Hurston used funds from her patron CHAR-
LOTTEOSGOODMASONto fund the one-night ex-
travaganza of The Great Day.Both women hoped
that the show would be adapted by a Broadway
producer and make sizable profits. It was not
picked up, however, and Hurston had to solicit ad-
ditional funds from the woman known as God-
mother in order to meet expenses and performer
salaries. The financial disappointment prompted
Mason to curtail Hurston’s independent dramatic
ventures. Yet, Hurston promptly refashioned the
work for another opening at the New School in
New York City. Despite its convincing vignettes
and critical praise, the new and improved show did
not bring in profits either. In the wake of two suc-
cessful but time-consuming and costly theatrical
productions as the nation was wracked by the De-
pression, Hurston turned her attention to the more
financially stable profession of teaching.
The Great Dayscript was recently recovered in
a search of Library of Congress copyright records
that revealed several long-lost Hurston plays.
Hurston had delivered carbon typescripts of this
and other dramatic materials in order to secure
copyright protection for her work.
Bibliography
Boyd, Valerie. Wrapped in Rainbows: The Life of Zora
Neale Hurston.New York: Scribner, 2003.
Great Depression
A devastating economic period that began with the
October 1929 stock market crash that totaled some
$16 billion in losses and lasted through the 1930s.
Unemployment, homelessness, and financial disas-
ter left many Americans struggling to survive.
Cities like Minneapolis grappled with food riots,
and others, like Los Angeles, saw an increase in
tensions between American and foreign laborers.
Veterans lobbied and marched on WASHINGTON,
D.C., in order to secure monies promised through
the Bonus Bill, a legislative act designed to relieve
the suffering of veterans and their families. Banks
collapsed at an alarming rate, and millions of de-
positors lost their savings and access to funds.
By 1933, historians estimate, approximately
one-third of the nation’s workforce was unem-
ployed. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was
elected over the incumbent Herbert Hoover in
1932, instituted a number of new programs such as
the Civilian Conservation Corps and National
Youth Administration. These and other initiatives,
such as the Tennessee Valley Authority that spear-
headed hydroelectric projects and the construction
of dams, were designed to provide employment
and alleviate national anxiety about the economy.
The New Deal prompted the creation of the fed-
eral Works Progress Administration in 1935. It
later became the Works Projects Administration
and was in existence until 1943. Many Harlem
Renaissance–era writers found employment in this
national agency that was established in order to
ease unemployment and to provide opportunities
for writers and artists. RALPH ELLISON,ZORA
NEALEHURSTON,RICHARDWRIGHT, and others
were part of the federal effort to record oral histo-
ries. Artists such as Charles White and William
Henry Johnson were part of the federal art initia-
tives; White became famous for his historical murals
that depicted African-American life and history.
Historians often cite America’s involvement in
World War II as a major economic catalyst that suc-
ceeded in ending the Great Depression. The at-
tacks on Pearl Harbor resulted in massive defense
manufacturing that introduced women and minori-
ties into the workforce at unprecedented levels.
The Great Depression affected the Harlem Re-
naissance in numerous ways. Unemployment rates
were higher for African Americans throughout the
country, and Harlem residents endured joblessness
at a level that was five times higher than that in
other areas of NEW YORKCITY. Those who did
work were not protected from the hardships of the
era; historians note that the salaries of many
African-American workers in the city plummeted
almost 50 percent. By 1932, 50 percent of families
in HARLEMwere receiving relief from the city
The financial panic affected Harlem’s wealthi-
est personas as well. VILLALEWARO, the legendary
Hudson River estate of A’LELIA WALKER, the
daughter of the self-made millionairess Madam
C. J. Walker, was placed on the market just weeks
before A’Lelia died of a brain hemorrhage. Harlem
Renaissance figures also mobilized to sustain the
community during the decade of hardship. The
Young Negroes Cooperate League, founded by
the journalist and novelist GEORGESCHUYLERinGreat Depression 197