The Great Migration
James Robinson, MA, CSP
AAFSA Historian
The great Civil War has ended. The former slaves are now free men.
However, Freedom does not mean equality.
In 1870, over 85% of all African-Americans
are living in the South on farms.
By 1970, over 75% of all African Americans
are living in the North and West in cities.
What happened?
Historians have dubbed this landmark
change, “the Great Migration”
The Great Migration –
What was it?
From 1870-1930, over six million African
Americans moved from the rural South into
Northern cities.
The Great Migration was unique:
•
It was completely spontaneous.
•
It was completely voluntary.
•
It was leaderless. In fact, prominent black
leaders tried vainly to stem the flow.
•
It increased over time. Early pioneers sent
for folks “back home”, who then
encouraged their extended families to go.
The Great Migration –
why did it occur?
The 1895 Supreme Court decision of Plessy
vs. Ferguson opened the door to forced
segregation and Jim Crow laws.
Most Southerners were poor - a result of
Reconstruction, depressed cotton prices,
and lack of Southern industry. They
embraced the Jim Crow laws.
Even though the law specified “separate but
equal”, equality was rarely practiced. Instead,
the Jim Crow laws made for a stifling racist
environment, where African-Americans were
demeaned and treated as second-class
citizens, or worse.
Jobs, outside of agriculture, were in short
supply.
Going to the Promised
Land
The Great Migration started with a few
pioneers at the end of Reconstruction. These
pioneers settled in, then sent for their
families and friends to join them.
By the 1920s, Alabama and Mississippi were
losing over 1,000 people each day!
Chicago went from 2.3% black in 1890 to
38% black in 1930.
Detroit went from 1.2% black in 1890 to 45%
black in 1930.
All these people came looking for work,
education, and self-respect.
Some Southern cities also received
immigrants from the Migration, notably
Atlanta and Jacksonville.
In any case, African-Americans deserted the
rural South in incredible numbers.
Problems and Promises
Northern cities had no segregation, but they
were leery about the vast numbers of blacks
pouring in. They restricted immigrants to
certain areas, resulting in overcrowded
ghetto areas, like this one in Chicago.
Jobs were available, but the newly-arrived
blacks were in direct competition with
newly-arrived European immigrants, leading
to friction between the groups. Europeans
could fit in more easily.
Unions initially did not allow blacks (until
1926), which frequently made black workers
strikebreakers, and disliked by white workers.
This sometimes led to violence.
However, the enforced concentration
allowed election of the first black
Representative, Oscar de Priest, and
development of uniquely African-American
music like jazz.
Ending the Migration
The Great Depression stopped the influx to
the North, as Northern cities lost jobs, and
the Dust Bowl settled across the Great Plains.
Most migration during the Depression was
from the Great Plains to the West, and that
affected white and black “Okies” alike.
Ironically, the end of the Depression and
World War II sparked an interest in Northern
blacks to “see the home place”, resulting in a
much-smaller migration back to the South,
mainly in Southern cities.
For further reading about the Great
Migration: