men played a major role in the CCC in North Carolina.

The program’s goal was to conserve the country’s natural resources while providing jobs for young men.

One of the most popular programs in President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal proved to be the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). Tar Heel Junior Historian Association, NC Museum of History Reprinted with permission from the Tar Heel Junior Historian. Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) 'Work and Opportunity: African Americans in the CCC'

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