Early in the 20th Century, large numbers of African Americans began
to leave the south and migrate north in search of opportunities.
As African Americans in the south found it increasingly more difficult
to find work and race-based violence against African Americans became
more prevalent, they began to move north. In 1916, the impending
war provided opportunities for employment in the factories in northern
cities attracting unemployed African Americans to migrate north.
The migration would continue for the next 50 years leading millions
of African Americans to the great cities of the north.
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James
Grossman, the Vice President of Education and Research at Newberry
Library, models methods of interpreting primary documents as he leads
a group of teachers from Kenwood Academy through analysis and interpretation
of letters from the Great Migration.
Read
the transcript »
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Letters
from the Great Migration capture the experience of some African Americans
before and after they migrate to Chicago.
Read
the letters »
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