These images were created by the New Deal program, the Farm Security Administration (originally the Resettlement Administration) in order to document the hardships of farm workers during the Great Depression. The original images are stored in the Farm Security Administration Collection at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC.
Image Number: RC03492
Juke joint and bar in the Belle Glade area, vegetable section of south central Florida.
Image Number: RC02605
Image Number: RC04621
Image Number: RC02702
Young couple, migrant laborers, who work in packinghouse at Canal Point, Florida.
Image Number: RC02682
Agricultural workers in front of their metal shelters at Okeechobee migratory labor camp. Belle Glade, Florida.
Even amidst frustrating searches for work or after working long hours six or seven days a week, migrant workers found opportunities for relaxation, recreation, and good food when there was a little money to spend.
"Juke joints," roughly constructed bars offering music from a jukebox, dancing, sodas and alcohol, were a central aspect of night life in worker camps, catering to single men and women anxious to shake off the weariness of the day's labor.
Although housing was usually segregated by race according the social restrictions of the era, businesses in migrant worker communities such as diners sometimes transcended the constraints of segregation in order to provide services and amenities to as many of the agricultural workers as possible.
