Black Workers in Northern Industries ( REU Supplement )

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One of the least understood chapters in the economic history of black Americans is their experience in the cities and industries of the northeast and midwest between World War I and the 1950's. The purpose of this project is to remedy this situation by developing samples of black workers from the employee records of several large industrial employers, who hired significant numbers of blacks and who kept detailed work histories, including information on race. These data sets will allow a comparison of the conditions for the entry of black and white workers in terms of entry-level wages, hiring criteria, and initial job assignments. It will also be possible with these data to track the progress of workers within a company over time in terms of wage trajectories, job performance, quit rates, and promotions. This project is important because it will make a significant contribution to better understanding the economics of discrimination, and will provide a better basis for analyzing the economic progress of blacks and for assessing the impact of public policy aimed at increasing job opportunities.