[...]
The American Revolution
The American Revolution Only a few years ago we were a discouraged people.
Because we were the first to lose our jobs when old men depression came along and
the last to get them back, we struggled vainly to regain our bearings while
depression, fear and failure stalked the nation.
A tenth of the population of the United States we formed as a
race over a sixth of the unemployed.
One out of every four of us was on relief.
In vain we sought for something to restore our confidence, our hope, our courage.
Without jobs we had no money.
Without money we could not purchase food for the hungrubs at home.
Our only hope lay in charity.
Hunger drove our people to the bread lines.
Anxiously we waited, waited for some sign of better days.
Then came the federal government's work program.
One by one it took us out of the bread line.
It gave us a new chance to take a normal place in the life of our community.
It made us self-supporting.
It changed the haggard hopeless faces of the bread line into
faces filled with hope and happiness.
For now we work again.
Music Unskilled laborers, the forgotten men of past generations, now
work steadily at decent wages.
The nation over they are building and repairing schools, public buildings,
community centers and airports to meet the changing needs of our modern world.
In one project of the nation's capital, 1,200 men are employed in improving
bowling fields, grading, constructing runways, building
hangers and administration buildings.
In addition to the hundreds of unskilled laborers who were removed from relief
rolls, many skilled workers are employed in this important improvement project.
Hundreds of homes have been freed from the bondage of poverty as their
breadwinners find security and hope in their new jobs.
Music In New York City, a WPA housing demolition project is underway which will
greatly improve the living conditions of families of moderate means.
In many other cities of the country, old tenements and fire traps are being torn
down to make way for modern buildings containing comfortable sanitary apartments.
At Colonial Park in Harlem, as in many other congested areas,
WPA workers have constructed a huge swimming pool and are now completing a bath
house which will accommodate 4,100 persons.
In this construction project, skilled workers are employed, utilizing the
knowledge of their trades gained in the days before depression.
Swimming pools are particularly valuable to the community because they offer a
haven of relaxation to young and old during the hot summer months.
Crowded city streets, providing every safeguard to prevent such tragedies, as
were all too common to the old swimming holes.
Typical of the park improvement projects underway all over the country is another
feature of the improvement program at Colonial Park.
A wading pool has been built by WPA workers in which the youngsters
may splash to their hearts' content.
New additions to the playground area have been made possible by the grading and
improvement of parts of the park which were formerly merely decorative.
Even the youngest children find plenty of opportunities for
play under watchful supervision.
In many parts of the country, nursery schools have been established where almost
10,000 children of our needy families are provided with hot meals, supervised
play activities and excellent preschool training.
Under competent instructors removed from relief rows.
In these projects, employment has been provided for 600 teachers,
nurses, dieticians and cooks.
At the other extreme of age, more than 300,000 adults have learned to read and
write for the first time in their lives.
Eagerly they study, realizing how very much a little knowledge can
mean in our modern workaday life.
Teachers drawn from relief rows instruct them in useful subjects such
as arithmetic and foreign languages.
In Harlem, where a large part of the population is from Puerto Rico and Central
and South America, a knowledge of Spanish is valuable
to workers, shopkeepers and others.
In this class, elementary instruction in the spoken
language is given by native teachers.
In cooperation with the National Youth Administration, 26,500 young men and women
are employed as instructors, laboratory assistants and clerical helpers.
Thus they are enabled to continue their education.
Clerical white collar workers find employment at filing and checking important
records, at typing and at such unusual occupations as abstracting and filing time
-worn land records so that they may be available
for the use of future generations.
As part of the program of rehabilitation and the conservation of human resources,
a number of household training schools have been established by WPA.
In these schools, girls from relief families are prepared for domestic
work which will make themselves supportive.
Others take the course in order to learn the arts of
homemaking for use in their own homes.
In modern kitchens under competent instructors, the girls are taught to cook and
to prepare salads and other delicacies which add much to everyday meals.
Here's where you may be able to learn something.
This is the way the girls are taught to make beds, an art which few masters.
These household training courses have already sent hundreds of girls out into the
world, well equipped to secure domestic positions and able to
command skilled workers' wages.
Health education is an important part of the WPA program.
At a number of health centers in large cities, qualified instructors teach groups
of women first aid methods and the proper care of children.
The care of the sick is also taught by trained
instructors at health centers throughout our country.
These projects which you have seen are part of a broad national educational
program through which WPA has helped millions of children and adults.
In a number of communities, sewing rooms have been established in which are
employed women who are the breadwinners for their families.
Here garments are made for distribution to needy families.
Musicians and singers too found employment
in orchestral and vocal groups.
These art singers, organized and directed by William Lawrence, have successfully
presented a great many programs of classical music.
Music One of our greatest contributions to the world of music is the spiritual.
Recognize the world over as a fine example of the folk music of America.
This choir directed by Juanita Hall presents our
traditional music in all its beauty.
[...]