Black Cabinet
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The Black Cabinet was first known as the Federal Council of Negro Affairs, an informal group of African American public policy advisors to United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt. It was supported by the first lady Eleanor Roosevelt. By mid-1935 there were 45 African Americans working in federal executive departments and New Deal agencies.
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[edit] The need for representatives
Roosevelt's administration wanted to tend to the increasing needs of African Americans which, in practical terms, had not been met since the Lincoln administration. African Americans wanted some form of representation which had not been provided for them. This need was seen by the administration at the time and prominent individuals from the African American community were chosen unofficially to represent the needs of African Americans. "Through these efforts, blacks were appointed to positions of responsibility within numerous governmental agencies, the 'Black Cabinet' or 'Black Brain Trust' - a vocal and eloquent group of highly trained and politically astute African American intellectuals who spearheaded the struggle for civil rights during the thirties." [1]. Members of the "cabinet" worked officially and unofficially in their agencies to provide insight into the needs of African Americans. In the past, there had never been so many chosen at one time to work together for the African American community, though these 45 were primarily an advisory group. [2]. It is said that the first lady Eleanor Roosevelt encouraged the organization of the Black Cabinet to help shape New Deal programs. [3].
[edit] The members
Most members were not politicians but community leaders instead, with strong ties to the African American community. Prominent members included Dr. Robert C. Weaver, later to be the first Black Cabinet member, secretary of Housing and Urban Development and also the director of the Municipal Assistance Corporation which was formed during 1970s during the financial crisis in 1970s. As a Black Cabinet member during the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration he was hired as a race relations adviser who worked with the White House to provide more opportunities for African Americans. [4]. Another prominent member was Eugene K. Jones, the Executive Secretary of the National Urban League, a major civil rights organization, and a founder of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. One of the most famous members was Ms. Mary Jane McLeod Bethune. "Ms. Bethune was a Republican who changed her party allegiance because of Franklin Roosevelt." [5]. Ms. Bethune was very closely tied to the community and felt that she knew what the African Americans really wanted and worked hard to be their voice. She was looked upon very highly by other members of the cabinet who called her "Ma Bethune." Ms. Bethune was a personal friend of Mrs. Roosevelt and had access to the White House. Their friendship began during a luncheon when Mrs. Roosevelt took her arm and sat her to the right of Franklin Roosevelt which was considered the seat of honor. Franklin Roosevelt was so impressed after one of her speeches that he appointed her to the Division of Negro Affairs in the National Youth Administration which was just created.
The entire list of members of this group in 1938 includes the following: Dr. Ambrose Caliver, Department of the Interior; Dr. Roscoe C. Brown, Public Health Service; Dr. Robert C. Weaver, Housing Authority; Joseph H. Evans, Farm Security Administration; Mary McLeod Bethune, National Youth Administration; Lt. Lawrence A. Oxley, Department of Labor; Dr. William J. Thomkins, Recorder of Deeds; Charles E. Hall, Department of Commerce; William J. Houston, Department of Justice; Ralph E. Mizelle, Post Office. Dewey R. Jones, Department of the Interior; Edgar Brown (tennis star), Civilian Conservation Corps; J. Parker Prescott, Housing Authority; Edward H. Lawson, Jr., Works Projects Administration; Arthur Weiseger, Department of Labor; Alfred Edgar Smith, Works Projects; Henry A. Hunt, Farm Credit Administration; John W. Whitten, Works Projects; and Joseph R. Houchins, Department of Commerce. Others included at various times William H. Hastie, attorney, Department of the Interior; Eugene Kinckle Jones, Department of Commerce; and William J. Trent, Federal Works Agency.
[edit] See also
Additional Information
Lawrence A. Oxley (1887- 1973)
In 1925, Lt. Oxley earned a position as director of the Division of Work Among Negroes, a branch of the State Board of Charities and Public Welfare in North Carolina (Burwell, 2001). In his nine year tenure with the Division, Lt. Oxley accomplished the program goals of studying the lives and social conditions of African Americans and cultivating self-help initiatives. Mr. Oxley promoted the development of social welfare programs for black people to address issues of job readiness and social functioning (Oxley, 1927). He also highlighted the existing self-help and mutual aid services within the black community but emphasized the need to strengthen community efforts with funding and professionally trained social workers. Lt. Oxley was a vocal advocate for unemployment assistance despite the local government's reluctance to provide social welfare relief to the black community (Oxley, 1940). Additionally, he was an instructor at St. Augustine's College in Raleigh, North Carolina. Lt. Oxley used his close affiliation with the Bishop Tuttle School of School Work to facilitate collaborations between the College and the Division in order to educate African American social workers (Branch, 1992; Burwell, 2001).
Lt. Oxley's successes in North Carolina lead to a position with the United States Department of Labor in 1934. While with the Department of Labor he worked in various departments and on “New Deal” programs centered on improving employment opportunities for African Americans. In 1937, he published the article "Government Employment and Negro Youth" which encouraged the utilization of the U.S. Employment Service opportunities. By publishing this article in a widely read and respected journal Lt. Oxley demonstrated an effective community organizing strategy for disseminating information.
From his writings and work, Lt. Oxley’s social welfare philosophy is clear, program innovation and community organizing for group betterment despite systematic obstacles (Oxley, 1927; Burwell, 2001).
Throughout his career Lt. Oxley (1887-1973) blazed a trail for future social workers to follow. His work is a great example of intersection between scholarship and practice. He published articles and reports about circumstances in the black community while taking action to address the issues. The life circumstances for many African American are much better today because of the efforts of Lt. Lawrence A. Oxley, a social work pioneer.
[edit] References
[edit] Bibliography
- Barron, James. "Robert C. Weaver 89, First Black Cabinet Member, Dies". New York Times, 19 July, 1997.
- Burwell, N. Y. (2001). Lawrence A. Oxley: Defining state public welfare among African Americans. In I.B. Carlton-LaNey (Ed.), African American leadership: An empowerment tradition in social welfare history (pp 99-110). Washington, DC: NASW Press
- Horton, James O. "African American History." Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2007.
- Hughes, Langston and Milton Meltzer. A Pictorial History of the Negro in America. Crown Publishers, Inc. n.d. photograph on page 285.
- Fleming, Thomas C. "The Black Cabinet." The Free Press. 8 September 1999.
- "Mary McLeod Bethune" Wikipedia. 11 March. 2008. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Jane_McLeod_Bethune
- Oxley, L.A. (1927) The North Carolina Negro. Welfare Magazine. New Haven, CT: Unknown
- Oxley, L. A. (1940) Employment Security and the Negro. Employment Security Review 7(7), 12-15
- Walton, Hanes. "Invisible Politics- Black Political Behavior." State University of New York Press, 1985, 263 pages.
- Weiss, Nancy J. "Farewell to the Party of Lincoln: Black Politics in the Age of FDR." Princeton University Press, 1983, 142 pages.
- Yetman, Norman. "The Black Presence in the Writers Project." An introduction to the WPA Slave Narratives. 23 March, 2001.
[edit] External links
- Reflections on Black History Part 83
- American National Biography Online: Mary Jane McLeod Bethune, a member of the Black Cabinet
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