- Upper Class: Small but influential group of prominent figures like Tuskegee Institute leader Booker T. Washington, educator Mary McLeod Bethune, and millionaire businessman Robert L. Vann.
- Middle Class: Gradually expanding group of professionals (doctors, lawyers, teachers), landowners, business owners, and urban workers.
- Lower Class: Majority of African Americans working as manual laborers, tenant farmers, sharecroppers, and unskilled urban workers.
Challenges and Discrimination:
- Economic Hardship: The Great Depression disproportionately affected African Americans. Unemployment rates were higher, and they were often the last to be hired and the first to be fired.
- Rural Poverty: Many African Americans lived in rural areas in the South, where they faced extreme poverty and segregation. Sharecropping and tenant farming systems kept many in debt.
- Housing Discrimination: African Americans were often confined to segregated neighborhoods, known as "Black belts," with limited access to housing and amenities.
- Lynchings and Violence: Lynchings, particularly in the South, continued to be a major threat, resulting in numerous brutal incidents.
- Political Disenfranchisement: Despite the passage of the 15th Amendment in 1870, which granted voting rights to African American males, voting restrictions such as poll taxes, literacy tests, and all-white primaries effectively disenfranchised many.
- Limited Educational Opportunities: Schools for African Americans were often underfunded and inferior compared to those for white children. Educational opportunities were restricted.
Artistic Renaissance and Cultural Expression:
- The Harlem Renaissance: This period of cultural flourishing in Harlem, New York, produced influential literature (Langston Hughes), art (Aaron Douglas), and music (Duke Ellington).
- Musical Innovations: African American musicians made significant contributions to jazz, the blues, and gospel.
- Cultural Institutions: Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and organizations like the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and Urban League played vital roles.
- Literature and the Arts: Writers such as Zora Neale Hurston and Richard Wright explored African American experiences in their works, while artists like Jacob Lawrence and Archibald Motley expressed social issues through their art.
Political Activism and Protest:
- NAACP and Protests: The NAACP led legal challenges, protests, and voter registration drives to fight for civil rights and advance equality.
- Labor Movement: African American workers organized and participated in labor unions to demand better working conditions and fair wages.
- Grassroots Movements: Marcus Garvey's Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) and other organizations promoted black pride, economic empowerment, and self-determination.
Despite these challenges, the resilience and determination of African Americans during this period laid the groundwork for significant social, political, and cultural changes in the years that followed.