Curriculum Materials: Art in America
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Image 22 Romare Bearden Questions: |
Discrimination in the American Workforce
Labor themes abound in the work of many black American
artists during the 1930s and 1940s. After the Depression,
blacks were forced to remain in labor-intensive construction
jobs while white workers were hired for more desirable
defense industry jobs. Denied access to special training
programs, black workers could not acquire the skills
necessary to hold the better paying positions. Although more
positions opened to black American workers during World War
II, discrimination continued to be a disabling influence in
their efforts to rise in America's labor force and in
American society as a whole.
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