The Great Depression is remembered as a time of universal misery and hardship. Millions of people live in extreme poverty and the entire nation is in ruins economically, politically and socially. However, as always in US history, minority groups have been hit hardest, exposing America's indelible racist roots. The culture of poverty during the Great Depression revealed America's true colors in many ways. Minority groups, already living in poverty, were subjected to racial attacks triggered in part by anxieties triggered by the economic catastrophe. Such hostilities and the resulting redistribution of jobs have created a culture of racial poverty. Additionally, racially charged political rhetoric during this time increased the hardships experienced by people of color. Poverty during the Great Depression was disproportionately experienced by disadvantaged demographic groups, revealing America's entrenched racial inequality and hostility. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The anxiety induced by the Great Depression amplified racial discrimination against minority groups, who were already mired in abject poverty. The economic collapse was devastating for all workers, yet minority groups such as African Americans suffered more than their white fellow citizens. They were forced out of jobs previously despised by whites. There was an increase in lynchings. They were the first fired and the last hired (Phillips-Fein). Although adversity was nothing new to African Americans, the Great Depression only intensified racial subjugation. Just a couple of generations earlier, slavery had been abolished, and Jim Crow laws were pervasive throughout the early twentieth century. But the economic collapse gave rise to a new racism against African Americans in the 1930s, and the idea that black people were inferior became increasingly popular. As stated by Trotter, by 1932 the black unemployment rate in some areas was as high as seventy-five percent. This was significantly higher than the white unemployment rate, which was 30%. Furthermore, wages for black workers were 30% lower than those of whites, even for those living below subsistence before the Depression (Trotter). An already weak job market for blacks has shrunk following the collapse that demonstrated America's deep-rooted systemic racism. Blacks, who were already at a disadvantage, were further constrained by lower wages and employment, resulting in increased levels of poverty within the African American community. Therefore, there is a direct correlation between racism, discrimination, and poverty during the Great Depression. A redistribution of jobs ensued, fanning the flames of racial aggression toward minority groups. Before the Depression, Africans and Mexican-Americans filled the need for unskilled labor. Low income and deplorable working conditions had already placed them at a disadvantage, however with the onset of economic decline there was fierce competition for every job. As a result, black and Latino groups were pushed out of work, leaving most of them unemployed while whites took whatever they could get. For example, in many Southern cities, white workers rallied with racially charged slogans such as “No jobs for Negroes until every white man has a job” and “Niggers, let's go back to the cotton fields: jobs incities are for white people (Trotter). Such racial abuses contributed to labor redistribution that favored white workers, pushing the black community further down the economic ladder. Additionally, Southern railroads witnessed the worst excess of race-based violence. Organized white fraternities attacked, intimidated, and killed black firefighters so they could take their job positions (Trotter). Although the Thirteenth Amendment was passed nearly sixty years before the Great Depression, Trotter notes that "The rifle, the whip, the noose, and the practices of the Ku Klux Klan were being revived..." (Trotter). Such heinous practices were dangerously close to the brutality of slavery and increased the hardships experienced by Black people during this era. For example, African American women were forced into “slave markets” where even poor white women employed them for as little as $5 a week for full-time work (Trotter). This sad reality contributed not only to racial tensions, but also to increased poverty among blacks. The redistribution of jobs exposed the deep racism that has always existed in America, but was exacerbated by the economic panic of the Great Depression. The poverty crisis exacerbated the underlying racism in America, also spreading into the political discourses of the time. The racially charged political rhetoric was a more subtle result of the culture of poverty during the 1930s. High school graduates during the Depression entered a world without work, and most were unable to seek higher education, because unemployment was a persistent problem. Edward R. Ellis explains the solutions to the problem sought by political figures. He describes how the governor of Mississippi promised to deport “12 million blacks and 10 million aliens—more than the actual number of aliens in the nation at the time” (Ellis 171). The governor described the multitude of horribly racist views among political figures, which contributed to a “growing loss of freedom in America…” (Ellis 183). High levels of unemployment further fueled racist views which led to a worsening culture of poverty in the black community. Additionally, during Herbert Hoover's administration, federal agents and state police carried out large roundups of Mexican Americans. The horrible reality of this was that “anyone who looked Mexican, including U.S. citizens of Mexican descent, were picked up and taken into custody during street sweeps” (“Minority Groups”). These mass arrests were carried out without a warrant or any specific reason other than the fact that someone “looked” Mexican. Going door to door, the agents asked Mexican citizens and immigrants for documents. If the defendants had not provided them with the documentation immediately, they would have been marked as illegal and deported. As expected, these roundups sparked a climate of fear among Mexican Americans, and many immigrants decided to leave the United States in an effort to avoid further harassment. Images of Mexican-American families huddled in their homes demonstrate the fear created by such hostility. Unsure whether or not they would be deported, they took refuge together in an attempt to protect themselves from the federal government. In addition to such overt aggression, there were also more subtle and covert ways in which minority groups suffered. For example, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), an act part of Roosevelt's New Deal was intended to provide work to young Americans. However, at the height of its implementation, only 11% of the workforce was black. Likewise, the WPA, which it also sought to create”