Roosevelt's Forest Army · Episode 11 of 14 · 43 min
Were People of Color in the CCC? The Enrollees History Didn't Count
CCC records had two boxes, colored and white, so when tens of thousands of Hispanic men and men from Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and other territories served, the program could barely count them. The episode recovers these other enrollees of color and is candid about how thin the record is.
Who's who
- Manuel FraijoHispanic enrollee at the Grand Canyon whose account survives
- Robert Fechner+5 more episodesCCC director whose binary segregation policy left others uncounted
- Oscar De Priest+1 more episodeCongressman who secured anti-discrimination language
Where it happens
- Grand Canyon, Arizona+1 more episodeMixed company 818 where Fraijo served
- Puerto Rico+2 more episodesIsland CCC camps for rural workers, about 1935 to 1941
- Hawaii Volcanoes, HawaiiCamps of mostly Native Hawaiian and Japanese ancestry enrollees
- Alaska+11 more episodesExpanded program with many Native Alaskan enrollees
Timeline
- March 31, 1933CCC created; eligibility limited to U.S. citizens
- 1934CCC reaches the territory of Hawaii
- 1935Fechner orders segregation; Puerto Rico camps begin
- September 1935National enrollment peaks near 505,000 men
- 1942Congress declines to refund the CCC
Still debated
No official count of Hispanic enrollees exists, and local officers classified them inconsistently. The one preserved Hispanic enrollee account should not be generalized, and territorial records vary in detail.
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