Almost everybody knows about the Great Depression of the 1930's, but they often overlook some of the cultural elements that were still going on. Writers were writing, musicians were jazzing along, movies continued to rise in popularity and professional sports were still advancing. In addition, African Americans continued to make notable achievements despite the fact that they were still not accepted as equals.

Mitchell became famous for her Pulitzer Prize winning book, "Gone with the Wind." The book about life in the South during and after the Civil War was also made into one of top selling movies of all time, in 1939. Mitchell was born in Atlanta, Georgia and her book is a piece of literature with which every Georgian should be familiar.

Duke Ellington continued the jazz tradition of Louis Armstrong. He becam one of the most popular musicians and composers in America despite continually facing the issue of racism in America. For more about Duke Ellington you can visit his website.

Owens became a hero after winning 4 gold medals at the 1936 Olympics. In addition to winning he embarrassed Adolf Hitler at the games which were held in Berlin, Germany. Hitler believed that the Aryan (German) race was superior to everybody else. Owens severely disproved this theory by winning gold four times. Despite his incredible success, African Americans still were segregated in American and were not treated as equals.