Chapter 23

Summary

• Chapter 23 is set in 1933, during the Rosenwald Fund’s Conference on the Economic Status of the Negro in Washington, D.C.
• Despite two white and black workers unions supposedly coming together to work on a strategy for employment, the white workers and union leaders do not attend. This leaves a generally somber mood amongst attendees.
• Mary, Eugene (one of the founders of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity), and other attendees discuss the bleak statistics presented, such as a potential 90% unemployment rate for people of color and current 64% unemployment rate in Harlem.
• The attendees lament the absence of white participants in the conference and mention the need for addressing the issue with President Roosevelt, even though their previous attempts to reach him have not yielded any response.
• Eugene suggests that Mary, who is friends with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, could potentially help them gain access to the president.
• When questioned about the rumor of her friendship with the first lady, Mary, looking to avoid fueling the rumor, neither denies nor confirms it.