Because of severe discrimination in the South, aid from New Deal programs often did not reach blacks. Many blacks also feared for their lives and the well-being of their families and refrained from signing their names when writing to officials and President Roosevelt. African Americans wrote letters to President Roosevelt complaining about the conditions they faced when they attempted to participate in New Deal programs. One writer complains that “some get little and some nothing” whenever a shipment of food arrives in town (McElvaine, 83). Another African American complains that the supplies never arrive and that Georgia officials use everything sent to them (McElvaine, 83). New Deal programs, such as the WPA, were supposed to provide jobs equitably, but they did not. Jobs in the South were often given to whites instead of blacks, making it nearly impossible for blacks to make a living. One writer criticizes the Works Progress Administration, much of the New Deal, and asks, "is the government insisting on Jim Crow in WPA projects?" (McElvaine, 89). The Great Depression affected everyone, but African Americans faced poverty and discrimination