ABSTRACT
NATIONAL YOUTH ADMINISTRATION (NYA) The National Youth Administration (NYA) was a vestige of New Deal job creation during the 1930s, but it also played a signifi cant role in training young people for war work in the 1940s. Although nothing about its name revealed its emphasis, it specialized in vocational education for racial minorities. Unlike the Civilian Conservation Corps that was created for young males in the Great Depression, the NYA was co-educational. In this, it followed an established educational pattern: in Florida, for example, the University of Florida was for white men; what has become Florida State University was for white women; and Florida A&M was for blacks of both genders. “A&M” stood for “Agricultural and Mechanical,” a clear indication of the limited vocational curriculum offered to minorities.
