Delaware's Farm Labor Market & the Implications for Black Life

Keywords: black geographies, historical geography, labor, migration
Abstract Type: Paper Abstract

Abstract

Existing literature on the history of labor markets and employment shifts define ethnic niches as occupations or industries by which an ethnic group is overrepresented by at least 50 percent. A concern that may arise with the ethnic niche is the mobility trap, meaning that the occupation or industry is defined as low-skilled, failing to reduce the exploitation of the group, and limiting the group’s ability to undertake new occupations. Historic shifts in farm labor markets across the United States show that farm labor has historically been an ethnic niche for Black and Latinx populations, varying by state and region. In 1940, farm labor was identified as an ethnic niche for Black workers across southern states in the US. At the time, Delaware led southern states in its overrepresentation of Black workers employed in farm labor. Through the first half of the twentieth century, Delaware was transparently dependent on its ‘Black farm labor market.' However, World War II and the expansion of wartime industry incited a farm labor emergency for Delaware, as well as many other states across the country, which raised concerns about future distributions of labor. In my research, I utilize Delaware archives and conduct oral histories to examine shifts in Delaware’s farm labor market, how the state managed its farm labor emergency, and consider the implications for Black life; specifically the effects of these shifts on Black citizens’ access to secondary education, new employment opportunities, and how racism was a structural characteristic in twentieth century Delaware.