[African-Americana – Great Depression – Progressive Politics – New York City] United Afro-American Union

HELP US TO HELP YOU! [Handbill Advertising the United Afro-American Union]

New York City: c. 1938. Handbill measuring 5 ¾ x 9 inches. Folded with some wear; excellent. Item #List3408

The Federal Emergency Relief Administration was established in 1933 (replaced in 1935 by the Works Progress Administration) to provide paid employment and other aid to unemployed people during the Great Depression. In 1937, the WPA laid off half a million of its workers, prompting the Workers’ Alliance of America—an organization founded by the Socialist Party of America in 1935—to hold a Jobs March in Washington, D.C. Though the march was relatively sparsely attended, it became fodder for anti-Communist backlash, leading to further cuts to the WPA budget, which dropped 1.5 million more workers from the program in 1939.

The Depression hit the majority-Black neighborhood of Harlem especially hard. At its peak, the unemployment rate in Harlem reached fifty per cent, double the countrywide average. Offered here is a handbill published by the United Afro-American Union, an unemployment union for African American Harlemers. The Union was formed by Louis Campbell and Frankie Duty, former leaders of the Workers’ Alliance in Harlem, following a dispute with the Alliance.[1] The handbill reads in part:
“Join with us in this struggle against Relief Cuts. [...] ‘In unity there is strength,’ is our motto. Negroes on Relief must join hands together for their common good. [...] Don’t let grasping Landlords deprive you of your right to shelter. Our program is to fight against all forms of Negro Discrimination, whether it is found here or elsewhere. You can ‘Help Us to Help You,’ by joining the -- UNITED AFRO-AMERICAN UNION.”

The organization was apparently quite short-lived, lacking organization and any significant support.[1] Of interest to historians of Harlem and African American activism during the Great Depression. We find no copies in OCLC.

[1] Abner Berry, “A Black Harlem Communist Speaks,” Unknown Interviewer, Liberation School, October 22, 2019, audio, https://liberationschool.org/abner-berry/.

Price: $275.00