A poem by Langston Hughes, Let America Be America Again, was written during the time of the Great Depression. In it is a section that is an expression of how many citizens felt at the time. Especially in the Southern States where many working-class citizens were affected. Most of us have not learned about the details of this shared history but it was immigrants, more recent descendants of immigrants, descendants of slaves, Native Americans, and owners of small farms who were mainly affected. This while larger farms (wealthy plantations) in the South thrived due to the cheaper labor and other factors. They proudly took advantage of the economic troubles to the detriment of nearly everyone else. See: Were there successful farming plantations during the Great Depression?

"I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart,
I am the Negro bearing slavery’s scars.
I am the red man driven from the land,
I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek--
And finding only the same old stupid plan
Of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak."

Those who were just scraping by before the Great Depression, many of them felt the brunt of the blow of economic troubles. Yet they persevered. Many of these photos display the strong character of those days and of the past. Which was not only a trait of Louisiana but also of Americans from other states and walks of life during the Great Depression.