The+1930s

Russell Harder

The first historical connection is to the Dust Bowl. The dust bowl was happening right around the time that //Black Boy// is placed. Buring the dust bowl the crops of farmers and ranchers were destroyed. Great storms blew across the plain. It also wiped out cattle herds and flocks of other animals. The reduction in the amount of produce each year drove prices of simple things like bread and milk to astronomical numbers.

The second historical connection is to the great depression. What happened is that all of the sudden everybody was wanting to sell their stocks rather than buying, dropping prices and putting businesses out. Some businesses lost millions seemingly overnight. Workers were laid off and jobs became increasingly hard to find. This is also in the book because after Richard Writght's dad leaves his mom struggled to find a job to support her kids.