Above: African American musicians in the National Youth Administration (NYA), in Mobile, Alabama, 1937. Between 1935 and 1939, the NYA was a subdivision of the WPA. Photo courtesy of the National Archives.
Above: An African American dance band in Detroit, Michigan, 1938. Photo courtesy of the National Archives.
Above: A WPA recreation / music program at the Utopia Children's House in Harlem, New York City, ca. 1935-1943. Photo courtesy of the National Archives.
Above: A WPA chorus in Los Angeles, California, ca. 1935-1943. Photo courtesy of the National Archives.
Above: The description for this photograph reads, "Negro Spiritual Singers from North Carolina, who were trained through a WPA Federal Music Project, who participated in the White House program for the King and Queen of England, June 8, 1939." Photo courtesy of the National Archives.
Above: An African American military band, New Orleans, Louisiana, 1937. Photo courtesy of the National Archives.
Above: A WPA violin class in New York City, 1937. Photo courtesy of the National Archives.
Above: A WPA piano class in Columbus, Ohio, ca. 1935-1943. Photo courtesy of the National Archives.
As you can see from the photos above, the New Deal tried to invest in the common good, improve people's quality of life, bring Americans together, and increase our access to the arts. Compare that to today, where public policy is more about cutting or eliminating anything that helps us, or anything that brightens our lives... in order to give tax breaks to the millionaires & billionaires who've undermined our democracy and sent our good-paying jobs to third world labor markets. How pathetic is that? Is it any wonder that suicides and other deaths of despair have been rising for years? (See, e.g., "Drugs, Alcohol and Suicide Are Causing Life Expectancy in America to Drop Dramatically," TIME, February 8, 2018). Make no mistake about it, Republican & corporate-run public policy is not only tedious and dull, but lethal too.
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