Change Was Not Easy
Not just thousands but millions of African Americans moved away from the South to the other parts of the country importantly in the North; the Great Migration lasted for about 50 years (1) and the whole nation’s population dynamic was shifted drastically. African Americans went from living in Southern farm lands to urbanized and crowded cities of the North. Change was not easy, but it brought about many opportunities of the African Americans of the South. Major benefits of the move were the freedom to campaign for their civil rights, the ability to have a good paying job, and the chance to establish themselves as capable and needed citizens.
As remarkable as the Gold Rush, the Great Migration was a force to be reckon with. So many African Americans moved away from the Southern farms and plantations that the African American population went from 30 million to 10 million approximately (2). Therefore, many people called the movement an exodus, “rural exodus” to be exact; this because the majority of the people moved from the farms to rural areas which were quite industrialized and urbanized (2). What exactly are the reasons behind this “great migration”? What made families risk losing everything they had to simply move to a different state? What were their motives? In order to answer these questions, a look into the life in the south is much needed.
As remarkable as the Gold Rush, the Great Migration was a force to be reckon with. So many African Americans moved away from the Southern farms and plantations that the African American population went from 30 million to 10 million approximately (2). Therefore, many people called the movement an exodus, “rural exodus” to be exact; this because the majority of the people moved from the farms to rural areas which were quite industrialized and urbanized (2). What exactly are the reasons behind this “great migration”? What made families risk losing everything they had to simply move to a different state? What were their motives? In order to answer these questions, a look into the life in the south is much needed.