Migratory worker and family

While traveling through Texas capturing images for his photo essay, Mydans focused not only on the prosperous cowboys on the range, but also on the displaced population that was still struggling to find jobs amidst a national economic crisis.

Migrant workers like this man, whom Mydans found living with his family by the side of the road near Raymondville, Texas, were called "brush-hogs." It was estimated that this type of permanent migrant worker, without a home, voting privileges, or union representation, numbered more than 3 million during the 1930s. These laborers traveled from place to place, harvesting crops that needed to be picked as soon as they ripened, hoping to earn enough money to get by.

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