The Politics of Racism

https://www.hueylong.com/perspectives/politics-racism.php?fbclid=IwAR3Pt5w29ukKXNAqxp7KzTDyjs6kbMs18EkCFONOVBIiZU_euRBtdttwJmM
Into that dangerous climate of hatred marched Huey Long, a friend of the poor, regardless of color. African Americans loved Huey because his programs for the poor helped them immensely. Before Huey Long, politicians neither cared about blacks, nor dared to help them for fear of retribution from the Klan.

A poor African American boy in Depression-era Louisiana.

Courtesy of LSU Libraries Special Collections, Baton Rouge

To the outrage of the Klan and its sympathizers, Huey Long’s programs to uplift the poor meant that African Americans received public education, healthcare, tax exemptions, and the opportunity to vote free of charge (although the vast majority were still blocked from voting by local "Jim Crow" laws), among other benefits aimed at freeing the disenfranchised from the shackles of poverty. Black ministers even organized Share Our Wealth clubs among their congregations with Long’s blessing, a radical inclusion in 1930s America.