Federal Writers' Project – Life Histories/2020/Fall/105i/Section 026/Mary Willingham

Overview
Mary Willingham was an African-American practical nurse from Clarke County, Georgia during the Great Depression. She was interviewed by Sadie B. Hornsby on March 14, 1939 for the Federal Writers’ Project.

Early Life
Mary Willingham was born in Clarke County, Georgia in 1880, with an unrecorded date of birth. In her early years, Willingham spent most of her time doing fieldwork with her father. She never knew her mother, as she had died while Willingham was still a baby. As a child, Willingham also attended Morton’s Chapel baptist church school; she dropped out in the second grade. Thereafter, Willingham was raised by her older sister and then by a white family, who she worked for till her marriage.

Adult Life
Mary Willingham spent her adult life performing domestic labor, both for her family and as a career.

As a young woman, Willingham met and married her divorced husband, with whom she had four children—two sons and two daughters. She mainly worked in “unskilled” positions, such as a maid and a cook, as a result of her limited education. In 1924, Willingham began nursing when she took on the care of an elderly white woman from her ill sister-in-law. In 1926, she received her practical nursing certification and continued to practice for the next ten years. However, misogynoir dominated her field of work and she was compensated little. By 1938, Willingham was working towards her midwifery certification in hopes of higher wages. During this time, she was living in a run-down cottage and struggling to pay rent and provide for her family.

The date and circumstances of Willingham’s death are unknown.

Employment of African-American Women during the Great Depression
The ramifications of the Great Depression devastated African-American communities in the United States. After the abolition of slavery, Black Americans continued to experience oppression under white supremacy, leaving many impoverished. That said, with the stock crash, economic conditions for this demographic significantly worsened.

Domestic Labor
Black women experienced both racism and sexism in the workforce; discrimination disadvantaged Black female workers through fewer career options, less compensation, and little to no worker protections. Occupations for Black women were limited to agricultural and domestic fields, as people of color were often barred from “skilled” labor. Further, with the entrance of white women into the workforce, Black women faced new competition for job positions (Rotondi 2019). Employers’ prejudiced beliefs of unintelligence and subservience towards Black workers meant that Black women were less likely to be hired and more likely to be fired than their white counterparts.

The New Deal relief programs perpetuated these stereotypes. Job training programs for young girls prepared them to fill racial- and gender-specific occupations available in the adult employment programs. While teenage white girls were put in homemaking classes, black girls were put into service courses (Palmer 1997). The consequences of these practices meant that Black families were kept in a cycle of poverty, as they reinforced unequal socio-economic norms. These programs did financially aid citizens to a degree, however, the social implications that Black women were to remain in low-paying, “unskilled” positions were more harmful. Further, it is important to note that the fields that Black women dominated were not protected under the Social Security Act of 1935 (Rotondi 2019). As a result, Black women were left vulnerable to worker violations under Roosevelt’s administration.

Midwifery
Black midwives held prominent, respected roles within Black communities. Black mothers in the South turned to their families and communities for aid for births, as healthcare was inaccessible or unaffordable. Midwives held the responsibility of caring for these lower-income families for decades prior to the Great Depression. However, with new medical knowledge regarding childbirth procedures and sanitation, medical professionals blamed midwives for infant mortality rates. Physicians believed that it was vital that mothers seek professional care for births and that midwives should only act as medical assistants. This led to states creating stricter regulations regarding who could practice midwifery, significantly decreasing the number of registered midwives. For example, in Georgia, the Sheppard-Towner Act of 1921 required midwives to attend nurse-led classes; the number of registered midwives went from approximately 3,000 to 1,322 in twenty years (Muigai 2019).

Healthcare in the South during the Great Depression
The 20th century marked significant advancements in medical research and treatment. Although public health measures increased the average lifespan, the accessibility of medical care remained an issue in the American South. The Great Depression brought about an economic crisis that left poor workers deprioritizing their health. The South lacked adequate physicians, nurses, and facilities to care for the masses. Thus, the smaller, sparse communities of the region were unable to afford the expenses of traveling for and receiving appropriate care (Encyclopedia Editors 2020). Sickness meant a loss of wages, therefore it became a major cause of poverty. On the other hand, hospitals began to lose funds, as patients were unwilling for extended stays and preferred in-home practices (Blumberg et. al 2009).

Under Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration, public health reformers worked towards adding health insurance to the Social Security Act, rather than creating a national system. However, these efforts were dropped from Roosevelt’s New Deal agenda, as many feared the overarching powers of the U.S. government during this time period (Hoffman 2003). Consequently, the issue of health insurance for workers fell upon hospitals and employers. The Blue Cross system was directly marketed toward the working class; an individual would pay a small sum each month through their job that would cover any medical bills. This modern system of health insurance through job benefits became widespread following World War II (Blumberg et. al 2009). Workers were able to have a degree of job security while still receiving necessary medical attention.