All Flashcards
When did the Great Migration occur?
Roughly from the 1910s to the 1970s, spanning several decades.
What role did WWI play?
Created labor shortages in northern factories, leading to recruitment of Black workers from the South.
What role did WWII play?
Similar to WWI, it created labor shortages in northern factories, further incentivizing migration.
What impact did the boll weevil have?
Destroyed cotton crops, leading to economic hardship and pushing Black farmers off their land.
What happened in Southern communities?
Southern employers resisted the migration to keep cheap labor, sometimes resorting to violence.
What happened in Northern cities?
Black neighborhoods like Harlem and Bronzeville became vibrant cultural hubs.
What was the impact of railroads?
The expansion of the railway system made travel easier for African Americans migrating North.
What was the rural to urban transition?
Migrants had to adapt to city life and learn new skills, shifting from agricultural work to urban jobs.
What was the impact on racial tensions?
Increased in both the South (due to labor loss) and the North (due to increased competition for jobs and housing).
What was the role of Black Churches?
Provided support and resources to migrants in Northern cities, fostering a sense of community.
Define Great Migration.
Largest internal migration in U.S. history; ~6 million African Americans moved from the South to the North, Midwest, and West (1910s-1970s).
Define Push Factors.
Reasons that made African Americans want to leave the South, such as racial violence and limited economic opportunities.
Define Pull Factors.
Reasons that attracted African Americans to the North, Midwest, and West, such as job opportunities and higher wages.
What was Jim Crow?
System of segregation and discrimination prevalent in the South, characterized by racial violence and limited rights for African Americans.
What was sharecropping?
An agricultural system where Black families were kept in debt and poverty by working on land owned by White landowners.
What was the boll weevil?
An insect that destroyed cotton crops in the South, contributing to economic hardship and prompting migration.
What is the National Urban League?
Organization formed to help Black migrants adjust to urban life, providing support services and advocating for civil rights.
Define Racial Violence.
Acts of violence, including lynchings, perpetrated against African Americans due to racial prejudice and discrimination.
Define Environmental Factors.
Natural disasters such as floods and droughts that ruined crops and farms, leading to economic hardship for Black Southerners.
What is the Black Press?
Newspapers like The Chicago Defender that spread information about job opportunities and encouraged migration to the North.
Who was Jacob Lawrence?
An African American artist known for his Migration Series, which visually depicts the experiences of the Great Migration.