Delaware's farm labor market and the implications for Black life
Date
2023
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
Historic shifts in farm labor markets across the United States have identified farm labor as an ethnic niche (an occupation by which an ethnic group is overrepresented by at least 50 percent) for Black and Latinx populations, varying by state and region. In 1940, farm labor was identified as an ethnic niche for Black workers across the U.S. South. At the time, Delaware led southern states in this overrepresentation of Black farm workers by a significant margin. Through the first half of the twentieth century, Delaware was transparently dependent on its ‘Black farm labor market,’ which hindered access to education for Black folks across the state. However, World War II and the expansion of wartime industry incited a farm labor emergency for Delaware, as well as many other states, which raised concerns about future distributions of labor. In my research, I draw on archival material and oral histories to examine shifts in Delaware’s historic farm labor market, considering how the state managed its farm labor emergency and the broader implications for Black education and employment opportunities through much of the twentieth century.
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Keywords
Black populations, Delaware, Black education, Ethnic niche, Labor markets