The great depression was a worldwide economic depression that lasted 10 years and brought mass suffering towards the black society and the nation. No group was harder hit than the black society. The causes of the great depression had to do with stock market crashes of 1929, bank failures, reduction in purchasing across the board, American Economic policy with Europe, and Droughtdrought conditions. By 1932, roughly half of the black Americans were out of work. They were the first to be laid off from their jobs, and also dealing with Racialracial violence, especially in the Southsouth. Black people received less than whites, and organizations excluded blacks from their soup kitchens.