Examine the patterns of African American migration from the South to North and West during the twentieth century (CO#1)

Discuss the impact of the Great Migration on the Civil Rights movement (CO#1, CO#2, CO#5)

In the years between 1910 and 1970, approximately six million African Americans left the US South for the North and West. Many moved from rural areas to settle in large cities like New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles seeking new opportunities as well as an escape from the oppression of Jim Crow. Some historians break this up into two distinct migrations, the first starting in 1910 and ending when the Great Depression slowed migration, and the second between 1940 and 1970 as wartime work during World War II once again provided new opportunities.

In addition to reading the chapters in Takaki, view the following map of the migration patterns in this era from the US Census and Jacob Lawrence’s paintings The Migration Series.

In a post of at least 250 words consider the following:

How did the migration of African Americans to the North and West in the twentieth century compare and contrast to the “push” and “pull” patterns of immigrant groups in the same era?

How did the changing demographic patterns of African Americans influence the growth and progress of the Civil Rights movement after the war?