[3][1] In October 1918, the Division claimed control of the "colored section of the Housing Corporation" from the Department of Labor, with Haynes immediately removing its chief, African-American lawyer and suffragist Jeannette Carter (1886–1964), who had been appointed earlier that month; the event was reported by the New York Age as "one of the most peculiar cases of its kind on record in the department".
[4] With Wilson, Haynes developed a three-part program:[5] First, organizing inter-racial committees of "Negroes" and whites from local bodies to promote mutual understanding and deal with problems of discrimination; second, mounting a national publicity campaign to promote racial harmony and cooperation with the department's war effort; and third, developing a competent staff of "Negro" professionals to operate the Division.
[7] Haynes operated through state and local organizations, concentrating in the South, Northeast and Midwest, the major areas affected by the Great Migration, where rapid social change was occurring in major cities.
They investigated "conditions of Negro workers, educated Negroes and whites on the need for good race relations, helped in job placements, alleviating discrimination and race friction, and developing recommendations for federal action.
During the Red Summer of 1919, racial riots of whites against blacks broke out in numerous industrial cities during these tensions and economic strife.