The Great Migration saw millions of African Americans move from the southern US to other parts of the country due to persecution and limited job opportunities. The First Great Migration occurred from 1910 to 1930, with many finding work in industrialized cities. The Second Great Migration occurred from 1940 to 1970, with many moving to Texas and California for work in the defense industry. The New Great Migration saw a reversal of the trend, with middle- and upper-class African Americans moving back south and east due to the decline of traditional industry in the north.
The Great Migration was a historic event in the United States in which millions of African Americans living in the southern region of the country moved to other sections of the nation. Prior to this event, approximately 90% of all African Americans lived in the area that allowed slavery before the American Civil War. After Reconstruction, these residents faced persecution by whites and limited job opportunities. The Great Migration changed the dynamics of African American history and created large sections of Black communities in most major US cities. Most historians believe that the country’s diversification helped end segregation, promote civil rights, and spur the rise of African Americans to upper-middle-class status.
The First Great Migration occurred during the early part of the 20th century from approximately 1910 to 1930. An estimated 1.75 million African Americans traveled north and west to nearly every major American city in the country, especially Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, and New York. Often, entire families would simply find the cheapest train tickets available and arrive in the new city without much planning. Many found employment in industrialized cities with railroads and factories. This created entire sections of cities that were predominantly African American, giving way to a new culture of urban blacks.
As many of the migrants arrived in the new towns, they faced fresh persecution from other immigrants from Europe. Competition for jobs and housing resulted in widespread violence, particularly with ethnic Irish people, who had recently also been fighting for their position in American society. The outbreak of World War I created greater demand for employment in the north, helping to promote further migration. This was followed by the passage of the Immigration Act of 1924, which essentially halted most immigration from Europe, further stimulating the demand for workers.
Other reasons for the Great Migration include major environmental disasters which destroyed much of the industry in the south. Many rural African Americans lost their jobs when boll weevil infestation swept cotton fields across the region in the early 1900s. Hundreds of thousands of African Americans were later displaced from their homes in Mississippi when a great flood it destroyed miles of farmland in 1927. This prompted many to move to the greener pastures of northern cities.
A second major migration occurred from approximately 1940 to 1970, with the movement of approximately five million people. Most of the migrants moved from Alabama and Mississippi to Texas and California. In particular, the defense industry required tens of thousands of workers during World War II for shipbuilding, resulting in a large influx of African Americans to Los Angeles and Oakland, California. At the end of the Second Great Migration, 80% of all African Americans lived in the country’s major cities.
A third event, known as the New Great Migration, began to occur in the late 20th century. Many of the middle- and upper-class African Americans began to buck the trend north and west, moving back south and east. In the last decades of the century, Texas, Georgia and Maryland became the main targets of black migration. Much of this change is thought to be caused by the decline of traditional industry in the north and its resurgence in the south.
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