Module 2: The Great Migration

The Great Migration

The Great Migration, which took place from 1910 through the 1970s, was a mass movement of African Americans from the rural South to urban areas in the North and West. Faced with the brutal realities of Jim Crow segregation, tenant farming, and the constant threat of violence such as lynching, many African Americans sought better opportunities and safety in other parts of the country. In the South, the oppressive system of tenant farming kept Black families in perpetual poverty and economic dislocation, forcing them to work on land they did not own for meager wages. This system, combined with the racial violence and disenfranchisement endemic to the South, made life for African Americans extremely difficult, leading many to search for greater economic and social freedom elsewhere.

World War I played a key role in accelerating the Great Migration. The war created a surge in demand for industrial labor in the North, particularly in cities like Chicago, Detroit, and New York, where the promise of better-paying wage labor jobs attracted Black workers. These industrial jobs offered a stark contrast to the exploitative conditions of the South, giving migrants a chance at a more stable and prosperous life. Harlem, New York, became a cultural epicenter for African Americans during this time, as migrants brought with them their rich cultural traditions, contributing to what would later be known as the Harlem Renaissance. The migration not only reshaped the demographic makeup of northern cities but also laid the groundwork for the political and cultural movements that would flourish in the decades to come, as African Americans sought to redefine their identity and challenge racial oppression.