John P. Davis: “A Black Inventory of the New Deal”

Audience

Davis’s piece was published in The Crisis, the magazine of the NAACP. Founded in 1910, The Crisis was one of the oldest publications dedicated to advancing the cause of black civil rights in America. At the time of Davis’s article, the magazine had recently experienced a change in editorial oversight. W. E. B. Du Bois, founder of The Crisis, had resigned over differences of opinion with the NAACP’s vision for the black rights movement; Du Bois advocated a separatist position, while the NAACP favored integration. The new editors, George Streator and Roy Wilkins, gave more editorial room to young authors such as Davis. However, The Crisis continued to be read widely by both white and black audiences interested in issues of racial justice. The publication’s circulation vastly exceeded the NAACP’s membership.

Although segregation was ingrained in American society during the depression years, there was a vibrant and active movement comprising liberal progressive whites and activist African Americans dedicated to moving the nation forward in terms of racial justice. Organizations such as the National Urban League aimed at aiding the status of black Americans, and the Commission on Interracial Cooperation in Atlanta sought to bring black and white community leaders together in dialogue. By the 1930s, there was a growing cadre of educated, progressive-minded black and white people who were eager to address the myriad problems facing the African American community. These people would likely have read Davis’s article, as well as similar pieces in magazines such as Opportunity, published by the Urban League, and The Journal of Negro Life.