Note:
Gunnar Myrdal died in 1987, less than 70 years ago.
Therefore, this work is protected by copyright,
restricting your legal rights to reproduce it.
However, you are welcome to view it on screen, as you do now.
Read more about copyright.
Full resolution (TIFF) - On this page / på denna sida - IV. Economics - 19. The War Boom—and Thereafter - 1. The Negro Wage Earner and the War Boom - 2. A Closer View
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
Below is the raw OCR text
from the above scanned image.
Do you see an error? Proofread the page now!
Här nedan syns maskintolkade texten från faksimilbilden ovan.
Ser du något fel? Korrekturläs sidan nu!
This page has never been proofread. / Denna sida har aldrig korrekturlästs.
Chapter 19. The War Boom—^and Thereafter 41
1
States during the period from June, 1940, through May, 1942, were placed
in the South.® The reason, of course, is that heavy industries are less well
represented below the Mason-Dixon line than they are in certain other
parts of the country. The result for the Negro is that, even if he were not
discriminated against, he could not get his full share in the war jobs,
except by moving North.
In spite of all these limitations, it is obvious that the War has brought
about a considerable increase in Negro employment, reckoned in absolute
figures. Also, it seems that the situation has improved somewhat as the
war boom has gone on. Still further improvements can be expected since
there will be additional increases in the demand for labor at the same time
as more men of working age will leave the labor market for the armed
forces. Women and Negroes now constitute almost all of the available
labor reserve. This, together with the increased pressure from the gov-
ernment, may cause a certain change in the situation.
The subsequent analysis of certain specific aspects of the war boom will
substantiate further the conclusions already drawn.
2. A Closer View
The war boom is not a result of armament production alone. In addi-
tion, there has been tremendous construction work in camps and war pro-
duction centers. Then, too, there have been substantial secondary booms
in consumption and service industries, transportation and production of
raw materials.
It is probable that, so far, the main Negro gains have been in those
industries in the last category, where they were already well entrenched
before the War. It is not only the expansion by itself which has given
them increased employment opportunities in such lines of work 5
there is
also the fact that these industries, generally, are characterized by low
wages and other ^^isutility factors” which cause an outflow of white labor
to armament plants. There is an increased demand for Negro labor in
Southern agriculture. The Negro domestic has more of a chance when
white girls go to factories. There is more work for Negroes in other serv-
ice occupations (janitors, elevator operators). Many garages, automobile
repair shops, and truck owners, in so far as they have not been forced to
cut down their business because of gasoline and rubber shortage, have had
to substitute Negro workers for white mechanics and drivers. The readi-
ness to hire Negroes as porters and helpers in stores must have increased.
There are more jobs for Negroes in production of lumber, coal, and tur-
pentine, in tobacco manufacturing, in longshore work and in railroad
transportation. These gains, however, are of little strategic significance. In
none of these industries has the Negro been able to gain any substantial
foothold in occupations higher than those in which he worked before. In
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
