. WPA Raining for Household Workers Most telling of the ways in which New Deal programs reinforced existing stereotypes con-

Please answer the following questions after looking at the picture around 300 words.

This shouldn't be difficult.

WPA Training for Household Workers (page 492)

Programs created during the New Deal were intended to provide Americans with knowledge and skills that would help them find work and regain the independence many had lost. These programs also greatly expanded the role of the federal government. Some programs cut new ground, but many did not. This photo shows women learning skills that women were already supposed to know.

a.   Can you identify who are the teachers and who are the students in this picture? What leads you to your conclusion?

b.   What were these women being taught to do in this picture?

c.   Based on what you have learned thus far about the lives of black women, would the women in this picture have been likely to use the skills being learned here in their own homes? Explain why or why not.

d.   If confronted with a similar economic situation today, what skills would you consider to be important to unemployed women? What values would guide your decisions?