Most Blacks, especially in the South, were already plagued by racial discrimination and segregation when the Great Depression hit, and their low socio-economic status made them the first victims of the financial crisis. Because it did not sufficiently address the specific needs of the African-American population, Roosevelt’s first New Deal not only failed to assist African-Americans, it often worsened their condition. However, due to a progressive turn in both the administration and the country at large, the New Deal began to have a more positive effect on the economic situation of African Americans. Roosevelt’s popularity increased among Blacks, who shifted their political allegiance from the Republicans to the Democrats, even though the New Deal failed to address deeper issues pertaining to their inferior social and political status. By 1941, civil rights leaders adopted a more offensive strategy as they threatened to organize a mass demonstration in Washington to protest discrimination in war industries and segregation in the armed forces. This article aims at determining whether the Roosevelt years had a positive impact on Blacks, if they did offer them a “new deal”.