A Groundbreaking Foray into Undercover Reporting

Cooke went undercover to report on the economic exploitation of domestic workers in Depression-era New York City. Facing poverty and financial turmoil, many African American women sought domestic work at the “Bronx Slave Market," where they were regularly underpaid. While undercover, Cooke worked for five hours for a total of $3.75, and reported on the inhumane conditions that Black women experienced on a daily basis. The series of articles, later republished in the Compass, opened the eyes of New York residents, politicians, and countless others across the nation. Cooke later wrote multi-part series on prostitution and drug use among Black teenagers—both of which proposed concrete reforms that were later adopted by city officials.