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Federal Writers' Project – Life Histories/2021/Spring/105/Section 88/Jim Parker

< Federal Writers' Project – Life Histories‎ | 2021/Spring‎ | 105/Section 88
Jim Parker
NationalityAmerican
OccupationTenant Farmer
Spouse(s)Unknown woman

Overview edit

Jim Parker was a husband and father of thirteen children during the age of the Great Depression. With more than a dozen children, Parker figured the best way to raise his family would be to have a house and farm where no rent would have to be paid. Over the years, Parker worked for various men in trying to accomplish his goal. Unfortunately, he would encounter many setbacks in trying to purchase land for his family. Parker was interviewed as a result of the Federal Writers' Project in 1939. [1]


Biography edit

Childhood edit

Parker was born to a small family and raised in Seaboard, NC. His father was a tenant farmer, this meant that he had very little money growing up and he stopped going to school after the fourth grade. With limited education, Parker followed in his father's footsteps of being a tenant farmer for the first eighteen years of his life.

Adult Life edit

 
Black Tenant Farmer Family

After Parker turned eighteen, he would work various jobs in public service for several years. He enjoyed working in public service much more than being a tenant farmer. As time passed, Parker would eventually meet a young woman and they would have a family together. At this point in time, Parker returned to being a tenant farmer for the lack of jobs he could find in the public service [2]. With children now on the way Parker decided that the best place to raise and support his family would be to have his own farm. Parker longed for this idea since he had grown up renting land from others and never had anything of his own desire. For seven years Parker worked for a man named John Leak, at the end of the seventh year Parker decided to purchase his land but he unfortunately lost his payment and bank account due to a bank failure [3]. After that, Parked worked for another man by the name of Tommie Stephenson for a few years. After working with Stephenson, Parked once again tried to purchase his own land but failed due to lack of money.

Historical Context edit

Unemployment and Struggles in the Reconstruction edit

After the events of the American Civil War, the United States entered a period known as the Reconstruction era. During this period, the age of slavery was over and this lead to newfound freedom for African Americans. However, hundreds of thousands of African Americans in the South faced new difficulties such as, little to none education, lack of money, and unemployment [4]. The presence of these issues waved heavily on the freed slaves causing some to return back to plantations. In the end, former slaves sought jobs and planters sought laborers. At this time, sharecropping became widespread in the South as a response to economic upheaval during Reconstruction. Sharecropping was a way for poor farmers or former slaves, to earn a living from land owned by someone else. A common issue with sharecropping was that it was difficult for individuals to get out of. Unpredictable harvests and unfair landlords often kept tenant farmer families indebted, requiring the debt to be carried over until the next year. Laws favoring landowners made it even more difficult for former slaves since landowners prevented sharecroppers from moving if they were indebted to their landlord [5].

Status of African Americans During the Great Depression edit 

The worldwide economic depression known as the Great Depression affected everyone to some degree. However, the Great Depression deteriorated the already bleak economic situation of African Americans [6]. The 1930's showcased a lot of racial prejudice against African Americans. Racial discrimination was seen in federal housing and in youth programs. Labor unions, such as the American Federation of Labor, actively pursued discriminatory practices which excluded blacks from union membership. They were also the first to be laid off their jobs at a business and or farm and suffered more unemployment than that of whites. When it came to black sharecroppers, more often that not there was a discrimination when it came time for pay. In fact, white sharecroppers received more of an income compared to that of blacks. Those who were able to keep their jobs sometimes had their wages cut. Blacks were considered fit for only low paying dirty jobs that no one else wanted. With such low wages for the black communities, living conditions were terrible in quality. Many black families lived in shacks with no electricity, running water, and no insulation for the winter. Sharecropper families would often leave from one farm to another in search of better living conditions. Violence would often occur during the 1930's between whites and blacks by competing for jobs. As a result, this made African Americans suffer the most out of any group during the Great Depression.

Notes edit

  1. ↑ Kelly, interview.
  2. ↑ Black Americans 1929-1941.
  3. ↑ Crafts, Nicholas. “The Great Depression of the 1930s: Lessons for Today.”.
  4. ↑ Foner, Eric. "After Slavery: Race, Labor, and Citizenship in the Reconstruction South."
  5. ↑ Conrad, David E. "Tenant Farming and Sharecropping"
  6. ↑ Saidian, Siyavush. "The Great Depression : Worldwide Economic Crisis.”

References edit

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