The Washington's 1929

         The Washington's are an African American family that has just moved up to the North to Harlem from the south.  During the mid 1920s America' robust economy led to the creation of many factory jobs in the north.  Sam Washington and wife, Jackie moved to Harlem to improve their lives and escape the racism that existed in the south.  In 1928  they buy a dog, Jackie is 6 mounths pregnant. Later that year  the stock market crashes, and Sam gets fired when the factory he worked at closes down. They can't afford thier to live in thier appartment so they move out, and live outside the city in a hooverville. They don't have any jobs, and they are starving, they can't find any work, because all of the jobs go to white people. One day the dog dies, and they decide to cook it, and eat it. They baby is close to being born, and they still don't have a house, or money, or a job. It was getting close to winter so Sam went out to find a another job, but when he came back from an unsuccesful job interview. He found his shack on fire, surrounded by a mob of racists white people, with his wife inside burning to death. From seeing that he ran into the wild to get away from the scene  and to start a new life. 

         He traveled to Brooklyn and found a job at the WPA for building bridges. He works for eight months and made some success and being able to save up enough money from his job. Five of his other works from a smaller hoovervile, decided to rent out an apartment in Brooklyn. Luckily Prohibition was repealed and Sam became acoholic after witnessing the death of his wife from the fire in hooverville. Then one day,  Sam met a woman named Jessie whose husband was shot to death in the beginning of the depression. They dated for three years and decided to get married and were able to buy their own apartment in Brooklyn. He was able to get a better job at making weapons for shipping them out to Britian for the war. Soon his wife a had a kid and he was able to buy a house of their own and a dog.