Federal Writers' Project – Life Histories/2020/Fall/105/Section003/Joe Singleton

Overview
Joe Singleton was an African American man born in Sumter, South Carolina around the year 1891. He lived in the Southern United States and was interviewed for the Federal Writers’ Project in 1939. In Singleton's interview he depicted his life during the World War I and Great Depression era.

Early Life
Singleton was born in Sumter, South Carolina around 1891, but moved to Norfolk, Virginia some time during his childhood. From the age of 12 Singleton had begun to work around barber shops, doing small tasks such as brushing customers, sweeping, and shining shoes to make a little extra money for himself and his family. He would even sell forgotten clothes for a quarter a piece, as he was dedicated to making a little extra cash in any way possible.

Adult Life
At the age of 19, Singleton moved to Elizabeth City, North Carolina to take an opening for a barber. A few years later the U.S. became involved in World War I. Unlike many African Americans at the time, Singleton was literate which made him eligible to be drafted into the U.S. Army. Singleton was sent to training camp and then later overseas to France, where he would carry out the remainder of his military service. Singleton's tenure in the military was difficult due to the social climate as well as the brutal conditions of the war itself. His unit underwent many hard battles, eventually resulting in Singleton’s exposure to mustard gas. He was then hospitalized for four months and discharged from the military. After his release from the hospital Singleton went back to work at his barber shop, but advancements in technology had begun to weaken the profitability of the barber shop business. Money became hard to come by for Singleton and matters were only made worse after he suffered appendicitis and a stroke in quick succession. Luckily, his wife’s beauty parlor’s success combined with the little money brought in from the barber shop was enough for Singleton and his wife to get by on. Despite the tough times, Singleton and his wife were actually better off than many African American’s at the time considering they were both employed, as new unions and regulations had formed to push African Americans out of their shops to make room for white workers and business owners during the Great Depression.

As of 1939
As of the year 1939, the year Singleton was interviewed for the Federal Writers’ Project, he and his wife were still barely making enough money to get by. Singleton had considered becoming a minister, saying, “...when they can't make a living any other way they just get behind the Good Book and make a living out of it; don't have to work any more. It's a great book.”, but in the end continued to work as a barber.

African Americans in World War I
The U.S. military was known to discriminate against African Americans during World War I. Many African Americans were rejected by the military because they could not read or write, and as it was extremely difficult to get an education as an African American at this time, most of them could not do either. However, African Americans that worked for white landowners would be drafted and sent off to war at a much lower rate than others to help the white landowners maintain their livelihoods. Once African Americans were officially in the service, conditions did not improve. They were forced to do the worst jobs as, “They loaded and unloaded ships. They built roads and dams. They dug trenches. They handled dangerous armaments. They buried the rotting corpses of dead soldiers and animals”, and more to contribute to the American war effort. Despite already having the worst tasks assigned to them, African Americans were also forced to endure a tremendous amount of verbal and often even physical abuse from white soldiers that forced them to, “fight for their lives before even setting foot on European soil”.

African Americans in the Great Depression
During the Great Depression millions of families suffered great losses stemming from economic turmoil, and African Americans may have had it the worst. Due to a lack of education as well as racial discrimination, many African Americans worked entry level jobs or performed unskilled labor. “After the stock market crash of 1929, those entry-level, low-paying jobs either disappeared or were filled by whites in need of employment”, and as a result African American unemployment increased a greater rate than the already quickly growing total unemployment rate. As the economic situation worsened there was little help given to African Americans. They were forced to do anything and everything they could to get by which instilled a deep sense of distrust in them. The constant discrimination and prejudice they faced resulted in a group of people so marginalized that many did not even trust their fellow African Americans anymore, which left them unable to assemble and fight for the goals in society. However, minimal help was provided as New Deal policy allowed African Americans in the rural South to participate in some local elections in the mid to late 1930’s.