After the starting line: Blacks and women in an uphill race

"Mighty causes are calling us-the freeing of women, the training of children, the puttingdown of hate and murderand poverty." (DuBois, 1909:74) In the decades following the Depression, the nation addressed the question of the place of racial minorities in our society. This debate-and the sometimes violent civil rights struggle--occurred concomitantly with a reexamination of the roles of women.