Timeline

Though very complicated, I felt it was important to include a timeline of the events that happened alongside the Federal Theater Project because all too often we see all of Federal One as something special that happened in its own little bubble. I believe that what happened in the FTP is directly correlated or because of the events of the nation around it. We can see that they gain more acceptance as time goes on. The Negro Unit was created in 1935 and ended in 1939 but only because Black people were allowed to be in regular theatrical productions by the 1940s. I think that Jesse Owens winning the medals allowed for more people to see him as a national hero and support theatre that aimed to promote Black narratives. It’s hard to find direct ties of correlation and that a lot of the events that took place in the Federal Theater Project that caused controversy were not written about as much as the productions were because the government wanted to focus on the project’s successes rather than it’s controversies. But, the events were not mutually exclusive and did derive power from the rest of the nation that stood in support with them.