April 1933

President Roosevelt's Civilian Conservation Corps, which employed 3 million young men during the Depression, was racially segregated by War Department policy. Black men were admitted to separate camps, often in inferior facilities, under white officers. Initially limited to 10% of CCC enrollment even as Black unemployment reached 50% in some cities, Black enrollment was capped at approximately 6% through most of the program. Southern states frequently refused to establish Black CCC camps at all. Black CCC workers were often assigned the most dangerous tasks at lower effective pay.

The CCC enrolled Black men in racially segregated camps, limited their enrollment to roughly 6% of total despite higher Black unemployment rates, and barred Black officers from commanding camps in the South. The program's stated universalism masked systematic exclusion negotiated with Southern Democrats.