The Causes and Effects of the Great Migration

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After the Civil War and the abolishment of slavery, many African Americans remained in the south. It was not until the onset of World War I that a significant number of African Americans migrated to the North. This large migration took place approximately between 115 and 118 and was named “the Great Migration” by historians. The Birmingham, Alabama Herald proclaims, “…there is something more behind their going, something that lies deeper than a temporary discontent and the wish to try a new environment…” (4) Many push and pull factors contributed to the large influx of African Americans transferring north. Unfortunately, many realized that the north was not as desirable as imagined.


Poor race relations, labor and economic factors, and crop disasters were the major push factors of the Great Migration. The mere fact that Jim Crow laws and customs still were used in the South and that lynchings, violence, and racial terror existed was enough to convince African Americans to leave the South. There was an appalling incident when a woman was burned for trying to protect her child. Mechanization of farm labor decreased the availability of jobs for African Americans. The north offered the jobs and economy for blacks that the south lacked. Crop disasters, such as boll weevil, floods and droughts, were another push factor. Boll weevil was an infestation that disrupted cotton production. The floods and droughts destroyed other crops. These three significant factors and others convinced African Americans to flee the harsh conditions of the south. Many believed that discrimination was the number one reason for the flight. Black sociologist Charles S. Johnson disagreed by claiming that “had persecution been the dominant and original stimulus, the direction of the Negroes during the sixty years following emancipation would have been north instead of further south” (56). This movement was more distinctive than other exoduses in that the people moved in a mass rather than followed a leader. Civil rights activist and scholar W.E.B. Du Bois stated, “The wave of economic distress and social unrest has pushed past the conservative advice of the Negro preacher, teacher and professional man, and the colored laborers and artisans have determined to find a way for themselves”. (4) Just as issues caused the African Americans to leave the south, other aspects persuaded them to move north.


The pull factors of the Great Migration played as important as a role of the push factors. The shortage of labor brought by the war-reduced immigration and the increased need for production due to the war, meaning higher wages, pulled African Americans northward. Family reunification, political rights, educational opportunities and relative freedom from indignation were significant factors as well. The African Americans were attracted to the jobs being offered in the north at the outbreak of World War I because it offered them economics and opportunities that were previously more difficult to obtain. Writer and student Percy H. Stone declared “in our haste to grab the industrial opportunities of other sections we defeat our own purpose, because our economic struggle is not in itself an end, but a means to a more perfect home life and social life.” (64) Right before World War I, blacks were ready to travel north to better conditions.


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Nevertheless, the north was not as great as promised. The newly arrived African Americans were surprised that to find that racial inequality still existed and it was not “the land of hope” that newspapers headlined it as. Inadequate housing, expensive rent, segregated facilities, and racial discrimination welcomed the migrants with open arms. In the Southwestern Christian Advocate, black and white journalists warned black migrants before they went north that “The greatest mistake that some of our people are making in their moving North is their going without any definite place to go and with no definite employment in sight…our people who move North should not expect to find everything rosy.” (7) With bad plumbing, rats and garbage pileups, “rosy” was not even close to describe the north during the great migration. Things grew worse in time. Jealous white labor unions and prejudice whites organized anti-black riots. Blacks were driven out of their homes, murdered, hung, and burned. The blacks were not accepted or liked by most northern whites. The whites of East St. Louis felt “you see they vote here and one doesn’t like that. And one doesn’t like their riding in the cars next to white women…” (84) Ten thousand African Americans disputed the violent riots by silent protests and by forming associations for the advancement and equality of blacks, such as the renowned National Advancement Association for Colored People (NAACP). The blacks were determined to receive their long deserved equal rights.


World War I initialized the great migration of African Americans from the south to the north due to poor race relations in the south and better employment and conditions in the north among other reasons. However, the migration led to tension and competition between working-class whites and blacks. Anti-black sentiments resulted and race was revealed to be a national, rather than a regional, problem. African Americans protested in response, and although it may have taken numerous attempts and various leaders, African Americans prevailed in the end.





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