St. Paul recorder. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1945-08-03
THE NEGRO WOMAN
WAGE GARNER

A new vista for Negro wom-
en- along with others in mod
ern industry, has reached it's
zenith in this war period. The
unprecedented need for wom-
an power which has ranged
far down into the supply of Negro
women workers is offering real
possibilities for their future adap-
tation in industry.
The experiment of a large war
plant near the Twin Cities where
women were employed in large
numbers irrespective of their race
or religion, presented an exception
ally fine opportunity for observa-
tons out of which certain valuable
lessons have been learned. These
lessons which have supplied much
factual information about tech
niques of successfully migrating
Negro women into industrial en-
ployment can be applied to their
postwar utilization.
Home Versus Pay Check
1t is true, no doubt, that the ma
jority of Negro married women
now employed in war plants intend
to return to the shelter of their
homes. But, due to factors in the
social environment over which they
have little or no control, the spectre
of having to supplement the family
income hangs increasingly over
their heads regardless of their
secret desire to be homemakers
only. Many Negro male family
heads have been, and still are,
denied the opportunity to compete
for jobs on equal terms with whites.
AS a result there exists a gap be-
tween the cultural level of the home
and the insufficient income which
supports it. In northern areas
where the intellectual and aesthetic
influences in the community are
available to Negro and white fami-
lies alike, the breach is wide. The
gap between the Negro income and
the cultural level of the home is
even wider than in other communi-
ties where racial lines are more
tightly drawn-unless the income
of the conventional head of the
family is supplemented.
It should be also recognized that
the Negro woman is having many
new experiences which are becom-
ing personally hers and will tend
to change her interest pattern. AS
result of wartime contacts and
pursuits her life has been made
richer and her horizon broader.
Thus, the Negro woman's future
becomes more promising. How
ever, should she-because of desire
or necessity-return to the status
Of being employed outside the
home, her work during this war
period should serve as foundation
for other future experiences.
For the unmarried Negro woman,
a job or a career still completes with
matrimony, and just as often COM
plements the marital status. Con-
sequently, the prospect of continued
employment for many Negro
women, both married and single,
is in some cases anticipated and in
others it is a stern reality.
New Patterns Formed
Womanpower which has filled so
many of the unmet manpower needs
of wartime production has not only
shaped new patterns for all women
but specific blueprints for Negro
women. The domestic service jobs
additionally held by Negro women
developed neither muscles nor skills
ordinarily used in factory opera
lions. And in no way did it prepare
them for the dexterity of power or
other machine operation. There
were psychological changes too.
The background created through
the close employer-employee rela-
tionship in personal and domestic
service made it necessary for
women to revise completely their
ideas about supervision. They had