The years between 1910 and 1920 marked the beginning of a major shift of the African-American population within the United States. The nation's African-American population shifted away from underdeveloped rural areas in the South to industrial centers in the cities, particularly in the North and the West. It has been estimated that nearly 500,000 to a million African American men, women and children 'left the South before, during, and shortly after the first World War, settling in urban areas such as New York, Chicago, Detroit and other areas in the North and Midwest. For example, Chicago's African-American population increased from 44,000 to 110,000 during this period. (Franklin and Moss 1994) Because of this mass movement of the African-American population, this phenomenon has been commonly refer to as the "Great Black Migration."

Causes of-the Mass Movement of African-Americans

The primary causes of the migration were economic, although some social considerations were important as well. Historians have generally identified five fundamental causes of the mass movement of African-American out of the rural South:

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• the decline of cotton production;
• flooding in rural areas of the South;
• an increase in the number of lynchings and other forms of racial violence and discrimination;
• recruitment of African-Americans by northern industries;
• and the influence of black newspapers in the North.

Prior to the migration, hundreds of thousands of African American men and women living in the South were engaged in some form of agricultural production -- either as tenant-farmers or sharecroppers. The years between 1914 and 1917 marked a sharp decline in southern agricultural production due to natural phenomena. The decline of cottonl3roduction was primarily caused by the invasion of the boll weevil from Mexico which ravished cotton crops throughout the black belt. The flooding which occurred in the summer of 1915, similar to the massive floods that devastated the Midwest in 1993, took thousands of acres out of production while leaving black farmers and their families destitute and homeless throughout the region. Because of these conditions in agriculture, the South experienced a severe labor depression with wages dwindling to 75 cents per day and less. But, while the South was experiencing a labor depression and a decline in production, northern industries were experiencing a record-breaking increase in production and ironically, a labor shortage.

The fighting of World War I in Europe had a positive and negative effect on northern industries in the United States. While the war prompted increased demand for products made by northern industries, it also had a negative effect on the northern labor supply. Since the turn-of-the-century, northern industries had depended on immigrants as the dominant portion of their labor force, but once hostilities broke out in Europe, immigration to the United States sharply declined from more than 1 million in 1914 to slightly more than 300,000 in the following year. (Franklin and Moss 1994) Also contributing to the northern labor shortage was an increase in the number of labor strikes throughout the region, deriving from organized labor demands for higher wages and better working conditions.

Due to these factors, northern industrialists went South to recruit displaced and unemployed black and white workers to replace immigrant workers and to serve as strikebreakers ' Because of the decline in agriculture and the incentives offered by northern recruiters, such as free train tickets and higher wages, southern African-Americans moved North in hopes of a better economic life.

Social factors also played a role in African-Americans' decisions to leave the rural South for urban cities in the North. African-Americans experienced a number of affronts and outrages living in the South. African-Americans were forced to contend with various forms racism and discrimination on a daily basis, including segregation, disfranchisement, a lack of privileges, and an indifferent legal system. To assure that African Americans "stayed in their place" and would not openly protest these conditions, some white Southerners routinely used various forms of lynching. Between 1889 and 1922, mobs lynched more than 3,436 American citizens (mostly African-Americans). (Franklin and Moss 1994)

As a response to these dreadful conditions, African-American owned and operated newspapers in the North initiated editorial campaigns to convince southern African-American to relocate in northern cities. These newspapers, such as the Chicago Defender and the Christian Recorder, portrayed the North in Biblical terms, commonly referring to it as "The Promise Land" or "The Land Were Streets Are Paved With Gold." In 1917, an editorial in the Chicago Defender stated, "To die from the bite from frost is far more glorious than at the hands of a mob". (Franklin and Moss 1994)

Because of these economic and social factors, large numbers of African-Americans left the South with few regrets to search for a better life in the industrialized North. Although some were able to improve their economic and social status, others would find the North as uncaring and harsh as the South.

The Realities of-Living in the North

While many African-Americans found greater economic opportunities and higher wages in the factories of the North, most soon discovered that it was far from being the "land of milk and honey." New migrants experienced similar forms of racial prejudice and discrimination that existed in the South living in the North as well.

African-American workers obtained employment in variety of industries in the North, ranging from the manufacture of ammunition to shipbuilding. In the Midwest, they were employed in the meat-packing and railroad industries. And, in Iowa, African-Americans built farm machinery and implements in factories, like John Deere, and were mining coal in the southern part of the state. Although they earned higher wages and employment was more readily available than in the South, African Americans employees, regardless of education, still received less pay than their white counterparts and found themselves relegated to manual labor type jobs.

Although, by this time, most public facilities in the North were integrated, housing continued to be segregated. Because white property owners and realtors refused to sell or rent African-Americans homes or apartments in white neighborhoods, African-Americans found themselves relegated to specific areas within cities of the North. These areas were characteristically overcrowded, and sometimes unhealthy, primarily due to the sheer number of people forced to reside within a relatively few blocks. These African-American enclaves, which were sometimes referred to as "ghettos," established a lifestyle and culture somewhat distinct from their neighbors. A variety of African-American owned businesses and institutions (churches, fraternal organization, etc.) catered to area residents and were a symbol of pride for many in the community. Two examples in the Midwest being "Bronzeville" in Chicago and the African-American Triangle in Waterloo, Iowa.

African-Americans who traveled North during the Great Migration assumed that leaving the South meant leaving behind racial violence as well, but this was not the case. Because northern white workers feared economic and political competition from African-Americans, individual and group animosities sometimes escalated into acts of mob violence. After World War I, in the summer of 1919 (commonly referred to as the "Red Summer") twenty-two race riots occurred in cities throughout the United States, with the worst occurring in Chicago in July. These riots were usually prompted one of two ways:

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• white residents angered by some perceived or real encroachment by an individual African-American or group of African-Americans or
• African-American residents retaliating against some act of violence committed by white residents or police officials against another African-American. organizations, like the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), community leaders, and black newspapers registered protests with local, state and federal government officials demanding that they put an end to these acts of violence, as well as correct other forms of discrimination and prejudice against African-Americans.

Conclusion

The rural to urban migration of African-Americans during the first few decades of the twentieth century signified the beginning of many changes in African-American life. But, it is important to remember that events such as this one do not exist in vacuum, they have an effect on everyone living within the nation. Many of the political, social, educational, economic, and cultural changes of the twentieth century can be traced back to this monumental episode in our history. The point is, even though many refer to the "Great Migration" as an aspect of the African-American historical past, in reality, it is a part of all of our past regardless of race.

For Further Reading

Grossman, James R. (1989). Land of Hope: Chicago, Black Southerners, and the Great Migration. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Lewis, David Levering. (1979). When Harlem Was in Vogue. New

York: Oxford University Press.

Marks, Carole. (1989). Farewell--We're Good and Gone: The Great Black Migration. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.

NOTES

John Hope Franklin and Alfred A. Moss, Jr., From Slavery to Freedom: A History of African-Americans, 7th ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1994), 340-345 and Thomas R. Frazier, African American History- Primary Sources, 2nd ed. (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 1988), 230-232.