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Making the Effort: The Contours of Racial Discrimination in Detroit’s Labor Markets, 1920–1940

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  • Maloney, Thomas N.
  • Whatley, Warren C.

Abstract

In 1940 the Ford Motor Company employed half of the black men in Detroit but only 14 percent of the whites. We find that black Detroiters were concentrated at Ford because they were excluded from working elsewhere. Those most affected were young married black men. A Ford job was virtually the only opportunity they had to earn a family wage; but to keep it, they had to put out the extra effort that Ford required. White married men in Detroit had better employment opportunities elsewhere, so they tended to avoid Ford or leave very quickly.

Suggested Citation

  • Maloney, Thomas N. & Whatley, Warren C., 1995. "Making the Effort: The Contours of Racial Discrimination in Detroit’s Labor Markets, 1920–1940," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 55(3), pages 465-493, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:jechis:v:55:y:1995:i:03:p:465-493_04
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    Cited by:

    1. William J. Collins & Melissa A. Thomasson, 2002. "Exploring the Racial Gap in Infant Mortality Rates, 1920-1970," Vanderbilt University Department of Economics Working Papers 0201, Vanderbilt University Department of Economics.
    2. Maloney, Thomas N., 1998. "Racial Segregation, Working Conditions, and Workers' Health: Evidence from the A. M. Byers Company, 1916-1930," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 272-295, July.
    3. Moser, Petra, 2012. "Taste-based discrimination evidence from a shift in ethnic preferences after WWI," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 49(2), pages 167-188.
    4. Emily Nix & Nancy Qian, 2015. "The Fluidity of Race: “Passing” in the United States, 1880-1940," NBER Working Papers 20828, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. William A. Sundstrom, 1997. "Explaining the Racial Unemployment Gap: Race, Region, and the Employment Status of Men, 1940," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 50(3), pages 460-477, April.
    6. William J. Collins & Melissa A. Thomasson, 2004. "The Declining Contribution of Socioeconomic Disparities to the Racial Gap in Infant Mortality Rates, 1920‐1970," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 70(4), pages 746-776, April.
    7. Daniel B. Jones & Werner Troesken & Randall Walsh, 2012. "A Poll Tax by any Other Name: The Political Economy of Disenfranchisement," NBER Working Papers 18612, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Holt, Andrew Chase, 2024. "Monopsony power in the United States: Evidence from the great depression," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).

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