In the CCC ( Civilian Conservation Corps), Roosevelt's position on the role of African Americans was:
D. He disagreed with Harold Ickes about their ability to take on supervisory roles.
The main goal of the programme was to conserve the country’s natural resources while providing jobs for young men. African American men played a major role in the CCC in North Carolina.
The law establishing the CCC contained a provision that “no discrimination shall be made on account of race, color or creed.” Yet despite instructions, CCC administrators in many states refused to select a proportionate share of blacks. By 1935, African American participation in the CCC did reach 10%.
In addition to the imbalance of labor opportunities, few African-American could climb the ranks within the CCC's administrative hierarchy. In a letter , Ickes rejects the CCC director's low opinion of African-Americans in supervisory positions:
"I have your letter of September 24 in which you express doubt as to the advisability of appointing Negro supervisory personnel in Negro CCC camps. For my part, I am quite certain that Negroes can function in supervisory capacities just as efficiently as can white men and I do not think that they should be discriminated against merely on account of their color. I can see no menace to the program that you are so efficiently carrying out in giving just and proper recognition to members of the Negro race."
Although Ickes supported the initiative, the placement of African-Americans in administrative positions gained little traction.