A look at the little-known, but critical, work of Depression-era Black workers in the Civilian Conservation Corps

Black CCC workers built a bridge at White River National Wildlife Refuge in Arkansas. (CCC photo)

Just in time for Black History Month, Dan Chapman of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service provides a look at the little-known history of Black workers—many of them from rural areas and working in rural areas—in the Depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps.

FWS archaeologist Richard Kanaksi is compiling information about their role in creating national wildlife refuges across the South, hoping to highlight the "major, yet largely hidden role played by African-Americans in rebuilding this country from the depths of the Great Depression," Chapman reports. Read more here.