We had a recent discussion on the programs of the New Deal, how 'race neutral' the legislation was, passing with strong support from the southern Jim Crow states. This fact leading to some suspicion as to it's intended impacts on minority populations.
Was it, in fact, a progressive policy primarily aimed at whites, not generally disenfranchised blacks? The book below argues the New Deal and programs like the GI Bill not only were not race neutral, they actually increased the economic and educational inequality of blacks and whites, in effect, they were "affirmative action" for whites. In the book the author argues that the gap created has not yet been remedied (2006).