 | Black Exodus: The Great Migration from the American South Subjects: Afro-Americans -- Migrations -- History -- 20th century; Migration Internal -- United States -- History -- 20th century; Southern States -- Race relations; Southern States -- Population -- History -- 20th century; With essays by Blyden Jackson, Dernoral Davis, Stewart E. Tolnay and E. M. Beck, Carole Marks, James R. Grossman, and William Cohen and Neil R. McMillen What were the causes that motivated legions of black southerners to immigrate to the North? What was the impact upon the land they left and upon the communities they chose for their new homes? Perhaps no pattern of migration has changed America's socioeconomic structure more than this mass exodus of African Americans in the first half of the twentieth century. Because of this exodus, the South lost not only a huge percentage of its inhabitants to northern cities like Chicago, New York, Detroit, and Philadelphia but also its supply of cheap labor. Fleeing from racial injustice and poverty, southern blacks took their culture north with them and transformed northern urban centers with their churches, social institutions, and ways of life. In Black Exodus eight noted scholars consider the causes that stimulated the migration and examine the far-reaching results. Alferdteen Harrison was a professor of history and director of the Margaret Walker Alexander National Research Center at Jackson State University. She also cofounded the Smith Robertson Museum and Cultural Center, the first museum in Mississippi to focus on African Americans in the state. She is author of multiple books, including Piney Woods School: An Oral History , published by University Press of Mississippi. She continues as a prominent advocate for the documentation and preservation of African American history. |
