Federal Writers' Project – Life Histories/2020/Fall/105/Section003/Walter Coachman

Walter Coachman
Nationality	American
Education	Allen University in Columbia S.C.
Occupation	Pastor
Spouse(s)	Name not given

Overview

Walter Coachman was an African American Pastor who worked at four different churches during the time of the Great Depression. F. Donald Atwell was the interviewee on March 15th, 1939.

Biography

Early Life

Coachman was born and raised in Bennettsville, South Carolina. He was one of 13 children, so coming by an education was difficult. His parents worked mediocre jobs so it was hard for them to make ends meet, but their ultimate goal was to give every single one of their children an opportunity to succeed. They achieved this goal of theirs by putting them all in a local grade school through their church. After completing school he went on to attend Allen University in Columbia, S.C to study Theology. He worked all throughout college, for a woman named Mrs. Reynolds, in order to pay for his tuition.

Adult Life and Career

After graduation from college, Walter went on to become a pastor in Bennettsville. He then got married and had four children. Just like his own parents his top priority was getting all of his children an adequate education. Walter's wife didn’t work so when the Great Depression hit he had to pick up three more pastor jobs just to make ends meet, and even with this he was only making about nine dollars a week. However, through it all he kept his hopes in God to get him through the tough times, and was always thankful for everything he had.

Historical Context

Racial Disparities in the 1930s

During the Great Depression, it was hard on everyone in the United States but no one got hit harder than African Americans. The unemployment rate for blacks doubled and almost tripled that of white people, this was due to the “last hired, first fired” method, which was ultimately just an excuse for laying off more blacks than whites. Half of African Americans were out of work during this time, and in the north all blacks were called to be fired until there were no more white people out of jobs. However, there were some jobs that were exempt from this unemployment for blacks such as: farming, high intensity labor jobs, and in Coachmans case a pastor. Granted, all of these jobs paid horribly especially when the depression hit, and the only reason pastors stayed employed was because the majority of African American pastors worked at all black churches. Even before the depression hit African Americans were already facing lower-income wages than the rest of the population, so when the economy crashed they had nothing to fall back on because they were living paycheck to paycheck. The Great Depression sparked the African American Activism, which led to the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 60s. The popularity of President Roosevelt and his New Deal program is why the majority of African Americans switched their political affiliations to the Democratic party.

Religion in the South During the Great Depression

Religion has always been most prominent in the south, that is why they call it the “bible belt”. In times of need most people rely on their faith to get them through it. So, when something as severe as the Great Depression hit, it would be expected that people would resent their religion for things not working out, but it was actually quite the opposite. People relied on their churches to get them through these struggles. However, when people needed the churches the most they were not always able to provide, because the pastors were struggling too. They were barely making enough to support themselves, so how would they be able to support an entire church. But then in 1933, they saw a glimpse of hope the New Deal was passed along with the National Recovery Administration, which helped bring people back up on their feet so they could support themselves.

References

• Atwell, Donald. “Federal Writers Project Papers,” 1939.
• Collins, William J. “Race and Twentieth-Century American Economic History.” Last modified? 2006.
• Greene, Alison. “The Great Depression and Religion in Mississippi.” The Great Depression and Religion in Mississippi | Mississippi History Now, 2017.
• Klein, Christopher. “Last Hired, First Fired: How the Great Depression Affected African Americans,” April 18, 2018.
• Kraus, Michael W., Julian M. Rucker, and Jennifer A. Richeson. “Americans Misperceive Racial Economic Equality.” PNAS. National Academy of Sciences, September 26, 2017.
• Sloan, Frank A, Padmaja Ayyagari, Martin Salm, and Daniel Grossman. “The Longevity Gap between Black and White Men in the United States at the Beginning and End of the 20th Century.” American Journal of Public Health volume number, journal no. (February 2010): page numbers.