The Northwest enterprise. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1931-1952, 1938-01-21
How Fare Negro
Youth?
Mary Mcleod Bethune
Director, Division of
Negro Affairs, NYA


A statement OF the present
status of Negro youth in Am
erica and the contribution of
the National Youth Adninist-
ration to the Improvement of
that status.
L shall talk to you teachers and
leaders of the Negro youth of Lou
isiana about the subject that is of
immediate and most vital interest
to you-the welfare of young Ne
gro people. How goes it with Ne
gro youth today? What are his
chances in modern American life
for '1;fe, liberty and the pursuit
of happiness ?" What can we tea
cheers do to help him? These are
the important questions in our ra-
cial and national life. Let us seek
and suggest some answers.
To begin with, he is an integral
part of the great army of youth
that is confused and baffled by
the swiftly changing demands of
the modern industrial era. The
American Council of Education
has just made public it's report en-
titled, How Fare American
YOUTH" "Dr. Homer P. Rainey,"
says the New York Times, paints
a bleak picture of Americas young
people living in a sick society,"
which has yet concretely to con-
slider their manifold perplexities
and problems" What about jobs
Youth constitutes a third of all
unemployed" indicates the re-
port. Forty per cent of employ
able youth have been unable to
find work" =. 1.-THE business
mans gospel" the report contin-
ues, that there is always room at
the top, while a convenient peg up
on which to hang sermons of in
dustry and thrift, is hardly even
remotely applicable to modern in
dustrial employment"
In 1880, we operated one mill
lien farms and owned 100000
homes. Negroes operate today
oven $4,000 business establish
ments with over ~ million dol
lars in yearly receipts and pay
rolls of more than five million
dollars. Negroes manufacture
more than go different commodi-
ties. They spend annually for
groceries over two billion dol
lars, billion more for clothes,
with total purchasing power in
excess of four and half billion
dollars. Negro churches have
more than five million members
in 1880 organizations, owning
FOG million dollars worth of pro-
perty and spending AZ million
dollars a year. Some 100000 Ne
groes served in the World War,
with 10000 Of them going to
France. Negroes are members
of legislatures i'm IL states; three
or more states have black judges
on the bench and federal Judge
has recently been appointed to
the Virgin Islands. Twenty-Five
Negroes have sat in Congress,
and there is one member i'm the
House at present. Under the
"New DeaP' a number of well
qualified Negroes hold admin
Strative posts. Some 116 Ne
grOes have been elected to Phi
Beta Kappa in white northern
colleges; over so have received
Ph.D. degrees from leading A
merican universities, and 81 Ne
groes are mentioned in "Who's
Who in America"
OF all Negro workers, 1910 are
in agriculture, most of them SOU
thern farm laborers or tenants or
share-croppers. In the ten chief
cotton states, three million Ne
groes are dependent upon tenant
farms. Among 1000 such fami-
lies in four states, the small num-
Der who received any cash money
at all at the end of the year, ave-
ragged about $105 for the year of