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June 1936

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Achievement · politics
Mary McLeod Bethune Appointed Director of Negro Affairs, NYA

FDR appointed Bethune as Director of the Division of Negro Affairs within the National Youth Administration, making her the highest-ranking Black woman in the federal government to that date. She used the post to steer NYA funds to Black colleges and students, establishing an informal 'Black Cabinet' in Washington.

Events

  1. June 1936
    Mary McLeod Bethune Appointed Director of Negro Affairs, NYA

    FDR appointed Bethune as Director of the Division of Negro Affairs within the National Youth Administration, making her the highest-ranking Black woman in the federal government to that date. She used the post to steer NYA funds to Black colleges and students, establishing an informal 'Black Cabinet' in Washington.

  2. June 19, 1936
    Joe Louis Suffers First Professional Defeat to Max Schmeling

    German boxer Max Schmeling shocked the world by knocking out Louis in the twelfth round, exploiting a flaw in Louis's technique that Schmeling had identified from film study. The loss was a devastating blow to Black America and was exploited by Nazi Germany as racial propaganda.