The fact of having made a
decision and of taking action on it, Locke maintains, was the
event which created the aggressive self-confident New Negro. In
helping him to survive the Depression, the New Deal turned him
again into a passive recipient. The large number of Afro-Americans
who were receiving government aid in one way or another were aware
of their dependency. Afro-American communities, which had been
regarded as "The Promised Land," slid into poverty and dejection.
The Second World War
As ominous war clouds began to gather over Europe in the
late 1930s, most Americans were preoccupied with domestic
problems resulting from the Depression. Those who took notice of
the ascendancy of Mussolini and Hitler were apt to be impressed
with their successes in combatting the effects of the Depression
in Italy and Germany. The Afro-American community, however, was
more concerned with the imperialistic and racist elements in the
teachings of Fascism and National Socialism. Usually, American
Negroes were prevented from looking beyond their own problems by
the immediacy of racial prejudice which they faced daily, but
this time they were among the first to warn of impending danger.
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