The Great Migration The Great Migration The movement

The Great Migration

The Great Migration • The movement of 1. 6 million African Americans out of the rural Southern United States to the urban Northeast, Midwest, and West between 1910– 1930

The Great Migration • 1910 -1930 (second wave, • 1930 to 1970) Movement of 6 million African Americans out of the rural south into the Northeast, Midwest, and West. – New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Indianapolis • Largest internal movement of an American population. • By the end of the Great Migration… – African Americans became an urbanized—rather than rural— population. – Northern American cities became significantly more black

The Great Migration • Push Factors • Racial Violence • • • Economic Repression • • Share cropping Tenant Farming KKK: Boycotts and Intimidation Political Repression • • • Rise of the KKK Lynching Jim Crow Laws Sundown Towns Environmental Devastation • • Volatile Weather of 1915 -16 (drought and flood) Boll Weevil

The Great Migration • Pull Factors • • • Economic Opportunity? Political Rights Unity and Solidarity Hope Mystery, Adventure and Myths

The Great Migration Where African-Americans Migrated To & Why • Primarily Chicago, Detroit and NY • Also: St. Louis, Indianapolis, Philadelphia • Industrial Towns with Booming Industries • Towns With Supportive Networks

The Great Migration • What Migrants Brought With Them • • Economic Despair Illiteracy Political inexperience Experiences & Memories Hopes and Dreams • Fear & Despair • Racism & Prejudice • • Culture: music, poetry, prose, visual art…

Effects of the Great Migration • Shift Blacks from a Rural Population to an • Urban Population Increase the number of African Americans living in North cities; Make these cities truly multi-racial