Federal Writers' Project – Life Histories/2020/Summer II/Section 07/Sallie Johnson

Biography
Sallie Johnson was an African American mother and wife. She lived on a farm with her husband Gerald Johnson. They survived the Great Depression and always made the most out of what they had, but they always strived for more. Although the Johnsons did not have the luxuries that the white folks had, they still lived a very fulfilling life.

Overview
Johnson was interviewed for the Federal Writers' Project in the late 1930’s. She lived in Clinton, North Carolina for the majority of her life. Johnson and her husband both worked as share-croppers. They have never lived anywhere other than a farm. On the farm, Johnson learns to live with life during the Great Depression. During her interview, Johnson stated that her and her husband was married two years prior to the interview, and she had born one son.

Early Life
Johnson lived in the Carr settlement on a farm. All she ever knew was farming. Johnson was born into a family of six children. Luckily she was able to receive seven years of education. The school that was closest to her offered seven years of school. Johnson really wanted to go to high-school but the closest one to her was seventeen miles away. Her husband, however, did not attend school like Johnson did, he barely knew how to read. He was born into a family of twelve and being the oldest, had to help his father support such a large family.

Later Life
Johnson stayed on the farm her whole life and then met her husband Gerald Johnson. She continued to live on a farm with him while they saved their money and spent it accordingly so they could live a happy life. Johnson’s dream is to own the home they are currently living in. She thinks that it is more important than buying a car. Johnson tells the interviewer, “We can’t afford a car and I tell Gerald we oughtn’t to buy one until we have a place which is ours”. The house they live in only has three rooms. There are two bedrooms and a kitchen. Instead of one big bed in the front bedroom, they have two double beds with two rocking chairs to sit in. This is the only room in the house with curtains as well as a personal trunk. The other bedroom is used for storage since their son is only a year old. They store tobacco in the room. Their land surrounding the house is covered in cotton fields on three sides while there are a few flowers on the fourth. There are no shade trees as well as no vines to provide protection from the heat on the outside. The house itself does not have a front porch for them to sit on. To their advantage, the house is weather boarded and ceiled. The only problem with that is it is not painted, and it sort of looks dingy from all the dust in the road. Yet, they are joyful that they have a house to stay in and hopefully one day own. The reason that they one day could afford to purchase the house is because they are smart with their money. Johnson is in dismay due to her boredom at the house alone with the baby. She wants to purchase a radio. Yet, she understands that the battery for a radio cost around eight dollars a year and that they can not afford to keep it going. She states that she would not mind staying on the farm if she had a radio. Sometimes her and her husband will go down to the filling station and try and get the white people to let them listen to music on the radio there. No colored people had radios in that area. Gerald Johnson is the main farmer of the family. “Johnson furnishes only the labor and one-half of the fertilizer and gets helf produced on a half acre of tobacco, four acres of cotton and ten acres of corn”. According to Johnson, that makes one mule farm. While her husband is taking care of that, Sallie helps plant and worm tobacco as well as chop and pick cotton. They also have a few animals which give them meat and they also sell chicken eggs.

African American Life during the Great Depression
The Great Depression hit African Americans worse than any other race due to the discrimination already held in society. “They were the first to be laid off from their jobs, and they suffered from an unemployment rate two to three times that of whites. Since discrimination was still so prevalent in society, blacks were excluded from most charity organizations for this time. The Roosevelt administration teamed up with African American leaders and when the New Deal was published, it strengthened the black support for the Democratic party. Finally, African Americans began to benefit from the government. The New Deal programs allowed low income public houses for African American families. The Civilian Conservation Corps allowed the children of African Americans to continue their education. The Works Progress Administration gave jobs to African Americans. African American authors were being supported due to the Federal Writers Project. The New Deal wasn’t all that great. The New Deal was very discriminatory. The Welfare policy excluded and subjugated blacks. Many Americans were opposed to fascism and many hated the fact that there could be serious social progress and social change. Many corrupt politicians arose during this time. African American’s economic position changed due to the economic crisis altering the structure of political advocates for African Americans. Political alliances within the Roosevelt coalition directly affected civil rights of African Americans.

Depression-Era Farming
The Great Depression was caused by overproduction which led to the prices dropping drastically. The Depression is mostly dated from 1929 until the start of World War II. Although farmers had many challenges, they also had some advantages. Due to living on a farm, they were able to grow their own fruits and vegetables to eat. But the downside is that is also their income that they need to sell in order to live. Due to the decrease in crop sales, farmers did not have money to buy clothes, so they had to make it themselves. Farming in the Midwest was harder than in any other region. There was a drought which led to the soil turning into dust. The Homestead Act of 1862 along with the Kinkaid Act of 1904 and the Enlarged Homestead Act of 1909 allowed practically anyone to become a farmer in the Midwest. Inexperienced farmers moved to the plains and began incorrectly farming. Once the Great Depression hit, farmers tore more land up to produce more food in hopes to get more money. Once the drought hit the soil turned into dust and the high winds began to throw it around. Soon there was a dust bowl where dust was in the air at all time and even killed people from inhalation. Many Midwest states tried to replant native grasses in order to fix the soil.