The artist must be a critic of his society In June, the San Francisco the Board of Education voted unanimously to destroy thirteen murals at George Washington High School it deems “racist.” Commissioned by the Federal Art Project in 1935,… read more
The words “freedom and justice for all,” are recited daily across America, even as we as a nation have historically fallen far short. The New Dealers faced the daunting task of overcoming long-established patterns of racial order. Eleanor Roosevelt, Harold… read more
When FDR ran for president in 1932 promising a new deal for the American people, no one quite knew what a New Deal would be. His plan for fighting the Great Depression was long on hope and short on details…. read more
Rekindling the Spark of the New Deal Last month, at our first-ever conference,“Women and the Spirit of the New Deal,” we welcomed writers, artists, scholars, labor leaders, elected officials, and activists to UC Berkeley to partake in the lessons, inspiration,… read more
Be a Nuisance Where It Counts This summer, we’re working to fill a significant gap in the New Deal’s backstory—the role of women and their lasting impact on the social welfare of the nation. In collaboration with the Frances Perkins… read more
Activist and art critic Anita Brenner was excited by the New Deal. She saw a “New Deal spirit” in the struggling artists of the WPA. “You can see it in his grin . . . in his truculent exuberance; you can… read more
Thank you for being a part of the Living New Deal community. Your help makes our programs possible—from creating the first-ever and still-growing online index to the New Deal’s vast legacy; to our public events, tours, exhibits, and publications; to… read more
FDR’s Labor Secretary, Frances Perkins, the first woman to serve in a presidential cabinet, wrote: “What was the New Deal anyhow? Was it a political plot? Was it just a name for a period in history? Was it a revolution? To all… read more
New York City was the country’s single greatest recipient of New Deal investment. This summer, the Living New Deal was warmly welcomed to the city to celebrate the publication of our new map and guide to New York’s vast New… read more
These days it’s important to remember a time when our government invested in new infrastructure, the arts, parks, the environment, and the health and welfare of the American people. Our new publication, a “Map and Guide to New Deal New… read more
