The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was born of pure [[progressive]] intentions: employment of young men for conservation work on public lands. Republican Rep. Oscar DePriest, the only black member of Congress, made sure that the 1933 legislation that established the CCC banned [[discrimination]] based on “race, color, or creed. Black enrollment in the CCC was capped at ten percent of total recruits–roughly equivalent to the proportion of blacks in the U.S. in 1930, but nowhere near proportional to the number of blacks eligible for relief during the [[Great Depression]]. Tens of thousands were turned away. | The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was born of pure [[progressive]] intentions: employment of young men for conservation work on public lands. Republican Rep. Oscar DePriest, the only black member of Congress, made sure that the 1933 legislation that established the CCC banned [[discrimination]] based on “race, color, or creed. Black enrollment in the CCC was capped at ten percent of total recruits–roughly equivalent to the proportion of blacks in the U.S. in 1930, but nowhere near proportional to the number of blacks eligible for relief during the [[Great Depression]]. Tens of thousands were turned away. |