America: The Great Migration

‍The Great Migration, also known as the Great Northward Migration or the Black Migration, was a significant event in American history that changed the demographic and cultural landscape of the United States. Between 1916 and 1970, this mass movement saw over 6 million African Americans relocate from the rural South to the North, Midwest, and West urban cities. 

Causes of the Great Migration

Economic opportunities

One of the primary drivers of the Great Migration was the lack of satisfactory economic opportunities for African Americans in the South. Due to the Black Codes and the sharecropping system, many Black Southerners were forced to work the land, providing little economic prospects. This situation was further exacerbated by crop damage resulting from a regional boll weevil infestation in the 1890s and early 1900s.

In contrast, the urban North offered significantly better wages, with factory jobs typically paying three times more than what African Americans could expect to earn in the rural South. The onset of World War I also created a shortage of industrial labourers in the North, Midwest, and West, as the war halted the steady flow of European immigrants to the United States. This labour shortage created numerous job opportunities in various industries, including steel mills, railroads, meatpacking plants, and the burgeoning automotive industry.

Racial inequality and segregation

Racial inequality and segregation also played a significant role in prompting the Great Migration. Following the Civil War and the Reconstruction era, racial inequality persisted across the South, with segregationist policies known as “Jim Crow” laws becoming the law of the land. These laws severely restricted the social, economic, and political rights of African Americans, further limiting their opportunities for advancement.

Furthermore, although officially dissolved in 1869, the Ku Klux Klan continued to operate underground and perpetrate acts of violence, intimidation, and lynching against Black Southerners. This hostile environment, coupled with the economic hardships faced by many African Americans in the South, fueled the desire to seek a better life in the North.

The Great Migration begins

The beginning of the Great Migration can be traced back to World War I when the need for industrial workers in the North, Midwest, and West became more pronounced. To attract African American workers, northern recruiters and Black newspapers, such as the widely-read Chicago Defender, published advertisements highlighting the opportunities available in these urban centres.

By the end of 1919, it is estimated that around 1 million African Americans had left the South, travelling by various means such as train, boat, bus, and in some cases, automobiles or horse-drawn carts. This mass exodus led to a significant growth in the Black population of major northern cities, including New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Detroit.

Life for migrants in the city

Upon arriving in their new cities, many African American migrants found work in factories, slaughterhouses, and foundries. However, these jobs often came with arduous and sometimes dangerous working conditions. Female migrants faced additional challenges as they struggled to secure employment and often had to compete for domestic labour positions.

The influx of migrants also led to increased competition for housing in already crowded cities. While segregation was not legalised in the North as it was in the South, racism and prejudice remained widespread. In response to this, some residential neighbourhoods enacted covenants that required white property owners to agree not to sell to African Americans.

Rising rents in segregated areas and the resurgence of KKK activity after 1915 further strained relations between Black and white residents. This tension culminated in a wave of race riots during the summer of 1919, with the most severe being the Chicago Race Riot of 1919, which lasted 13 days and left 38 people dead, 537 injured, and 1,000 African American families homeless.

Impact of the Great Migration

The Great Migration had far-reaching effects on both the African American community and the nation as a whole. As a result of housing tensions and the desire to create a sense of community, many African Americans established their own cities within larger cities, fostering the growth of a new, urban, Black culture. The most prominent example of this was Harlem in New York City, which became home to some 200,000 African Americans by the 1920s.

The experiences of African Americans during the Great Migration also became an important theme in the artistic movement known as the Harlem Renaissance, which had a profound impact on the culture of the era. Furthermore, the Great Migration marked the beginning of a new generation of increased political activism among African Americans, who used their newfound influence in the North and West to advocate for civil rights and social change.

The Great Migration and World War II

The Great Migration slowed considerably during the 1930s due to the economic downturn caused by the Great Depression. However, it picked up again with the onset of World War II and the need for wartime production. Despite the GI Bill’s promise of postwar benefits, many returning Black soldiers found that they did not receive the same opportunities as their white counterparts.

Demographic impact of the Great Migration

By the 1970s, when the Great Migration ended, its demographic impact was unmistakable. In 1900, nine out of every ten African Americans lived in the South, with three out of every four residing on farms. By 1970, however, the South was home to only half of the nation’s Black population, with just 20 per cent living in rural areas.

This demographic shift was captured eloquently in Isabel Wilkerson’s book, “The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration.“

The Second Great Migration

Some historians differentiate between the First Great Migration (1910-1940), which involved the movement of approximately 1.6 million people from rural areas in the South to northern industrial cities, and the Second Great Migration (1940-1970), which saw at least 5 million people, including many urbanised African Americans, move to the North and West.

The New Great Migration

Since the Civil Rights Movement, there has been a trend of African Americans moving back to the South, albeit at a slower pace. This phenomenon, dubbed the New Great Migration, has been driven by factors such as the economic difficulties faced by cities in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States, the growth of jobs in the “New South,” and its lower cost of living, as well as family and kinship ties and a lessening of racial discrimination.

Conclusion

The Great Migration was a monumental event in American history that reshaped the nation’s demographic and cultural landscape. Driven by a combination of economic, political, and social factors, this mass movement of African Americans from the rural South to the urban North, Midwest, and West had far-reaching consequences, shaping the course of civil rights activism, artistic expression, and political engagement for generations to come.